The Mouse and the Maestro (Spies Like Us #3)

Chapter 1

J ane was a nervous person. But she was also accustomed to living in large cities, to taking care of herself and keeping safe. When she saw the man behind her, she knew she was being followed. What she didn’t know was what to do about it.

At first she tried to lose him, quickly darting inside a shop and hiding behind a clothes rack until she was certain he must be gone. When she emerged from the store and saw no sign of him, she thought she’d succeeded. And then, to her consternation, she saw him ahead of her, paused as if he were looking at the magazine stand. Jane knew better; he was waiting for her. Now what? Should she scream for help? The only time she had ever screamed was once when an Oxford English Dictionary fell on her little toe. The one that went wee-wee-wee all the way home wee’d for certain on that day. Now if she screamed, who would help? Worse, who would care? The falafel cart guy? Not likely.

She passed the tattooed man, and he resumed walking behind her. Not too close, not close enough for her to draw attention to his presence, to push him or yell at him to go away. But close enough so she knew he was there and felt vaguely threatened. His right arm was covered in colorful tattoos. Jane had no tattoos. Everyone she knew had them, including her ninety-year-old grandmother who had recently gotten one on her foot. But for Jane they still signaled danger and rebellion, and Jane was neither dangerous nor rebellious. She should get the opposite of a tattoo to signal how mild-mannered and conformist she was, but the only thing she could think of was a minivan, and she was saving that until she got married and had kids.

Two blocks later, the crowds thinned and the man was still following her. Jane hurried her step, so close to work and safety she could taste it. A glance behind showed the man hurrying, too. Finally she saw the museum in the distance. She could practically smell the comforting must of artifacts from here. Home, she thought, so close, so easy to reach as long as she made it there before the man who was tailing her.

She darted inside and sprinted to the elevator. No way would she risk getting trapped in a stairwell with the psycho who’d been stalking behind her. The elevator was safer as long as it arrived quickly. Her finger jabbed the button again as she shot a glance over her shoulder. No one was there; she was safe.

The elevator finally arrived. Jane darted inside, breathing a sigh of relief, but as the doors began to close, a hand slid between them, almost like a horror movie. She stifled a scream as the tattooed man stepped inside and gave her a chilling smile. His arm reached out, but now she was ready. She withdrew the pepper spray from her purse and sent a pulse directly into his eyes. He dropped to the ground, writhing in agony. Jane choked as the cloud of pepper spray enveloped the elevator. Her eyes were streaming too, but it was worth it. She was safe.

The door opened onto her floor. An entire group of strangers stood staring at her, and Jane remembered why she’d been in such a hurry this morning. The team of federal agents was coming today to meet with her. One of them stepped forward and held out his hand.

“Dr. Dunbar, I’m Cameron Ridge, senior director of the team. It appears you’ve already met our hacker, Blue.”

On the floor of the elevator, the man with the blue hair and tattoos moaned, rocking back and forth in agony, his hands clawing at his face.

Cameron Ridge turned to the blond woman standing behind him. “Hon, can you take Blue to the bathroom and get him cleaned up?”

Meekly, she stepped forward and helped the blue-haired man off the floor, putting her arm around him as they stumbled to the bathroom. Jane turned her attention to Cameron Ridge, her face flooded with heat. To deflect from her embarrassment, she focused on the next thing that grabbed her attention.

“Do you always call your employees ‘hon,’ Mr. Ridge?” she asked, her tone icy and affronted.

“Only the ones I’m married to, Dr. Dunbar. Why don’t you take a moment to get yourself together and we’ll meet in the conference room in ten,” he suggested. He turned his back on her and walked away, and Jane had the sinking feeling she’d been dismissed, possibly forever.