Chapter 10 #3
“Because that’s what it reminded me of when I first came here.
It has a certain resemblance to the story that struck me very strongly.
And the longer I stayed here and thought about it, the more I noticed the similarity.
” He smiled down at her. “You must tell me if you agree with me after you spend a little time and familiarize yourself with everyone.”
“I can hardly wait,” she said sarcastically. “As soon as you tell me whom you’re taking me to meet.”
“Well, there’s one person you won’t have to worry about meeting.” Lynch nodded at an alcove off the main house. “I believe that’s Jessie’s motorcycle. It appears that they’ve beaten us here to the cabin.”
It was Jessie’s bike, Kendra saw with relief.
“Thank heavens. Let’s go and see her.” She started toward the cabin again.
“I wasn’t sure whether to believe you when you said the person you’d sent was reliable.
Who was it?” She stiffened. “Is it one of your political friends you’re trying to schmooze? ”
“Schmooze?” He laughed. “I believe I’m hurt. I spend a lot of time and diplomatic effort attempting to make things go right in a wrong world at Justice. That is not schmoozing.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t good at it,” she said sourly. “So who am I going to meet here?”
“At the present time, I’m going to limit it to just one individual. But she’s the most important person you’ll meet. Perhaps that you’ll ever meet.”
“She?” She froze. “A woman?” Her gaze flew to his face.
“You want to tell me about a woman?” She swallowed, hard.
“You don’t have to tell me that you have some kind of liaison with another woman.
We’ve never had that kind of arrangement.
And I certainly don’t have to meet her. Who is it?
” Then she thought she knew. “Stevie. Her name is Stevie, and she was with you at the safe house in London.” She fought against the shock so that she could force herself to say the words.
“I hope you’ll be very happy and you don’t have to worry that I’ll be in the least—”
“Kendra!” He grabbed her in his arms and buried her face in his chest. “For God’s sake, shut up. You’re being so damn generous and reasonable that I want to strangle you.”
“Typical male reaction. It is this Stevie, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s Stephanie Nolan, and that’s the only thing you had right.”
“Stevie.” Kendra said dully. “It was carved on her hairbrush she left at the London safe house. I suppose everyone calls her Stevie.”
“Most people. But it was her father who did the carving and gave her the hairbrush. She was upset that she left it at the safe house when I took her there to stay until I could make sure this would be a secure place for her again.”
“She shouldn’t worry. Jessie intended to return it to you the next time she saw you. She was going to make a point of it.”
He gave a low whistle. “And now Jessie’s involved?”
“No.” She raised her face from his chest to look at him. “That’s what I’m trying to say to you. This is your life and you’re entitled not to have to answer to anyone about who you spend it with. Certainly not to me.”
“Oh, shit.” She could see the frustration in his face as he gazed down at her.
“You’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?
Only it’s all screwed up and I’m the one who has to unwind it.
” He sighed. “So I’ll start with this photo of her and hope that you can figure out most of the rest by yourself.
” He dialed up a photo on his phone. “This is my assignment, Stevie Nolan.” He handed the phone to her.
“She told me it was taken last year. She’s a real beauty, isn’t she? ”
“I’m not interested in whether or not she—”
“Look at her,” Lynch said softly. “And tell me what you see.”
She glanced impatiently at the photo. “Gorgeous curly black hair. Stunning green eyes and nice features. Is that what you want me to see?”
“No, look again, and tell me what jumps out at you.”
She glanced at the photo again. “What do you—”
He nodded as he saw her pause. “You see it. Say the words, Kendra.”
She was studying the photo in bewilderment before she finally said slowly, “Young. She’s positively glowing with youth and energy.” She looked back at him. “How old is she?”
“That photo was taken when she was sixteen. She’s almost seventeen now.” He tilted his head. “And when have you ever known me to rob the cradle? It would bore me to death. I seem to be destined to only have a passion for brainy, mature sex goddesses like you.”
“That sounds thoroughly disgusting.”
“But very true. Stevie is a remarkable young girl. I admire her and wonder what she’ll end up accomplishing.
But if you’d used that keen brain of yours to dig just a little deeper, then you wouldn’t have put either one of us through this quagmire.
” He made a dismissive gesture. “And instead you’d have been asking why I think she’s so important. ”
Kendra was already asking it, because she was remembering the name of the girl in the photo. “Her name is Nolan. And her father must be Palmer Nolan.”
“Right,” Lynch said. “Which means you must have tracked down that much of the story already. Just what I’d expect of you.”
“With practically no help from you. Now I’ll ask that question I shouldn’t have to ask. Why is a sixteen-year-old kid important enough to cause Justice to send their best agent to keep her safe and happy?”
“No one mentioned happy,” he said soberly. “The kid might have a long way to go as far as that’s concerned. But with any luck, I can take care of the safety factor.”
“Why is she so special that Justice sent a top agent like you to protect her? Why would anyone want to hurt her?”
“Special? For one thing she has an IQ that’s way above Einstein’s number; it got her accepted in Mensa while she was still a toddler. For another, she evidently has the drive and initiative to go after what she wants until she gets it. That combination can be big trouble for a kid her age.”
“So you’re going to save her from the bad guys?”
“That’s my job,” he said quietly. “I didn’t realize until I was in the middle of it that there was a good chance they’d go after you, too. I did what I could to find a way to balance the odds for both of us.”
“Not a good way. You just vanished and left me to worry. It wasn’t fair to me. If it was that important a case, you should have brought me into it right away. I should have been shouldering some of the load from the beginning. What game were you playing with me?”
“Suppose we discuss that later.” He was striding ahead of her toward the front door.
“No game, Kendra. You have a right to be angry, and you’ll have to decide for yourself if you want to forgive me.
All I can do is tell you the truth. That’s why we’re here.
I made you a promise and I’ll keep it. But it’s probably better if I start with Stevie.
There are still many tales to tell in Neverland. ”
“I didn’t like this one,” Kendra said as she followed him toward the door. “I hope that can be improved by—” She stopped, her gaze on the back of his shirt. “Wait!” She walked quickly toward him. “I believe there’s blood on the back of your shirt. Are you hurt?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“The hell it’s nothing. It’s blood.” She was looking at the back of his shirt. “What happened?”
“I told you, it’s nothing.” He shook his head as he took her hand away from the small patch of blood.
“You’re not going to give up, are you? Okay.
I was wounded before they threw me into that blasted gas station for a few days of interrogation.
The bullet wound was almost healed before I managed to escape.
But when I tackled you tonight, I must have scratched it or opened the scar tissue on my back a bit. ”
“So I did it?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We both did it, if you want to split hairs. As I recall, we were on top of each other in a perfectly exuberant fashion. But no real harm was done. After you later drifted off to sleep, I checked out the wound, and it had already stopped bleeding.”
“It should be looked at.”
“No,” he said flatly. “It’s fine. Now we’re going to go inside and you’ll get your answers.
I made you a promise. By the way, the friend I sent to get Jessie was Stevie Nolan.
And since she usually has to have an escort, I imagine Jessie is going to have some tales of her own to tell.
” He opened the door with a flourish. “After you, Kendra.”