“I’m trying to protect her,” Damon said, his voice tight.
She knew the job was dangerous. “I’m fine, Damon.”
Nigel’s fist came down on his desk, the first time she’d ever seen him lose his temper. “She’s either your partner or your girlfriend. She can’t be both. You told me you could be professional.”
She couldn’t let Nigel pull her from the op. Somehow, she had to see this one thing through. It was important. She was the only one who knew about Damon’s weakness. He wouldn’t stop, and maybe the next partner would leave him when he needed her. “No. I want to go on. We’re fine.”
Nigel ignored her. “Read the note, Damon. Open the folder and read the note that was left on Harris’s body. Read the note and then the e-mail that followed this morning.”
Damon stood, not looking back at her. He picked up the folder and stepped away from the desk, opening it. A long moment passed, tension thick in the air. Nigel sat in his chair, running a hand through his thinning hair.
Damon didn’t say a word, but she saw how his back straightened, his jaw tightening.
Nigel looked over at him. “Is it true?”
“You knew what I meant by training.” Damon didn’t look up, his voice a harsh grind. “You knew. Don’t play the prude now, Nige.”
“What does it say?” Penny asked. She didn’t like the way the men were looking at each other.
“I rather thought you would be a gentleman about it,” Nigel shot back.
“You didn’t hire a gentleman, Nigel. You hired me, and you knew what I wanted from her.” Now he looked up and there was a bitterness in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. “You have no idea what it’s like in the field. None. Don’t you dare start to judge me.”
“What does it say?” She was more forceful this time because she was starting to think she had an inkling and it wouldn’t be flattering. Somehow it made her a bit angry instead of embarrassed. Days ago she would have been shriveling up inside at the insinuations she was hearing, but spending time naked with Damon had changed her somehow. There hadn’t been anything wrong with it. It had been a lovely thing.
Damon frowned as he turned to her. “Give me your handbag. Where do you normally put it? Is it locked up while you’re here?”
What the hell was going on? Her brain was racing. “No. I leave it in my desk. Why would anyone try to steal…” The truth hit her squarely in the forehead. “They didn’t try to steal something. They put something on it.”
She picked up her bag. It was a simple thing, large and roomy. She’d bought it on sale at H&M about a month after her mum had passed on. It had been an impulse buy because the pattern was so unlike her. Paisley. It didn’t really go with anything but she’d loved the colors. The pattern was busy, easy to hide something among.
She ran her hand along the material and on the front of the bag, just below the clasp, she felt it. A bug. Small, wireless. She pulled it off and stared at it, thinking about the man on the other end. “I really hate you, you know. I hope your balls shrivel off and die.”
“Penelope!” Damon stood, staring at her with shocked eyes.
“Well, I’m not stupid. Obviously that note has something to do with our physical relationship, and Nigel thinks I’m some schoolgirl who doesn’t know the score and he’s going to try to protect the sad virgin. First off, I would protest and say I’m not a virgin, but lately I’ve been thinking I might as well be because the sexual relations I had before don’t even fall in the same category. Kissing Damon is sexier than full-on intercourse with other men. I don’t want to be protected. I knew what I was getting into. I’m not leaving now that it’s getting a bit deadly.” She held the small device on her fingertip. “He’s trying to break us up, but it won’t work.”
His eyes flared and for the briefest moment, a look of wonder came across his face. It was quickly shut down and he averted his eyes, looking back to the file. “Keep quiet. Get rid of that thing before you say another word.”
Because if he really was still listening, she’d just given away a lot. She’d stood there and pledged to not leave him. She’d given away a weakness.
Tears filled her eyes. She’d just proven how stupid she could be. She’d known he was listening and she’d still talked.
Nigel hit a button on his phone. “Send me someone from tech. And tell our Americans they can come in now if Mr. Smith is through with his debrief. We have a lot to sort through. Unfortunately, this bloody mess has gone international. The Agency is here. You need to read his other demands.”
The CIA had sent someone?
Nigel took the device from her, palming it and closing his hand.
Damon stayed where he was, though she wanted so much for him to cross the distance between them. “Keep your voice down until that thing is gone. I swear I’ll find the mole and I’m going to make whoever it is pay.”
Someone had been listening and watching her every move for days, perhaps months. It made her stomach turn, but she needed to make one thing clear. She moved close to him, her voice low. “I’m staying with you. I don’t care what Nigel says. I’m strong enough for this. I can be good for you.”
Damon shook his head, a dismissal. “Nigel might be right about this.”
“You know I’m right, but I don’t know what we can do about it now.” Nigel’s voice broke through the quiet.
The doors opened and Ian Taggart walked through followed by his wife and a tall, well-built man with brown and gold hair. He was wearing jeans and what looked like a Western shirt and cowboy boots.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Taggart asked. He’d obviously been brought up to speed on the situation, and he wasn’t happy about it.
“Don’t, Tag.” The new guy crossed his arms as he looked around the room. “We’re all getting fucked here. Can we be sure it’s safe to talk now?”
One of the techs walked in, a younger man named Marvin who had never once spoken to her until Friday last. He’d walked up to her and asked her about something trivial that might have been wrong with her computer. It had only been a few moments, but she’d turned.
Where had her bag been?
She closed her eyes, trying to remember everything about the encounter. It had been lunchtime and the rest of her group had gone, but Marvin had shown up. She’d stayed to answer his questions. She’d put her bag on her desk, turned and pulled up the update he’d asked about.