“Don’t stop now, Elizabeth,” he murmured without opening his eyes. “You’re just getting to the good part.”
The only thing that kept her from slapping him was the fact that she would likely undo some of her handiwork and have to do it all over again.
Instead, she held her fury in check and went on as if he’d misinterpreted what she’d said. Tomorrow, or even after that, if he questioned her about her comment she would lie through her teeth and swear she hadn’t said any such thing. Two could play this game, she decided.
Stating the facts as if they described someone else’s life she told Joe Hennessey the story of how Agent David Maddox had come into her life as her handler and proceeded to lure her into temptation with his vast charm.
Hennessey would no doubt recognize the story. He probably practiced the same M.O. all the time. According to what David had told her, Hennessey left a heart-broken woman behind at every assignment. He was the proverbial James Bond. The man who had it all. A new secret life, with all it en tailed, every week.
How exciting it must be to live that kind of life with absolutely no accountability to any one. The bro ken hearts he left behind would certainly be chalked up to collateral damage just as the occasional dead body surely was.
Elizabeth worked hard at keeping her tone even and her temper out of the mix, but it wasn’t easy. The more she talked about the past and considered her relationship with David, the more she realized how she hadn’t ever really known him. She only knew what had drawn her to him.
She didn’t really know David the man. She only knew David the lover.
She knew what he’d allowed her to see.
That realization was the hardest of all.
Her gaze dropped to Joe Hennessey. This time he was definitely sleeping. She couldn’t help wondering if he’d done this on purpose. Made her see.
She tugged her hand free of his and admitted yet another painful truth. No. This was no one’s fault but her own. She’d seen what she’d wanted to see.
Nothing more.
And now she knew the whole truth.
Her relationship with David had been based on an illusion that she had created in her mind.
Elizabeth left Hennessey’s room.
She progressed down the stairs and walked to the front door. She unlocked and opened it and came face-to-face with the agent as signed to that location.
“I need to see Director Calder,” she said, her voice lacking any real emotion.
“Is there a problem, Dr. Cameron?” the agent asked, his dark eye wear no doubt concealing an instant concern for the two principals it was his job to protect.
“Yes, there is,” she said bluntly. “I need to go home. I’ve decided I can’t complete this assignment. Please call the director for me.”
Elizabeth closed the door. There was nothing else to say.
She’d made up her mind.
Agreeing to this part of his mission had been a mistake. Giving someone David’s face was one thing but she could not do the rest. There had to be someone else who knew David’s personality well enough to help Hennessey grasp the necessary elements. Surely there were videos the CIA had made, tapes of interviews David had conducted.
How ever they conducted this portion of the mission from here had nothing to do with her.
She wanted out.
Chapter 6
Three days elapsed before Elizabeth would again speak to him about her relationship with Maddox.
Today was his first “official” Maddox les son. They were finally getting down to business. ’Bout time.
That first night at the safe house she had left him sleeping and called the director. Not the director of field operations. The frigging director of the CIA him self. She had demanded to be taken home, had insisted that she wanted no further part in this operation.
Some how Director Calder had changed her mind.
Since Joe had slept through the whole thing he had no idea how the director had accomplished the feat.
At any rate, Joe had awakened the next morning to an edict from the good doctor. She refused to discuss anything about the assignment with Joe until three days had passed. She wanted him to stay on the full dos age of the medication and in bed during said time. He hadn’t liked it one damned bit, but what choice did he have? It wasn’t like he could disobey a direct order from Calder.
During those three days Elizabeth had at tended to his medical needs. She’d changed his band ages. Thank fully at this point the bulkier gauze was gone. The swelling was still pretty ugly as was the redness. He looked like he’d been on the losing end of a pool room brawl.
“Not like that,” she said, her impatience showing.
“Show me,” Joe countered, his own patience thinning.
It wasn’t like he’d been around Maddox that much. Getting his mannerisms down pat wasn’t going to be easy with out a better understanding of how he moved.