Desh raised his eyebrows. “People behind Connelly?” he repeated.
“Connelly is just a dupe in this game. Just like you,” she said bluntly. “The people pulling his strings are the ones tracking you.”
“If they’re tracking me, as you say, how is it they didn’t intervene in my kidnapping?”
Kira shook her head. “They don’t have a physical tail on you,” she replied smoothly. “You’re too well trained for that. Even if they put two or three cars on you, you’d eventually spot the tail and it would blow up in their faces.” She paused. “Besides, it’s a waste of manpower. They figured if you managed to find me at all it would take you weeks. Remote monitoring was enough.”
“I see,” he said patronizingly. “I suppose they imbedded a subtle tracking device in my underwear.”
An easy smile lit up her face. “I have to admit, that is pretty unlikely,” she said sheepishly, an amused twinkle in her eye. “But I wouldn't completely put it past them either. I’ve been erring on the side of caution and it seems to be working for me so far.”
Desh felt himself being instantly drawn in by her incandescent eyes and unselfconscious smile. Kira’s effortless charm and physical appeal were more powerful and disarming than he had at first realized. Her features could not have been gentler or more feminine. Her movements were lithe and athletic, despite her bulky clothing, and her voice was soft and appealing. Her eyelashes were long and her jaw and cheekbones delicate. Her wide, blue eyes were warm and expressive.
Desh forced himself to blink and break her momentary spell, annoyed with himself for responding to her with anything other than total revulsion. “You took great pains to ensure quiet in Griffin's apartment. So you obviously think he's bugged.”
She sighed. “I'm afraid so.”
“How would they possibly even know to bug him? I didn’t even know he existed until thirty-six hours ago.”
“They’re monitoring your phone calls. As soon as you arranged an appointment with him they probably set up listening devices in his apartment. Again, I’m not sure they did, but I operated under this assumption.”
“So you sent the text that lured me back to Griffin’s apartment?”
Kira nodded.
“Well done,” he said with a look of disgust, although this look was reserved for himself. How had he been so sloppy. But even as he chastised himself, he realized that Kira Miller's boldness had helped force his error. She had been on to him, probably before he had even taken the assignment, and she had acted with stunning speed and decisiveness; using tactics she had never used before to totally blindside him.
Desh expected her to be gloating, but she appeared more apologetic than ever.
“By your own logic,” he said, “you carried out a very successful, silent abduction. My clothes, phone, car, and weapons are far away. Nothing left to bug or track.” He nodded toward the door of the motel. “So why the trip wire and other precautions? There’s erring on the side of caution and there’s irrationality,” he pointed out.
“Oh, they’ll track us here, all right. If we’re lucky, we’ll be long gone by the time they do. On the other hand, if they’re lucky, I need to be prepared.”
“And what form do you expect their luck to take?”
“Sooner or later—hopefully later—they’ll realize that the homing devices they put in your car, or your clothing, or . . . wherever, haven’t moved in a while. They’ll track them to Griffin’s apartment and realize you aren’t there. After you visited Griffin, they may have decided to surveil the parking lot of his building periodically via satellite. If they were lucky and managed to capture an image of the car I’m using, this will greatly accelerate their search.” Kira paused. “I just hope they don’t arrive before I’ve accomplished my mission,” she finished.
“Oh,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “And what mission is that?”
She gazed into his eyes for several long seconds and then sighed. “Recruiting you over to my side,” she finally said earnestly.
11
Desh sat on the bed, stunned, for several long seconds. A faint siren could be heard off in the distance through the thin motel walls.
Finally, he shook his head. “Then you can save yourself some time,” he said, scowling. “Do whatever you need to do, because I’m not going to join you. Under any circumstances.”
“Given what you think you know, this is an admirable position to take,” she allowed grimly. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’ll give it a shot. I say again, the report you have on me is a fabrication.” She sighed deeply. “But give the puppet masters their due. They’ve rigged things to make it very difficult for me to plead my case.”
Desh raised his eyebrows questioningly.
“They’ve told you I’m a brilliant psychopath. A master manipulator. The kind of person who can cut off your limbs one day and pass a lie detector test with flying colors the next. Correct?”