Page 17 of The Spy
She pressed her lips together and pulled out a tablet. It showed an aerial shot of the grounds we’d just left a few hours ago about ten minutes before we arrived, and something was being moved across the back of the property. It appeared as if about ten people were scuttled into a van, and then the van drove off.
“What the hell is this?”
She shrugged. “We believe that the people being trafficked were moved just before your arrival.”
“You think someone told them? Who?”
She leveled her gaze on me. “How well was your team vetted? Tabatha Smith especially. From my understanding she has unusual access to you and Saffron. Or Westin O’Rourke, also known as Westin St. James. His file is patchy at best. My main concern is Tabatha though. There were several moments when her comm feedback was sketchy.”
I blinked slowly at her, trying to force my brain to comprehend what she was saying.
“You think one of my team notified them.”
7
Tabatha
I kissed Gabe last night. For a mission.
Liar.
Okay whatever. Either way, I’d kissed him. And that had been single-handedly the biggest mistake of my career. Maybe of my life. He’d looked so mugged-off at the end of the night. I was used to Gabe’s scowling, but he’d been well ticked-off and snappish.
It wasn’t exactly my fault I’d had to kiss him.
You keep telling yourself that.
But the real brain spinner was that for a moment last night, I could have sworn he kissed me back. But given the death glare he’d been shooting at me when we wrapped things up, I must have been wrong about that.
Thanks to the sleepless night, I was walking around the Rogues campus in a hazy fog. I hadn’t bothered to head back to my place in Mayfair but instead just crashed in my training bungalow.
Last night had gone completely to hell in a handbasket. It wasn’t even worth wasting my birthday on.
Except for that birthday kiss.
Heat immediately bloomed in my core, making me squeeze my thighs together. Gabe had always had that vibe like he knew his way around a woman’s body. Like once he started on you, you would be caught up in a fiery maelstrom of desire until he released you.
Dramatic much? Yes.
Was it true? Also, yes.
I’d barely been able to sleep. Every dream featured him sinking his hands into my hair, angling my head, and plundering my mouth. Every dream included him wrapping his hands possessively around my neck as if claiming me.
God help me, I needed to get a grip.
I’d slept like shit, thanks to him. Okay fine. Thanks to the failed mission and Gabe. Sure, lots of missions were failures. We couldn't pick up the asset, or maybe they didn’t show, or, God forbid, one of us got injured or we lost a member of the team.
But you accidentally kissed your boss?
I was an idiot.
Saff came jogging around the corner and stopped short when she saw me. “There you are. I was worried I wouldn’t get to say goodbye.”
“Hey, shouldn’t you be in bed with your gorgeous husband?” I asked, bumping her hip.
“I love that word in reference to Lock.” Her joy was palpable. “How you doing? Upset about having to spend your birthday working? I know it sucks, but as soon as we’re back, you and I are going to do this right. Don't be bummed, please."
"I'm not bummed. I swear. I’m just knackered. I didn’t sleep well. I got the wake-up call to end all wake-up calls from Kira a couple days ago. She was miffed that her card didn’t work."
