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“You’re the professional spy.” Daniel waved one hand at him and grinned. “You’re the one who knows everyone.”
“True, but the Russian lying in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound probably isn’t too hard to locate right now. He could strike a deal fast and be out of France before the end of the day.”
“How much do you think the price would increase if you offered up the agent identity list?” Edward blinked at the suggestion. He hadn’t thought about that, and Daniel noticed. He jumped to his feet, his grin stretching across his face. “You said that he likely has the defense blueprints. But I bet he doesn’t have the agent list. Kevin would have been the one to get his hands on it. Kevin got the blueprints from Marcus and was in the process of brokering the deal when he ended up dead in Bermuda. I bet he didn’t trust Marcus with the list.”
Edward snorted. “Yeah, us spy types aren’t very trusting.”
Daniel reached out and gave Edward’s good shoulder a little shove. “You know what I mean. They’re both plotting treason for what’s likely a hell of a lot of money. Would you trust your partner to not cut you out of the deal?”
“Nope.”
“So, now Marcus needs you if he wants to increase his payout.”
Edward reached out and hooked his index finger in one of the belt loops of Daniel’s jeans, jerking him in close. “That…is some pretty slick puzzle solving there, Mr. Accountant.”
“I bet you see accountants a little differently now,” Daniel said smugly.
“I have an accountant through work who takes care of all my financial bullshit and taxes. She’s at least seventy-three and looks like she might have tortured third graders in elementary school before moving on to government field agents. I certainly hope that I never look at her the way I look at you.”
Daniel snickered. “God, you’re such a smooth talker. I don’t know how I manage to keep my pants on when you’re around.”
Edward released Daniel’s belt loop and took a step back so fast it was like Daniel had suddenly burst into flames. “No. We’re behaving. We’ve got to get this worked out.”
“Then we can play?” Daniel asked with such excitement that Edward’s dick started to fill. Fuck yes, he wanted to continue to play with Daniel, even if it was an enormous mistake. The mission was nearly over. What was going to happen when it was done—assuming they both managed to beat the odds and survive it?
No. He couldn’t think about that yet either. He needed to stay on target.
“First, the plan,” he ground out between his teeth. “I reach out to Dillinger, tell him that I know what he has, and I know what he and Jones were planning. If he wants the full amount he was trying to broker with the Russians, then he has to now include me in the deal. I’ve got the NOC list.”
“Exactly. We set a meeting place to discuss details in person.”
“Where he, of course, would plan to kill us both and take the list.”
Daniel nodded, not seeming to be phased in the least about someone plotting his death. Well, to be fair, it would be at least the fourth or fifth person in just over a week. “He would be expecting us to do the same.”
“Naturally.”
“We go. We meet. We kill him. End of story.”
Edward raised an eyebrow at Daniel, who simply shrugged at him.
“What? You’re going to honestly tell me that you weren’t thinking it?” Daniel continued, laughter hanging within his words.
“I was thinking it. I just wasn’t expecting to hear it come out of your mouth.” He frowned, guilt cutting through his chest. “I’ve been a bad influence on you.”
Daniel rolled his eyes as he walked away from Edward and dropped back down onto the edge of the bed. “Do you really think I don’t know how the world works? You think I don’t know about the field agents who are put on a job just to kill someone? About the lies that are spread in the name of protecting the government or some other fragile idea?” Daniel leaned forward and pounded his hand on his chest. “I worked for the government too. I wasn’t blind to it all.”
Edward sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair a couple of times. “Yeah, I know. I guess I just forget sometimes. You’re a nice guy. A kind person. When you helped Sergei…fuck, Daniel, the idea never even occurred to me. What kind of a person does that make me?”
“I think most people would argue a realistic one.”
Edward groaned. “But not a good one.”
Daniel shifted on the bed and cocked his head slightly to the side as he stared at Edward. “Really? Do you believe that? Do you think you’re not a good person?”
