Page 33 of Deadly Alliance

Chapter Thirteen

Shane grippedthe steering wheel with more force than was necessary as he watched Beatrice fiddling to connect her cell phone to the car’s communication centre. The small screen on the dashboard blinked, showing an impressive contact list before she navigated to her playlist.

Soon, a soft bluesy tune filled the car. Too bad it did nothing to reduce the solid rock weighing on his heart. Eyes on the road, he had to fight with all he had not to conjure Emme in his mind and turn the car around. What was happening to him? He was acting like a lovesick teenager and that wasn’t like him at all. Despite working hard at getting his head into the game, he couldn’t help but feel strings wrapped around his heart, pulling him back somehow.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost jumped when Bea’s cell phone rang, the sound reverberating through the car’s speakerphone. Beatrice was quick to dismiss the call, but Shane had seen the Admiral’s phone number on the screen.

As the music returned, he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw that the second car with Owen, Lance, and Dee were following them at the same steady pace. He suspected that the trio had divided the group as per Beatrice’s instructions and that if he said anything about it, he would be in for either motherly advice or an evaluation on his abilities as a team leader. He knew where he’d succeeded, where he’d screwed up. He’d made amends and now he was moving on. That summed it up.

Another ring, another ignored call. This time, Shane couldn’t resist looking at Beatrice.

The red-headed woman frowned, pointing a menacing finger at him. “Not a word, Rhodes. Although from the look on your face, I didn’t think you’d acknowledge the outside world until we reached our destination.”

So, there it was, the dreaded opening of ‘The Talk’.

“There is nothing more to say, so can we postpone any comments or advice until… I don’t know … the next apocalypse?”

And as he suspected, instead of closing the breach, it just opened even wider. “You are really going to wait until then to see her again?”

Catching a snarl before it escaped his lips, Shane decided to be logical. “It was just sex. Attraction. There is nothing else to say about it.”

Beatrice nodded, but her expression told him she was far from convinced. “So, you say. You can lie to yourself but not to me. Don’t forget that I’m a profiler, and I know the intention beneath it all. Especially when one is full of it.”

Shane opened his mouth before closing it again. He could deny it as much as he liked, some sort of connection had happened between Emme and him.

“It’s something that can happen in the heat of the moment. If you look at it clearly, what will keep us apart is more than what could keep us together.”

“I can’t wait to hear your list, Rhodes.”

He frowned. “Are you mocking me?”

“Not yet. That will come after I hear what you have to say.”

“I’m serious, Bea. We work for two different organisations and are always on missions. And don’t forget the fact we live on different sides of the Atlantic and our age difference.”

Shane focused on the road, the words left a bad taste in his mouth. As if he was sealing the deal once and for all.

“You should have told me I’d hired an old man. Please remind me to install disabled parking in our new headquarters. Do I need to plan for ramps, so you can come inside?”

Exasperated, Shane slammed his palm on the wheel. “That’s not a joke!”

“No, it’s not. You may be a great operative, but you are blind to what matters.”

“Says the woman who avoids calls from her husband.”

He thought his reply would shut her up. Instead, the woman laughed. “There are so many things you don’t know about me, Shane. But let me tell you something. My dear James and I were star-crossed from the start, even from the moment we were born I dare say. But that’s another story. What I didn’t know then, and what I realise today, is that I was done the moment I saw him. And I knew I would be until my dying breath. I may look back at my life and see things I could have done better, but if I die tomorrow, I don’t have any regrets. That’s what I wish for you too, Shane.”

Was it what he’d felt since he left Emme? Regrets? Emotions were mixed up inside him, and for one of the first times in his life, he was filled with doubt.

Again, the phone disturbed his thoughts. Not a call this time, but a message.

Out of discretion, Shane didn’t want to look, but his eye caught when an image appeared.

Emme. Images of her as she was leaving Fortis probably, and getting in her car.

Beatrice didn’t say a word and went to grab her phone, but not before another picture appeared. This time it was Beatrice, just outside Fortis. The instant she got into the car beside him.

Shane dug for his phone as a final message came in. This time, it contained only one word.