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Chapter 26
Spence stood off to the side at the Friday evening reception, holding a beer and pretending to sip it as he watched Zoe interact with her peers. He was damned impressed.
Zoe was friendly and cordial to everyone, doing more listening than talking. She didn’t hesitate to answer when asked a question, but she appeared genuinely interested in the opinions of the other presenters and industry bigwigs.
The presenters all wore red ribbons on their name badges, the conference committee wore yellow and the sponsors of the conference wore blue ribbons. As far as Spence could tell, she spent an equal amount of time with people from each group. She drifted through the crowd, clearly making an effort to speak to everyone. She moved more stiffly than usual, because of the vest she wore beneath her suit, but he doubted anyone else would notice it.
He noticed she held the same glass of white wine all evening. She took tiny sips, even though he’d never seen her drink white wine. When someone jostled her elbow and spilled some of her wine on her light blue suit, he realized why she’d chosen white wine.
Finally, people began to head for the door. Zoe was one of the last to set her mostly full glass of wine on one of the trays. She made her way to several people wearing yellow ribbons on their badges and spoke briefly to them. Finally she turned and scanned the room, her shoulders relaxing when she spotted Spence standing near a side wall.
She made her way over to him and gave him a barely-there smile. “You ready to leave?”
“Anytime you are,” he answered. Settling his hand on her lower back, trying not to notice the heat burning into his palm or her subtle, spicy scent, he steered her toward the door. When they stepped into the hall, Nico stood to the side, watching everyone who passed the room.
Spence stopped beside him. “Any sign of Davies?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah,” Nico said, equally quietly. “Pretty sure he came around the corner over there.” Nico pointed to one of the long corridors. “Headed for this room. Soon as he saw me, he turned around and went back the way he’d come. I didn’t want to follow him and leave the door unprotected.”
“Good call,” Spence said. “I doubt you’d have been able to track him down. He probably has the whole conference center memorized.”
“I figured as much.” Nico glanced from Spence to Zoe. “How’d it go in there?” he asked.
“It was fine,” she said, and Spence couldn’t help noticing the weariness in her voice. “Meet and greet, make nice, talk a little business. Just like all these conferences.”
“Your workshop tomorrow is in the afternoon, right?” Nico asked.
“At two p.m.,” Zoe said.
Nico glanced at Spence. “I’ll be here for that, too,” he said. “What about the rest of the day?”
“I have meetings all day,” Zoe said. She turned to Spence. “Did you have a chance to check out those meeting rooms?”
“That’s where I went when Nico was with you this morning. They look good. No doors in the back walls, and the partitions are sturdy. They need a screwdriver to be taken apart. So I can handle the meetings by myself.” He slapped Nico on the back. “That’s for the assist today, but if you can watch the door during Zoe’s presentation tomorrow, we should be good for the rest of the weekend.”
Nico watched him for a few moments, then shook his head. “I think you should call Mel and have her send another agent for Zoe’s keynote speech. Just to be safe.”
“I already did,” Spence told him, not glancing at Zoe. He knew she’d be pissed that he hadn’t run it past her first. “Everyone else is out on a job, and she and Smith have interviews for new people lined up all day. I’ll be fine. And Zoe has that ring as my backup. If Davies somehow gets hold of her, I can follow him to wherever he’s holed up.”
Nico clenched his teeth, then shook his head. “I don’t like relying on a piece of equipment that Mel jerry-rigged together.”
Spence stared at Nico for a long moment. Nico stared back. Finally Spence said, “Zoe and I have checked it out a number of times. Worked like a charm every time.” Spence stuck out his chin. “Mel made this specifically for her sister. I don’t think she’d take any chances with Zoe’s safety. Do you?”
“Of course not,” Nico said. “But equipment fails all the time. Do you really want to rely on untested technology?”
“I’m relying on it because it’s been thoroughly tested,” Spence shot back. “On top of all the testing we did, my car is going to be parked close to the conference center. If the worst happens, I’ll be in the car in under five minutes, chasing after them. Hell, with any luck, I’ll have them in visual range almost immediately.”
“We need someone else permanently in Seattle,” Nico muttered. “Then we could call that person to help out.”
“Yeah, that would be great, unless the other Seattle person is on a job.” He stared at Nico. “I appreciate the backup,” Spence said. “But we’ll be fine tomorrow.” He slapped Nico on the back. “You worry about your job and I’ll make sure Zoe is safe.”
Nico’s gaze shifted from Spence to Zoe. Back to Spence. “I hope so,” he finally muttered. He nodded at Zoe. “See you tomorrow,” he said.
“I’ll be here all day,” she said with a smile.
Nico bumped fists with Spence, then turned and strode away. Spence watched him until he disappeared around a corner. “Nico’s not happy,” he said.
“No, he’s not,” Zoe said. She touched Spence’s face as he continued to stare after Nico. “We’ll be fine on Saturday evening. It’ll all go exactly as we’ve planned it.”
