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“Mmm.” I crinkle my nose and screw my lips to one side. “We’re going to have to agree to disagree on that point. He threatened my sisters’ lives one of the last times I saw him. Pretty sure he’s not my biggest fan.”
“Pa-haw,” she balks.
Like a chicken. Swear to Betty Crocker.
“That wasn’t a threat. It was a warning.”
I study her closely. “He was warning me? Why would he do that?”
“Because he’d found out about my little side venture. I had to get him to fall in line by letting him know the consequences. He needed to understand what the both of you stood to lose. And he did a great job. Once he told you that, you threw up your hands and surrendered to me the very next day.”
“So he’s not in cahoots with you?”
He’s here. In Clearwater. I saw him with my own eyes.
Why is he here if he’s not involved?
“I wish. I offered it to him. But again… you were there in the back of his mind. Like a damn ginger angel on his shoulder, influencing him. Ugh.”
The longer this unravels, the closer we get to one of two things happening. Either the Russians arrive to collect me, or Redleg does. I’m pulling for the second but need to prepare for the first. Maybe I can defuse the tension with her on this shit. It’s worth a shot.
“Lisa, I have no interest in Tony. You can have him. I assure you, we’ve been finished for years.”
“And yet he left a door open for you in the server. A neon flashing light for you to sneak in one day. He all but drew you a map. I had to go behind him and close it so you didn’t get any more intel you weren’t meant to have.”
“You closed it? How? That wasn’t easy. Do you know how long I worked on that?”
I didn’t realize she could even type, to be frank. Although she’s the director of the intel team at the FBI, her hands-off approach led me to believe she was there for her leadership abilities and not as a subject matter expert.
Her eyes flash wild with a perverse delight. “Who do you think taught Tony all his little tricks?”
Color me shocked and impressed.
“Lisa, I’m woozy. This doesn’t seem possible. What did you drug me with? I have a penicillin allergy. You didn’t dope me with antibiotics, did you?”
“You have no idea how hard it is to refrain from cutting out your silver tongue. But I need you to tell me where Savin is. If I don’t find him, I’m in hot water, since my intel led to one of our houses being cleared out.”
“Ah, so that’s it. Makes sense. Your intel leak caused the flesh exodus. Now you have to pay unless you can deliver.”
“Brilliant, Mia. Full marks.”
She doesn’t mean that one bit. Rude.
“Where is he?”
“Let’s see. The name rings a bell. Was he the one with the blue hair and ear gauges about the size of a buffalo nickel?”
Until this moment, I wasn’t aware that blinks could be profane. But she’s cussing me out with her eyelashes right now.
“Oh, wait.Savin, right? Sorry. The blue-haired one is Kevin. Similar names. You know how it goes.”
If she has a crown or any other dental work, I predict another appointment in the near future. Not sure I’ve seen anyone grit their teeth as fiercely as her.
Turning on her heel, she marches out of the room. The clopping of her dress shoes against the concrete shoots pain through my aching skull.
While she’s gone, I let my snarky bravado fall and give myself a chance to be scared. To have a human moment of fear where I’m not the hardened CIA analyst. I’m not a woman trained to withstand torture. I’m not a soulless operative. I’m just me.
Mia.
