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"I'm the marketing manager at Thane's distillery. And what's your job, sweetie? Wiping babies bottoms in a daycare center?"
Ava huffs. "You have no idea who you're dealing with. I am Ava Marston-Baines, daughter of Sir Richard Marston-Baines."
"Uh-huh. Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Rebecca slips an arm around my waist. "Thane, do you know this Sir what's-his-name?"
"Aye, unfortunately. He's a right riatach. The man never met a kickback he didn't take. But I knew nothing about that until long after Ava had pulled me into her covert world."
Rebecca sets her hands on her hips. "Did you take the kickbacks, Ava? Like father, like daughter?"
Ava lifts her chin. "I have never been corrupt."
But I noticed she didn't say her father hasn't been. "Tell me the real reason you came here, Ava. Tell me now, or I will ring my mate Logan MacTaggart and have him lock you up in the dungeon at his cousin Rory's castle. It's a fine spot for an interrogation, Roman-legion style."
That sounds like a nasty threat. The Romans weren't known for their civility during wartime---or anytime. But Ava isn't stupid, and she knows me better than I wish the lass did.
She puckers her lips and taps her fingers on her hips. "All right, have it your way. But I insist upon speaking to you alone. For five minutes, that's all. If I can't convince you in that time, I'll drive away and never bother you again."
I glance at Rebecca. The lass exhales a gusty breath, and her shoulders flag. "Go on, talk to her alone. She's the one I don't trust, not you."
"Aye, Ava is a slippery sort."
"But you can handle her."
Rebecca steps aside to let me and Ava walk into the house. I stand on the threshold to watch Rebecca approach the porch swing and settle onto it. Then I go inside and shut the door.
"Explain yourself, Ava."
"Come closer, darling. I'm about to reveal state secrets to you."
I realize she means to try to seduce me, strictly to solidify a connection between us. That was how she roped me in back in the day. The technique no longer works on me. Even before I met Rebecca, I'd become immune to the erotic techniques employed by covert agents like Ava.
But out of the corner of my eye, I can see Rebecca sitting on the swing, hands clasped on her lap, head down. Suddenly, I want to get this over with as soon as possible. So, I stride over to the island, seizing Ava's arm to drag her along with me.
I shove the lass against the island. "Talk, Ava."
She reaches for me, preparing to set her hands on my chest.
But I push her backward, caging her with my arms and my hands on the island. "No more rubbish about how you've missed me." I glance up at the clock above the stove. "You have less than five minutes left."
Ava hugs herself and rubs her arms. "All right. Here's the truth. I have missed you, Thane, but that's not the reason I'm here. You got out of the game, but I had nowhere else to go. I've stayed with MI6. It's all I know."
"Dinnae care about catching up on your life story."
She bites the inside of her lip, hunching her shoulders, and glances round as if she expects a sniper to take her down at any second. "We've known for some time that Holden De Boer has a grudge against you. It's rubbish, of course. You were doing your job---the one I convinced you to take on. You would've been quite happy to remain at the DIO as only a geospatial analyst. I..." She hugs herself more tightly. "I used sex to get what I needed from you. But I did care for you. That was never a lie."
"Says a lifelong spy. Pardon me if I cannae believe that."
"I don't blame you. I deserve your scorn."
As I study Ava's face, I can't figure out if she's trying to win me over, or if she honestly despises her job and the things she's done for her country. It's true that I got out mostly unscathed. But Ava had stuck with it. What horrific things has she witnessed? Or done? I never believed she was a killer, but I don't really know her anymore. I think I never did.
Aye, that's the quicksand of covert operations.
I take two steps backward. "What do you know about Holden? I'd had no contact with the scunner until a few weeks ago."
"Yes, I know. When he was released from prison, he made a beeline straight for you." She holds up a hand. "Please, hear me out before you ask more questions."
I lean against the island beside her. "Go on, then."
