The Spy Is Cast by Diane Henders Page B

“Okay,
Stud, take me home.”

Chapter 13
    As we got settled in
the car again, Kane glanced over at me. “I’d appreciate it if you
didn’t mention that you know where I live.”
    “Okay,” I agreed
slowly. “Is that because you don’t want anybody to know where you
live, or because you don’t want anybody to know that I know where
you live?”
    He paused, apparently
unravelling my convoluted question. “Both, actually.”
    “Does this fall into
the category of ‘Don’t mention it unless asked directly’, or the
category of ‘Actively lie about it’?”
    “Depends who’s
asking.”
    I frowned at him. “If
you’re going to rely on my judgement, I need more information.”
    He blew out a breath.
“I don’t give out my address on general principles. Even my team
doesn’t know where I live. Not that they couldn’t find out, or that
I’d object to them knowing, just that it hasn’t come up.
Need-to-know. There are a couple of reasons for that.”
    He stopped the car at
a red light and eyed me seriously. “First, you can’t tell what you
don’t know. For example, if I got captured, I don’t know where my
team members live, or much about their personal lives at all. No
matter what inducements my captors might use, I wouldn’t be able to
give out that information.”
    The light changed and
he accelerated smoothly again, his gaze focused straight ahead.
“Second, I have enemies. Anybody who has close contact with me
could be endangered if one of those enemies decides to get to me
through somebody I care about. By association, if you know where I
live, then that could make you a target.”
    “Oh.” I thought that
through to its logical conclusion and wasn’t quite sure how to
react.
    He scowled, and the
leather steering wheel creaked slightly under his grip. “That’s why
I was so reluctant to use this cover. We were seen being publicly
affectionate. If the wrong people saw us, that could put you in
danger.”
    “Oh well, every
relationship comes with some baggage. Torture, death, you know. The
usual,” I joked.
    “Not funny.”
    “Tough audience.” When
he didn’t smile, I went on, “Anyway, it’s a little late to worry
about it at this stage. Getting back to the original question,
then, I’m thinking the answer is, don’t mention it to the good guys
unless necessary, and lie to the bad guys. Does anybody else know
where you live?”
    He kept his eyes on
the road. “You. Arnie. My dad.”
    Wow, short list. He
and Arnie had been friends all their lives. His dad, well, duh. Me?
I pondered that for a second before deciding I probably fell into
the category of team member, need-to-know. I changed the subject.
“Your dad’s still living?”
    He grinned. “Old drill
sergeants never die.”
    “You’re lucky.”
    “I know.”
    When we pulled up at
the hotel, I sighed at the shoes and stockings. “I should never
have taken these off.” I squirmed around in the slippery leather
seat, pulling the stockings back on. The skirt slithered
lasciviously around my thighs.
    In my peripheral
vision, I caught Kane eyeing my legs. I figured the chances of
getting any action with him tonight were slim to none, but that
didn’t seem to discourage my body any.
    What the hell. Acting
oblivious, I let the skirt slide up a little farther while I
finished putting on my shoes. I picked up my purse and was reaching
for the door handle when his hand closed around mine.
    “Wait.”
    I took stock of his
half-smile in the dimness, feeling hopeful. “What?”
    He gently slipped the
rings off my finger and dropped them into his pocket. “We weren’t
wearing these when we left the hotel.”
    I gave him a
half-smile of my own. “Details.”
    He nodded. “I’ll come
around and get the door for you.” He got out, and I yanked the
skirt down one more time while I waited.
    I managed a relatively
graceful exit from the car. There wasn’t much of an audience at
two-thirty in the morning, but if Kane thought it was