But she had heard her mother softly crying every night that week and she didn't want to go. She didn't want to be gifted. She wanted to be normal and live with her mother and her cat, Sasha.

Tears rolled down her face. "I don't want to leave, Mama. Please don't make me."

Her mother hugged her. "I will write you a letter every day. And you get to come home for every holiday. I'll make your favorite dishes and invite all of our friends."

"What will happen to Sasha?"

"Don't you worry about Sasha. I'll take good care of her."

She watched out the window as the man walked up to their door and knocked.

"Mama, please don't open the door. I don't want to go."

"Natasha, it will be all right." She opened the door.

He walked in and asked, "Is this Natasha Lubinyenka?"

"Yes, this is my daughter."

She saw a tear in her mother's eye and glared at the man. "I am not going."

He laughed at her and tried to grab her arm. She jumped back. "My mother needs me to help her. I am staying."

His smile faded, and he suddenly had a grip on her arm. "You will learn obedience at the institute."

His hand was steadily squeezing her arm tighter and tighter. She cried out, "Mama, he's hurting me."

"Let go of her. She will walk to the car with you."

The stranger had hit her mother so hard, she stumbled back against the table. Then he half carried and half dragged her from the house. Her mother came running after them, begging the man to quit hurting her.

She had finally been able to grab hold of her mother and she hung on for dear life. As she watched in horror, the man brutally punched her mother in the stomach and shoved her into the car. The last thing she saw as they drove away was her mother lying crumpled on the ground.


CHAPTER 8

GREGOR CLOSED THE file one of his sources had provided on Shelby Carson and sat back in his chair, mentally reviewing the contents.

Shelby's father died when she was a toddler and her mother, Lisa, and stepfather, Jonathan Whiteman had reared her. While little information had been gathered on her biological father, there was a thick dossier on Whiteman, who had recently completed three years of parole after being convicted of domestic violence. Shelby's only sister had married and moved to Seattle and two teenage half brothers lived with her mother in Arlington.

She had done well in college, graduating with a 3.7 grade point average, and had worked for two years as a computer analyst while concurrently obtaining a Master's degree in Psychology, before joining the CIA. It was after she joined the Agency that the file got interesting.

Her rise to top-level analyst had been nothing short of meteoric in the brief time she had been there. With her promotion had come the awarding of the highest security clearance the Agency granted, and the background search that usually took nine months to a year had been expedited and completed in only four months.

A slow smile warmed Gregor's face. He picked up the phone and began dialing.



*  *  *

Sitting on one end of the couch after changing out of her work clothes, Kris tucked up a leg and shifted to face Shelby. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "So, why the sudden interest in my wearing sunglasses?"

Shelby thought she'd gotten away with not offering an explanation. Kris had been usually quiet since her return from lunch and had rebuffed her questions with noncommittal answers. Wanting to lighten the atmosphere, she quipped, "I already told you. They look good on you."

She smiled, but her eyes remained serious and she sighed in the wake of Kris' unwavering gaze. "There's a rumor going around that one of the operatives on our list is at headquarters."

"And...?"

"I don't know if they're talking about you, but I suspect they have no idea what the operative looks like, so just in case, I thought you should be more disguised."

Inwardly roiling, Kris took a deep breath. "Shelby. Who is the operative?"

"Blue."

"And you think that's who I am?"

Grinning, Shelby countered, "I don't know that it's not."

The corner of Kris' mouth turned up. She was trying to protect me. Why should she care? "Thanks for looking out for me."

Shelby smiled shyly and looked away. "You're welcome."

Kris searched for something light to say. She was usually adept at casual conversation when necessary, but Shelby's concern had touched her and she was still trying to come to grips with that.

"Do you see your aunt and uncle very often?"

Kris glanced at Shelby, surprised at the question. "No. You could say we're estranged."

"Oh."

The operative was curious about Shelby's family, and wanted the focus of the conversation off her own past, but understood that if she expected the analyst to be open with her, she had to be forthcoming as well. "What's your family like?"

"Pretty average, I guess. My sister Ann lives in Seattle, and my half brothers, Jimmy and Jason live with my mother in Arlington. What about you? Do you have any sisters or brothers?"

Well, that was certainly the short version. "No. I'm an only child. Remember I told you my aunt and uncle raised me?" Shelby nodded and Kris continued. "My father was in the Army and died on a training mission when I was a baby. I don't even remember him. Mom was killed by a car when I was ten."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

Kris shrugged. "It's okay. It was a long time ago."

"Did your aunt and uncle have any kids?" Shelby was pleased that Kris was finally sharing.

"No."

"That must have been really hard for you. I'm glad I had a sister to grow up with. My two half brothers are pretty good kids, but there's almost ten years between us, so I was more of a babysitter to them than anything else."

Kris stood up and walked over to a picture on top of one of the bookshelves, inclining her head towards it. The picture was of an attractive woman in her forties with golden brown, shoulder length hair who was smiling at the camera, but Kris sensed the smile was forced. "Is this your mom?"

Joining her, Shelby said, "Yeah. She had it taken last year. My sister and I have been asking her for an up to date picture for a while, so it was her Christmas present to us."

"Your mom's an attractive woman."

"I think so, too, but then I'm probably a little prejudiced."

Kris inclined her head to one side and studied Shelby. "You have her nose."

"Well now, that's different. I've been told I resemble her."

The operative looked at the picture again. While there was a family resemblance, she was put off by the woman in the picture. Kris was sure Shelby's mom did not possess the same pleasant, sunny personality her daughter did. "A little. You're better looking, though."

Shelby could feel her cheeks warm and chuckled to cover her reaction to the compliment. "Thanks, but don't ever let her hear you say so."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. I'll be gone in a week or so."

The younger woman smiled sadly at the flippant comment. "I bet you'll be glad. No more sitting at a desk, looking at a monitor all day long."

Kris suddenly realized how her comment had sounded. "I'll be glad because I don't like being cooped up in an office." And because I need to get away from the constant scrutiny and surveillance I'm under. "I'll miss working with you, though." What in the hell am I doing?

When the two women sat back down on the couch, Stormy jumped between them, meowing plaintively, and both women automatically reached out to pet her. Kris pulled her hand back when her stroke landed on Shelby's hand rather than the kitten.

Laughing, Shelby said, "I guess we both had the same idea. Talk about a greedy kitten. Notice how she got right in the middle of us. Nothing stupid about this one."

"I hear you." Kris' attention was actually focused on how soft Shelby's hand had felt beneath her fingertips and, as her imagination became more suggestive, she suddenly stood up.

"What's wrong?"

"Um. Nothing. Just stretching my legs. Is there a public gym around here anywhere?"

"I have a membership at Theresa's Fitness Center."

"Want to go?" Kris was starting to feel very caged, and she knew it was time to find a physical outlet to control her excess energy and urges. She would've preferred running in the neighborhood, but couldn't guarantee Shelby's safety on the streets.

"Sure." Shelby was more than ready to do something normal. "Let me get my things together."

Kris quickly changed into a pair of silky, dark blue jogging shorts and a matching tank top. After attaching a miniature cellular phone to the waistband, and concealing her gun within the folds of a sweatshirt she was carrying, Kris went downstairs to check the area.

Returning a short time later, she walked into the apartment and looked at Shelby appreciatively. Her companion was wearing a stylishly cut teal workout suit, with close fitting leggings emphasizing shapely legs and a white form-fitting top offset by a lightweight teal vest trimmed in black. "You look very nice. Ready?"

Shelby's could feel her cheeks warm, but the tingling feeling she was experiencing under the intensity of Kris' admiring gaze overshadowed that reaction. When she finally found her voice, she nodded and said, "You look pretty good yourself."