Shelby produced a good facsimile of Kris' glare. "Did I ever mention that I hate cryptic answers?"

Chuckling, Kris said, "Okay. I'll try to keep them to a minimum." Her hand was still firmly held by Shelby's smaller one, and she no longer felt the need to break the contact, allowing herself to relax and enjoy it until her companion chose to relinquish her hold.

"Do you like your job?"

Kris glanced at Shelby, carefully choosing her words. "I like working on my own, being my own, boss, yes."

"What about the rest? Always living in the field, and always being on guard all the time. And um...?"

"You want to know if I like killing people?"

"Well, no...I mean, I don't think you would..."

"No, Shelby. I don't. I hate it. I have to put my mind in a special place to do it. But someone has to do it."

"Why do you do it, then?"

"Because I have to."

"No you don't. You could request out of wet ops."

"No, I can't." Yet.

About to dispute that further, Shelby looked at the strained look on her companion's face, then closed her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was push Kris away when she'd finally opened up a little.

"You look tired. Why don't you sleep in my bed? You looked so uncomfortable this morning all squashed on the couch."

Kris shook her head and smiled. "Thanks for offering again, but I can't protect you from in there."

Shelby considered that irrefutable logic, then smiled shyly. "You could if we shared the bed. There's plenty of room, and you'd be a lot more comfortable." Before Kris could offer any protest, she hurried on. "And if you're more comfortable, you'll sleep better. And if you sleep better, you'll be more rested and alert so you can protect me even better."

No, no, no. Well, actually, I'd love to share your bed with you. "I'm going to be up and down a lot tonight. I want to make sure my visitors don't return. It'll be better for me to sleep on the couch." Well...maybe not better, but a lot less tempting.

"Okay." Shelby intended to extend the invitation the following night, though. It made no sense for Kris to be so uncomfortable, and she'd feel a lot better with the tall woman right next to her. A lot better in what way? She smiled inwardly. Both.



*  *  *

Gregor returned to the embassy and after sending word of his arrival, waited for Dimitri to summon him. The call came and he left his quarters en route to his superior's office.

"Comrade."

"Well?"

Gregor hand over the small piece of paper, preparing for the explosion that was sure to come.

"This is it!"

"Yes, but she will provide more on Monday."

Dimitri narrowed his eyes. "See that she does. You're dismissed."

"Comrade Petrov."

"What is it?"

"I would like to recommend elimination once we get the remainder of the names." Gregor actually planned on getting a little more from her than just the names, but his superior didn't need to know that yet.

Dimitri looked at his subordinate shrewdly. He knew something had precipitated this request and speculated that Gregor had been outwitted. Considering whom he'd gone up against, it wasn't surprising. "Why?"

"She is insane, and unpredictable. She doesn't follow orders. She mocks us by providing such a short list of names. She shows no loyalty. She's..."

"Enough! Do you have specific examples of the malfeasance you mention?" Dimitri smiled coldly. "Well?"

Gregor had no intentions of incriminating himself. "No, Comrade."

"I didn't think so. You're dismissed." Dimitri smiled inwardly. Gregor was right. She was dangerous, but he still had a use for her.

When the door closed, he encrypted the three names, adding a personal request at the bottom of the list. Dimitri assigned it the highest priority, before sending it to his superiors in Moscow. He expected to hear something within 48 hours if not sooner. Then he would decide if he needed to get personally involved in handling Natasha Lubinyenka.


CHAPTER 11

SHELBY WATCHED KRIS, something she never tired of doing, as her companion drove them toward her mother's house in Arlington. She found her beauty simply breathtaking and the energy that rolled off the operative in waves, tantalizing. When she was with Kris, nothing else mattered.

Kris glanced at her unusually silent companion. "You're awfully quiet. What're you thinking about?"

You. "Just about how nice this weekend has been."

Kris shot a quick smile at Shelby. "Yeah, it has been." And it had, with the exception of her unpleasant meeting with Gregor. Today they hadn't even had a tail to shake.

"I think you're gonna like Jimmy and Jason. Don't be surprised at anything they ask you, though. Mom probably told them I was bringing a spy to dinner."

"You are kidding?"

"Nope. She thinks everyone who works for the Company is a spy. She's not very thrilled about where I work."

"How come?"

"She thinks it's too dangerous. I've told her it's not. That was pretty much true, until lately." Shelby grinned ruefully. "I'm glad I don't have to explain away the stuff that's happened the past week."

Kris said vehemently, "It'll be over soon. That I can promise you."

Shelby looked at Kris, concerned. "Hey, it's not your fault."

I wish I were absolutely positive of that.

"There it is. It's the house right past the stop sign with the black Tempo in the driveway."

Kris pulled into the driveway of a white ranch style house with green shutters. She rounded the car, waited for Shelby to get out and accompanied her to the side door.

She positioned herself slightly to the rear as Shelby knocked on the door, opened it and walked in. A woman of medium stature resembling the picture Kris had examined approached them with a strained smile on her face.

"Hi, Mom. This is Kris." Shelby glanced at Kris. "This is my mother, Lisa."

Lisa looked at the tall woman standing in her doorway, casually dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt that seemed custom made to fit her body. She was beautiful, but Lisa found herself taken aback by the woman's commanding presence and the intense blue eyes that met hers unwaveringly. So this is the woman. "Nice to meet you, Kris."

She then hugged her daughter tightly for several moments before finally releasing her. She ignored the puzzled look Shelby gave her, and said, "Why don't you both go into the living room. I'll get you something to drink."

Shelby smiled. "I'll get our drinks, Mom." Turning to Kris, she asked, "Coffee or Coke?"

"Coffee."

Shelby got two mugs from the cupboard and filled the two cups from the coffeemaker sitting on the counter. She handed one to Kris and led her companion into the living room.

Lisa watched them walk into the living room, anger and concern warring for control of her emotions.

"Shelby!!" Jimmy jumped up and hugged his older sister.

Jason watched the show of affection with amusement. "Hey, sis." His attention turned to the tall woman. "Are you a spy, too?"

Shelby started laughing. "Jason, how many times do I have to tell you I am not a spy?"

"I know. I know." He looked at Kris, curiously. "Are you?"

Kris quirked a half-smile and decided to play along. "I'm a field operative."

Jimmy piped up, "What do you do?"

"Whatever they need me to do." Kris grinned when Jimmy rolled his eyes.

Shelby said, "Hey, you two! Where are your manners?"

Jason and Jimmy both stood up, towering over Shelby. Jason was the taller of the two, and both had unruly dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Jimmy had a smattering of freckles across his nose and Jason a more mature face, but except for those small distinctions, they could have been twins.

Jason extended his hand, "Hi, I'm Jason."

Kris took the proffered hand gravely. "Kris." She repeated the exercise with Jimmy, then joined Shelby on the couch. Glancing at the baseball game playing on the television, she asked, "Who's playing?"

"Baltimore and Cleveland."

Kris winked at Shelby and engaged the teenagers in a lively conversation about baseball.

Lisa waited a few minutes to allow Shelby to greet her brothers before making her way to the living room doorway. "Shelby, could you help me for a few minutes?"

"Sure." Looking at her half-brothers, Shelby said, "Hey, come on you guys. Give Kris a break, would ya?"

Trailing her mother into the kitchen, Shelby watched as she closed the door. Her brow furrowed. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I want to talk to you privately. Jonathan was over here earlier." Lisa raised a hand and said, "Wait a minute. Let me finish. Then you can go off, if you still think it's necessary. Those are his sons. He has every right to visit them. He said he stayed away while he was on probation because he realized how wrong he'd been for all those years and wanted to find some way to make it up to us."

"Yeah, right, Mom. And how many times did he tell you that while you were married to him? A hundred? A thousand?"

"People change. I think he deserves another chance." When Shelby did not respond, she continued justifying her feelings. "The boys really missed him. They were so happy to see him." She looked at her daughter's disbelieving face, and mumbled, "He wants to see you, too."

Finally exploding, Shelby said, "It'll be a cold day in hell before I let that bastard near me!"