Shelby smiled. "Thanks."
At 10:30, Kris rose from where she'd joined Shelby in front of the TV. "I'm going outside for a few minutes. I'll be right back."
"How come? I thought Earl said he was going have a couple agents on surveillance outside for the rest of tonight."
"They are. I'm just gonna go check on them and make sure they're doing their job."
Shelby grinned. "Don't scare them off, okay?"
Kris chuckled. "Would I do something like that?" She was amused by Shelby's insight and chuckled when an emphatic, "Yes," followed her out the door.
When the phone rang, Shelby debated not answering it. Because Kim was out of town on a business trip, she knew it was probably her mother wanting to know about dinner.
"Hi, dear. It's Mom. Are you coming over Sunday?"
"I'd love to, but I really can't this weekend."
Disbelief colored Lisa's tone. "Why not?"
"Remember I told you I'm working overtime on a case right now." Well, that's not really a lie. I am tied up because of the case.
"No one works 24 hours a day, Shelby. I'm sure you can fit a couple of hours for your family into your busy schedule."
Shelby inwardly sighed at the harsh voice. "Look, Mom. I'm working with someone who just transferred in, and she is staying here until the case is over. You yourself taught me how rude it is to ignore company."
Lisa couldn't argue that point and, suddenly curious about the spies she was sure her daughter worked with, said, "Bring her along."
"I can ask her, but I really don't think she would be comfortable in a house full of strangers."
"Well, ask her anyway. Tell her I am making my special fried chicken."
"Okay, I'll ask her, but don't count on it."
"You could try being a little more positive, dear. I'm sure you could convince her to come if you really wanted to. Bye bye."
Shelby refrained from slamming the phone down. Her mother never failed to get in a dig of some kind, and she'd done it again. She knew her mother was unhappy with her because she had been steadily decreasing the frequency of her visits.
She had hoped by doing that, her mother might get a hint and figure out that her constant criticism and complaining wasn't appreciated. So far it hadn't worked, and Shelby wondered if her mother even realized that she was doing it. Maybe she should be more direct and talk with her about it.
She stifled a chuckle as she thought about asking Kris if she would mind accompanying her to dinner at her mother's house. Now that she knew who she was, it seemed even more unlikely that the operative would accept. I'm not being fair. She's still a woman, just like I am, and has feelings, too. She has no real family. When's the last time she got invited to someone's house for dinner. Shelby snorted. Let's be realistic here. With her looks, she probably gets invitations all the time. But does she go? Mom can be great when she isn't in her whiny, critical mode. I think Kris would really like Jimmy and Jason. Maybe I will mention it and see what her reaction is.
Kris returned a short time later, and the two women retired for the night soon thereafter. Shelby had expected to be too wired to sleep, but quickly entered the dreamscape.
The operative stayed awake a little longer, her thoughts focused on one Jonathan Whiteman. She finally fell asleep after vowing to learn his whereabouts and find out just what he'd been doing for the past few years.
Blue was off the couch, gun in hand, before she was even sure what had awakened her. She was running toward Shelby's room as the sounds of a faint struggle consciously registered, and she entered the room in a crouch, presenting the smallest possible target.
Her heart slowed when she realized the room was empty except for Shelby, who appeared to be in the throes of a nightmare. She was still asleep, but her bedcovers were tangled and twisted as though she'd been battling demons, and Kris realized she probably had been. She silently cursed herself for asking the younger woman to recall the horrors of her childhood.
She quickly approached the bed, laid her gun on the nightstand, and knelt beside the bed. "Shelby. It's okay. Wake up."
"No!" Shelby thrashed, fighting the bedcovers, and when Kris laid a hand on her shoulder trying to wake her, she jerked away, the nightlight illuminating tears on her face.
Kris wrapped her arms around Shelby, moved onto the edge of the bed, and lifted the smaller woman into a half sitting position, tucking her firmly against her own body. "Shelby, wake up. You're safe. I've got you."
As Shelby started to calm in her arms, she continued her quiet assurances. "It's okay. You're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you."
Jonathan's enraged face began fading as Shelby drifted toward consciousness, her fear replaced by a strong feeling of comfort and safety. Her eyes fluttered open and she realized Kris was sitting on the bed gently rocking her back and forth.
Kris looked into the puzzled emerald eyes gazing at up at her. "You were having a nightmare."
Shelby nodded. "I haven't had one of those for years. Thanks for waking me up."
"It's the least I could do. I'm sorry, Shelby. I had no business asking you what I did today."
"It's not your fault. I think with everything that has been happening, my defenses were down."
Kris released Shelby. "You should get some sleep."
Shelby grasped her arm. "Wait. Would you stay in here? Just for a little while. I know I'm just being a baby, but please?"
"Sure." Kris thought of her own all too frequent nightmares. "You're not being a baby. Nightmares are hell."
Kris sat on the bed next to Shelby until the faint light of dawn appeared in the sky, ready to vanquish her demons should they reappear. Then she silently moved back to the couch in the living room, lying down to catch a quick hour of sleep.
Shelby sat at her desk the next morning and decided to broach the subject of her mother's invitation. "Hey, Kris." When the operative looked at her, she asked, "My mother invited us to dinner Sunday. Want to go?"
Even though she hadn't met Shelby's mother, she already strongly disliked her. In her mind, any mother who allowed her children to be abused should be severely castigated right along with the actual abuser. Kris raised an eyebrow until it disappeared behind a thick covering of bangs. "Us?"
"Yeah. I told her you had transferred in to work on a case with me and were staying at my house. I figured she'd just forget about dinner until after you left. Wrong. I think she's curious about who I work with."
Kris nodded. "Okay." It would be interesting to meet Shelby's mother. She also knew her options would have been limited if the analyst had insisted on going, and was glad that she'd been given a choice.
Shelby smiled broadly. "Oh good! Thanks!"
Kris grinned at Shelby's enthusiasm and turned back to her monitor, just biding her time until lunch. She wanted to meet with her contact immediately, but had no means to relay a message except through one of the drops. The quickest way, short of using the telephone number she'd gotten from Markov, would be using the emergency drop in Georgetown and leaving her cell phone number.
Her priority right now was to get the Russians to quit following her. The chance to deal with Sergei AKA Dimitri would come soon enough. She also wanted to eliminate the slight possibility that Markov had acted independently of his superiors and shot at them, but that didn't feel right. She was convinced someone else was targeting Shelby.
Kris thought about her meeting with Earl that morning. They had found the bullet, but it was unrecognizable when they finished digging it out of the blacktop. It would take a couple of days for their lab to determine what type of weapon it was fired from. She and Earl had jointly decided not to continue the additional surveillance because of the lack of CIA jurisdiction domestically. Kris had been secretly relieved, because she had no choice but to set up a meeting with her contact on the apartment grounds. Her only other option, one that she refused to entertain, would have been to leave Shelby alone.