"Shelby. Don't ever leave the apartment when I'm gone."
"What if something happens to you?"
"It won't."
Shelby heard the confidence in Kris voice and wished she could be so sure. "I hope you're right. I would still appreciate you letting me know next time you decide to take your time."
Kris nodded. "Okay." She was still having trouble coming to grips with the fact that Shelby genuinely cared about her. When she allowed herself to explore the feeling, it felt really good and warm, and she wanted to embrace it even as she backed away.
Shelby turned around and met Kris' gaze. "What's really going on? I know something is. I can feel it." When the operative remained silent, Shelby sighed. "I wish you would trust me."
"It's not about that. There are things about me that it's better for you not to know."
"How can you be so sure? Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" She walked over to the couch, waiting for Kris to join her.
She had spent the last two hours reflecting on her feelings for Kris and becoming almost frantic with worry. No longer willing to ignore the tentative connection between them, Shelby threw caution to the wind and spoke from her heart.
"I haven't known you very long, but you've become very important to me. I don't know why, and it doesn't make sense, but you have. Nothing you can say will change that. I know you'll be gone in a week, but at least let me in until you leave. Then you can walk out the door and forget you ever met me."
A myriad of emotions crossed Kris' face as she looked deeply into the warm green eyes. She shook her head. "I can't."
Shelby looked down, hurt. She knew Kris cared, but obviously not enough to trust her.
Kris reached over and squeezed Shelby's hand. "I could never forget you."
When Kris released her hand, Shelby grasped it in her own, not wanting to relinquish the contact. "Do you trust me?"
"More than I've ever trusted anyone."
"Then, please, Kris? Share with me."
The operative gazed into the concerned face of her companion and deliberately ignored the cold, logical warnings sounding in her mind. What could it hurt to share the bare minimums? The analyst already knew she had some personal business she'd been attending to. "I'll tell you what I can, but I can't tell you everything. Deal?"
Shelby nodded, and Kris continued. "Tonight I had to the meet the man who's been having me followed. That's why I was gone so long. I needed to be out there before he arrived to circumvent any unpleasant surprises he might have had planned. He made a couple of mistakes. That's all the help I needed."
"Will he leave you alone now?"
Kris sighed inwardly. "He won't have anyone follow us again and he had nothing to do with the shooting, but I already knew that."
"But it's not over, is it?"
Knowing it wasn't safe to divulge any more information, Kris said, "It will be, soon." One way or another.
"You can't tell me what's going on?"
"No. It's a personal matter that I have to deal with."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Kris thought about the time she'd spent with Shelby and how, when she was in her company, her problems faded into the background. She thought about the shared laughter, sometimes at television shows and sometimes just plain silliness. She thought about how Shelby always put her first even as she tried to do the same with her. "You already are."
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.