Deliver Us From Evil

74

AFTER FALLING deeply asleep they rose late the next morning and showered together, taking turns soaping the other. Five minutes into it they had sex again while the hot water poured over them. Later, Reggie dressed and sat on the bed next to Shaw, who wore only a robe.

“So where does all this leave us?” she asked, her gaze searching his face.

“I’m not sure. We still haven’t resolved Kuchin. And you still haven’t told me enough to help you.”

“I was talking about the sex, actually.”

He looked at her, a bit perplexed.

“I guess it’s a girl thing to want to know about that. I suppose you blokes just take it at face value.”

“It was terrific, but I still need to understand your operation.”

“Very sensitive of you. But if I tell you, you have to tell others. I can’t let that happen.”

“And the trust thing?”

“Like I said, I don’t trust easily.”

“Neither do I. But I think I trust you.”

“Think?”

“Well, I’m apparently further along the trust road than you are.”

“So you believe Kuchin will come after us and that we might have a mole in our midst?”

“Even if you don’t have a traitor he can still come after you.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Our cover was excellent.”

“You don’t know how good your cover is because it hasn’t been tested yet. And this guy will test it. And you didn’t leave the area clean. You had to rush. Things might’ve gotten left behind. People might’ve heard or seen something. Now he’s out there planning how to get to you. He’s doing it 24/7.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because it’s what I would be doing.”

“Comforting to know that you and he think alike. And he’ll be coming after you too.”

“Right. So we work together. Then maybe we get the guy before he gets us.”

“Your shop isn’t interested anymore. Are you saying you’ll go outside your people to make this happen?”

“If necessary, yes.”

“That Frank guy didn’t seem the lenient or understanding type to me.”

“He’s not.”

“Then why do it at all?”

“Because I don’t want to keep looking over my shoulder for this guy.”

Reggie looked at him questioningly. “Only reason?”

“Let’s just take it one step at a time.”

“But you think someone on my side was prepared to kill you. How is that going to play out? I’m not going to help you take your revenge against my colleagues.”

“Even if they were going to kill me?”

“Like you said, let’s take it one step at a time,” she said coolly.

“Harrowsfield.”

“What about it?”

“Take me there.”

Reggie looked startled. “What?”

“Take me there.”

“Have you gone mental? You want me to waltz right in and say, ‘Hello, everyone, here’s Shaw. I don’t know really who the hell he is, but let’s all have a spot of tea and play nice’?”

“I’ll leave the explanation up to you.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious.”

“And what if I refuse?”

“Then I make a phone call and it’s out of my hands. All of you go down.”

She slowly stood and glared down at him. “You’d really do that to me? After what just happened on this bed? And in that damn shower?”

“First rule in the line of work we loosely call a job? Personal gets checked at the door. Only amateurs forget that rule, or maybe they never understood it in the first place.”

“So you just banged me for the hell of it? And then dropped this threat on me? You bastard.” She moved to slap him, but he caught her hand.

“What you don’t seem to get, Reggie, is that I’m putting my life entirely on the line to help you. The odds are much greater he’ll get to you and your people first. I’m offering to do all I can to stop him. But in order to do that you have to trust me. What happened between us in this room I don’t take lightly. If that explanation isn’t good enough for you, then go ahead and hit me. But make it as hard as you can. It’ll be the only shot you get.”

He let go of her hand and waited.

They stared eye to eye in silence for several long seconds.

Finally, Reggie said, “Get dressed. I need to go to my place to change clothes. And you’re going to at least feed me a proper English breakfast before I go down in flames at bloody Harrowsfield.”