Jihad

CHAPTER 49

Lia followed Asad off the ferry, staying close until he got into a taxi near the pier. The taxi was a new development, but it was apparently just a part of Asad’s precautions; it took him only a mile away where a new vehicle was waiting. From there, he was driven to a house on the eastern end of town where he hadn’t stayed before. She set up a surveillance net, working with Dean but never close enough to see him, before retreating.

When the Art Room decided that Asad was staying in for the night, Lia arranged to meet Charlie in a restaurant nearby, ostensibly to divvy up the overnight duties, though really just because she wanted to see him.

What bothered her even more than finding Terry Pinchon alive was finding that she still felt something for him — that there was emotion there, a real attraction she couldn’t deny. It scared her, not just because it cut against any logic — clearly he didn’t care for her, clearly he was a jerk, clearly any attraction was a mistake, no more than skin deep — but because it made her unsure what she felt for Dean.

“You’re a little late,” said Dean when she found him inside the restaurant.

“Sorry.”

“You okay?”

“Of course I’m okay.”

Dean gave her one of his looks, then turned to the waiter and ordered a bottle of spring water.

“Art Room claims he’s in for the night,” said Dean when the man left. “Which one of us is going to sleep first?”

“You,” she said automatically. Then she regretted it — she wished she’d said they should sleep together. Not that they would have — they had to stay focused on the mission — but she wanted to let him know that she wanted to.

“Fine. You hungry?”

“No.” Out of synch now, she felt an urge to get away. She had to — she had to refocus herself, concentrate on the job, not her emotions. “I have to check on the team trailing the Saudis. They’re at a hotel on the Asian side. I’ll check on them and then turn in.”

“Is Pinchon on the team?”

“Does it matter?”

The words came out too quickly for her to take back. Dean raised his eyebrow, but said nothing.

“I’ll wake you up with a kiss,” she said. Her voice sounded phony in her ears, and she left before he could say anything.