“Right, I just…” He shook his head. “I haven’t because I think you’re the most focused agent I’ve ever worked with. And doing a damned good job.”
“I think that’s a compliment.”
“It can be good and bad. Never mind. Just be alert. How was your dinner with Desmet tonight? You watch your back with that slimy bastard. He’d cut your throat and not turn a hair.”
Lauren nodded. “I agree, but I’ve learned how to handle him over time.”
She hoped.
“Just be on your toes, please. You’ve done a great job for us and I’d hate to see anything happen to you.”
Lauren grinned. “Aw. You like me,” she teased. “You really like me.”
“Don’t joke, Lauren.” Craig’s tone was dead serious. “I told your boss we needed to wrap this up. Stefan Maes trusts no one, except maybe Desmet. He’s been known to set traps for people—both real and electronic—just to set his mind at ease that nothing wonky is happening. I want you out before he decides you’re next up.”
“I am being very, very careful,” she assured him. “Believe me, I don’t want to be the object of his wrath.”
She didn’t want to tell him she’d been feeling uneasy lately. That she looked constantly to be sure no one was following her or checking her computer work. If she did, he would pull her out right now. Maybe he should, but there was that little tidbit Desmet had dangled in front of her tonight. It could be the final nail in Maes’s coffin.
Still she couldn’t help sliding glances toward the door, checking people who entered.
“Just don’t forget where that asshole came from.” Craig growled. “He’s a soulless bastard.”
“We still have eyes on Adrian McCormack, you know.” Craig shook his head. “He’s a loose cannon and I don’t trust him.”
McCormack was the account specialist whose firm had previously handled everything for Maes. Until Lauren became the shiny new penny at Heath Financial, got close to Valentin Desmet, and swiped the account from under McCormack’s nose. He continued to badmouth her, even after all this time.
“He can’t still be on a tear over what happened.” She frowned. “I thought he got over the whole thing. As he loves to say, it’s just business.”
Craig shook his head. “You grabbed a major account from him. From his firm. You think they would ever forget something like this? Or let him forget it? He’s been doing his best to find out whatever he can about you. I worry that he’ll somehow manage to turn up something and take it to Maes to expose you.”
“Expose me how? He doesn’t know a damn thing about me.” She scowled. “Right? My cover is still in place? Isn’t it?”
God! Was he trying to tell her something?
“Of course. But you and I both know if someone pays enough money to the right people, no information is sacred.”
“Wait. Are you saying there’s a leak somewhere?” Butterflies began dancing the tarantella in her stomach. Damn! She’d been warned from the very first day there was always a remote possibility her cover might be blown, but she had been assured ten times over the percentage of that happening was very small.
Craig shook his head. “No. I’m not saying that. But I am telling you there’s always that possibility. If McCormack is bitter enough, if his life has been destroyed enough, there’s always the chance he’ll find a way to make this whole thing blow up.”
“The escape plan is still in place, right?”
He nodded. “We can activate with one phone call. I promise you that. Your safety is a primary goal.”
She blew out a breath. “Good. I know, but it helps to hear you say it.”
“We don’t want anything to happen to you,” he assured her. “Like I said, I just have a funny feeling.” He studied her face. “I expect you took the usual precautions getting here tonight?”
“I did. Just like always.”
“Good.” He leaned toward her. “Tell me about tonight’s dinner with Desmet.”
She told him about her dinner and what the man had said about next week.
“I’ve a feeling about this, Craig.” She couldn’t keep the edge of excitement from her voice. “This might be information that leads me to other men he did business with. He’s been scrupulous about not leaving any trail, even in his secret accounts.”
“If that’s so, you need to be doubly careful,” he cautioned. “Especially with McCormack out there.”
“I hear you.”
“And if we don’t get these men this time, Lauren, the CIA will keep trying. But Maes is the big fish they want.”
She nodded. “Let me just see what Desmet hands me next week and how I can use it. Then, if you still have this feeling, we can roll it up.”
She’d spent months in place establishing herself, to reach a point where people stopped checking everything she did. It had taken a while, but at last she felt comfortable using the program Craig had given her. It blocked her digital fingerprint on the mainframe at Heath Financial, so no one could track what she was doing. She might have an itchy feeling, but after all her hard work and living on the edge for three years, she didn’t want to quit before the end. She was determined to get every last scrap of information she could before leaving Lauren Masters behind.
“All right. What else?”
She fished a thumb drive from a hidden pocket in her jacket sleeve. Craig’s hand covered hers on the table, and that quick, he had it and stashed it away.
“Not much, but every little bit helps, right? I hope whatever I find out next week closes the books on Maes.”
“And good riddance,” Craig said. “The man’s a blight on the world.”
“Amen to that.”
They sipped a bit from their drinks, always scanning the pub to see who might be suspect. Lauren had learned by now what signs to look for.
Craig checked his watch. “We need to wrap this up. You have the other phone I gave you?”
“I do.” She patted her pocket. “Always carry it with me.”
“Good.”
At their first meeting, he’d given her two burner phones. One was used to set up their meetings as well as for any conversation they needed to have between those meetings. The other only had one number programmed into it. His. If she ever had a real emergency, if her work was discovered and a trap set, all she had to do was press one button. Conversely, if he ever called her on that phone it meant the operation was shut down, and she was to get the hell out of Dodge to the prearranged meeting place for extraction.
“Okay.”
