Chapter 1
John paused for the briefest of seconds before turning around to face the person behind him.
"Wow John, you look like you've seen a ghost." A smile played across the features of the beautiful dark-haired woman in front of him.
Trying to regain his composure, John spoke quietly. "Well, I suppose I have, though why I'm surprised to see you Kara, is another matter."
"It's been a long time John."
"Not long enough." He spoke harshly. "What is it you want Kara? And make it quick, I have better things to do with my time."
"Oh, you're not still mad at me are you, John?" She said in a teasing tone.
"The point Kara? In one minute or less?"
Stanton pouted at him but finally answered his question. "I'd been following Snow for the past month." Her voice took on a hard edge. "I owe Mark one and I was getting ready to collect when I realized the poor sot he was following this time was you. You can imagine my surprise and delight I might say, to find you alive and well."
"Cut the crap Kara. . ?" His voice rose on the last sentence and Kara looked nervously around to see who was observing them. She noticed the cashier upfront looked like she was growing ears as she tried to overhear what they were saying.
"Keep your voice down!" She hissed. "I'm here because Snow is not far behind me and he's hot on your trail. He has a whole team out scouring the next town over and it's only a matter of time before they find you."
"So you're telling me you are here, out of the goodness of your heart, to warn me that Mark is looking for me? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe but thanks for the warning, now you can go and I don't want to see you around here ever again." John kept his cool but inside he was calculating just how much time he had to get himself and Elise out of here before Snow showed up.
"Well, actually John, I thought you and I might work together and take Snow out so that he won't bother you or that lady friend I saw you with the other day, ever again. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your light-o-love now would you?"
John's blood ran cold. Kara knew about Elise! Just how much, he'd have to find out. He didn't realize it, but his eye took on that cold, shuttered look. He could feel the beast inside him rattle its chains. There was no way he'd let anything or anyone endanger Elise again. If it meant taking out Kara, Snow or the entire team he'd sent, John would do it and not look back.
"What would you know about it Kara? I was your partner for four years remember? I know what you consider a companionship."
Stanton smiled a little rueful, twist of a smile and said, "You wound me John! But it doesn't matter what I think, if Snow had seen what I had seen, he'd take your little, delicate woman out in a second to lure you in. So, how about it? Are you in?"
Damn it! Just what had Kara seen? If she thought that Elise was delicate, she couldn't have seen them working together and he wasn't about to disabuse her of the notion that Elise was some poor helpless girlfriend of his.
"Alright, I'll help you take him out." He spoke angrily. "But just so we're clear here, I don't trust you any more than I trust him and after this is done, I don't want you to ever darken my door again. Understand?"
"Geez John, you're so touchy these days! You know I AM sorry I shot you. I was just following orders."
"Yeah well, I guess it's a good thing for you that I didn't."
"Alright already!" She spoke with a bit of heat of her own. "I said I'm sorry. Now let's get outta here. This small town has been giving me the creeps with all these prying eyes and ears." She nodded up front.
"One second. I have a call to make. You can wait…." He stopped as he patted down his pockets and found his phone missing. Damn Kara and damn him for forgetting it! He had no secure way to contact Elise and tell her where he'd gone. He'd have to try and find another way to let her know what was happening and more importantly, that she needed to lay low.
"Never mind, let's go." He spoke with a hard tone. He was walking down the aisle towards the front of the store and wracking his brain on how he could contact Elise without putting her and her location in jeopardy. Suddenly he realized what he could do. As they walked by the young woman cashier, he gave her what Elise had termed as his 'panty dropping smile' in the hopes that she'd remember him. He knew Elise would come looking for him when he didn't come home and he hoped she'd question the woman about what she'd seen happen in the store.
He realized that Snow also might ask questions about him so he said quickly and angrily to Stanton, "So where are we headed once we get out of this town?" There, if Snow came looking for him, he'd realize that he was no longer here and set out after him and away from Elise.
Stanton looked at him with a puzzled look on her face, obviously not sure why he was asking right then. "I'll tell you when we're on the road."
They exited the store and John followed Kara to a black Lexus and got in. He prayed that Elise would be safe until he could eliminate the threat to them. He'd just gotten used to the thought of having a normal life with her and he wanted to take care of the problem and return to it and her as quickly as possible.
***************
Slowly rousing from a delicious dream of John's hands and mouth on her body, Elise stretched languidly like a contented cat. Inhaling the salty air flowing through the open door to the deck, a smile creased her face as she remembered where she was. In her house, in her bed...alone. Her eyes popped wide open and she sat up with a start. Looking around franticly for John, she spied the folded note on the bedside table. Reaching over, she snatched it up and quickly unfolded it.
Slowly shaking her head, a smile turned up the corners of her mouth as she read the note. "Wonder what else he's up to?"
Deciding to make use of the time while John was gone, Elise hopped out of the bed and walked to the bathroom and straight to the shower. Turning it on, she let the water heat up. Walking back over to the counter with the dual sinks, she blushed remembering the moment she and John had shared on that very same counter. That had been the beginning of this wonderful time with just the two of them. It was like they were in their own little world, a world they had created, with the help of the house that Harold had given her. Their time together had been perfect, full of love and laughter, delight in being together and learning more about each other, other than their fighting skills and stealth capabilities.
A normal life. That phrase kept coming back to mind, over and over. The happiness she felt with John, the security of knowing he was right there, the comfort she'd found in him, and he in her, was beyond measure. An ideal normal life: to wake up together, work and play together, go to bed together. Even doing everyday things like cooking or walking on the beach or playing pool, things other people took for granted. Elise knew this time would not last forever, that the real world was waiting for them back in NYC. But here, they could 'pretend' they were normal and the dark side of life was kept away.
Seeing the steam rise above the shower stall, Elise turned and walked back to the shower and stepped in. The heat of the shower felt wonderful. Tired muscles relaxed under the pulsing shower and her hair flowed down her back in thick waves. Relishing the privacy of the moment Elise took her time washing her hair and using the body wash that John favored. As her hands rubbed the soap over her breasts and she inhaled the scent she associated with him, she became instantly aroused. Closing her eyes she visualized John's hands on her, just like her dream. Massaging each breast with firm hands and pinching and pulling her nipples she began that dizzying ascent to pleasuring herself. Her right hand continued to play with her nipples while her left hand slowly slid down her belly to the cleft between her legs, imagining John's beautiful hands with his strong fingers parting her folds and finding her clit, she moaned. By now she was in the thrall of the moment. Her body responded and clenched deep within. Cupping herself with her left hand, she used her middle finger to rub her clit round and round until her legs began to tremble. Her breathing became labored as she closed in on her climax. The orgasm rolled through her as she gasped out John's name, and she came with a shuddering intensity that surprised her. Placing both hands against the shower wall, she hung her head.
********************
John sat quietly in the car next to Stanton as she drove south towards NYC and contemplated the situation. First, he needed to ascertain just how much she knew about Elise. Once he was sure in the knowledge that Stanton posed no threat to her, he could then focus on eliminating Snow.
"So, how long did you say you've been following me?" He asked Stanton and watched her reaction closely. He had very good instincts when it came to telling when people were telling him lies and he knew that Stanton would be trying very hard not to give too much away, but he knew her well and knew what signs to watch for.
"About a month, give or take. I had to keep Snow under stricter watch. Why? What is it you're worried I saw John?" She gave him a leering look. "Maybe you and that little dark-haired woman are getting it on? How is it you don't break her every time you have sex John? Or are you just looking for an excuse to dump her and this is it?"
John had never wanted to hit a woman in his life…until now. Unfortunately, he had to control the urge so that Kara wouldn't know how much Elise meant to him. Instead he had to content himself with these words, "I'm glad my love life is so interesting to you Kara but I'm very annoyed to find out that you're talking about me and sex in the same sentence. VERY annoyed."
"Oh keep your pants on John. Look, I'm sorry I said anything about it. I'm sure she's a very nice person though I have a hard time believing that you'd put another woman in danger like that. When Snow finds out…"She let her voice trail off for a second and then spoke again. "I told you to stay away from Jessica for just that reason. Did you forget everything I've taught you John?"
"Jessica DIED because of what you taught me Kara!" He yelled. "I stayed away just like you said I should and Peter… he killed her…."He lowered his voice almost to a whisper, "and I wasn't there for her."
Stanton looked over at him and said quietly, "I'm sorry to hear she's dead John. I know you still loved her."
Silence descended on the car. While he would have preferred to tell Stanton where she could stick her sympathy, he knew he could afford to do it.
"So, how did you get out of Ordos?" He asked.
"Well, you remember those dissidents that we stayed with the week before the mission? That old couple, what were their names? The Zhangs?" She asked.
His jaw clenched but she failed to see it. "Yes."
"I went back to their place and hid out for a day or two but someone must have seen me there. I saw them get arrested just before I was ready to head out. The government goons shot the wife, severely beat the husband and torched the place. I got out of there just in time."
"And you never thought to go back and check on the husband? Never thought to help him after he'd helped you?" John asked in a low, deadly voice.
Stanton just shrugged. "I wasn't in a position to help him and he knew the risks when he took us in. Anyway, why are you so angry?"
"Because I was the one who picked up the pieces of your mess! I found Han in the gutter, beaten within an inch of his life. I took him to a safe place while we both healed enough to travel yet he would never tell me what had happened to him, not even when we realized he was blind! Damn you Kara! You only think about yourself and your goals, what YOU want!"
"What are you criticizing me about? You're the exact same way. I know, I trained you to be! That's what you have to do to stay alive in this business!"
"You just don't get it, do you Kara?" He shook his head. "Well, that's not who I am now. I've moved past that hard, cold man filled with self-loathing and I won't be going back there again so you can forget about getting any ideas of us working together after we take care of Snow."
"Sure John, I don't believe it for a second, it's too much a part of who you are, but whatever. Let's just take care of Snow right now."
John sat quietly in the seat and contemplated her words. Was she right? Had he really moved beyond that man who killed without emotion where and when he was told?
*************************
As her breathing slowly returned to normal, Elise shook her head side to side. That was a new experience for her. Just THINKING of John sent her into a world of pleasure. Slowly smiling to herself she thought, 'Not that that was a bad thing'.
Turning off the water, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel and began drying herself off. 'That was nice, but I need John.' She thought to herself. Walking out into the bedroom she went around the bed to the bedside table and picked up his note again. Being the detailed man that he was, John had noted the time he'd left. It had been over an hour.
'Hmm, wonder what's taking so long? He'd just gone to get dog food after all! I need him...now!' Mused Elise. Picking up her cell phone she started to call him but then changed her mind. Hopping onto the bed, she pulled the towel from around herself and sat at the head of the bed. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she held the camera phone out in front of her. Resting her chin on her knees, she smiled, what she hoped was her most provocative smile and took her own picture. Checking the result in the phone, she was quite pleased. Her hair was in disarray around her shoulders and back and her knees blocked the view of her 'assets' but it was quite obvious she was naked.
Giggling to herself she sent it as a text to John's phone. 'That should get him speeding home to me!'
Putting down the phone she went to get dressed. Walking into the closet she was still amazed at how well Harold, really Grace, knew her. The colors and simple style of the clothes were perfect for her. Knowing John liked her in blue, she grabbed a soft pullover and a pair of jeans. Seeing some black, heeled boots in the corner, she couldn't resist trying them on and they fit perfectly of course, just like everything in this closet.
Coming out of the closet, she went back into the bathroom and found a hairbrush. Brushing her hair out after the shower felt so good and relaxing. Pulling it back into a ponytail, she stared at herself in the mirror. The woman smiling back at her was a happy woman. It showed in her eyes, in her smile, in everything about her. These days with John with no worries, no stress, no numbers had been wonderful. This is what their life could be. Sighing deeply she put down the brush and walked out of the bathroom.
Checking her phone she was surprised she hadn't gotten a return text from John. She just knew that picture would surprise him and that he'd call or text her back immediately. Frowning slightly, she dialed his number and waited for him to answer. Standing in the upstairs room she could hear a distant ringing. Pulling the phone from her ear she stared at it, to verify she was indeed calling John. But there was no answer and the ringing from downstairs continued.
Walking quickly to the steps, she hurried down to the first floor with the phone still calling in her hand. When she got to the bottom landing she could clearly hear John's phone ringing. There on the island in the middle of the kitchen….John had mistakenly left his phone home.
'Damn! He never leaves his phone', grimaced Elise. He must have had something else on his mind. Her sexy picture was wasted! Oh well, she'd give him a little bit longer to get home before she got concerned.
*************************
"So, what exactly is the plan here? How are we going to take Mark out?" John asked as they approached closer to the city.
"We need to find a place where we can trap him and then take him down. You've always been better than me with a sniper rifle. You'll need to be the shooter."
"So that's the big plan? You really think that Mark is going to just walk into a trap willingly?" John shook his head. "Wow Kara, you've gotten really rusty in your old age."
"Ok hot shot, what's your idea then?" Stanton asked in an irritated voice.
"Think, why does Mark want us dead?"
"Because of Ordos. Because of what we saw there and might have learned."
"Right. And he would want to avoid having any of that come to light, he'd probably do anything to avoid that."
"Ah," Stanton said, nodding her head. "So how do we make that happen?"
"Well we need to somehow convince Mark that we know more than we do. We need to pretend to know the significance of what happened in Ordos. Since the mission was all about some laptop, we can assume that on that laptop was information the government doesn't want brought to light. So the first step is going to be to locate and infiltrate some of the NOC offices and companies that help the CIA get it's information here in NYC. Mark will think we are acting on the information from the laptop or from something else we found in Ordos."
"That sounds like a good plan to me. And I think I know just where we should start." Stanton said with obvious eagerness. She turned and looked out the car window away from John, so that he wouldn't see the self-satisfied smirk that she was trying to hide. John had done exactly what she'd expected him to.
*********************************
Trying to keep busy as she waited for John, she poured the last cup of coffee into the cup he'd left out for her then rinsed the coffee pot as well as his cup and put them in the drain board.
Almost tripping over the dog, Elise was reminded of their new house guest. Sitting there in front of her, looking expectant...she realized he was probably hungry. Checking in the pantry and the cabinets she realized there was no food left that a dog would eat. Scratching the dog behind the ears she said "He'll bring you back something to eat soon Bear. He's good at taking care of people and um, animals too. " Bear wagged his tail but kept looking at her expectantly.
"Come on, let's go wait out on the deck for John to come back." Bear followed her out onto the deck and jumped up on the lounge he'd already claimed as his own.
The view from the deck was picture perfect: The ocean could be seen over the dunes, the white caps crashing on the beach, the breeze gently blew her hair out of her face and the blue sky was cloudless. Sipping her coffee Elise felt the warmth of the sun on her and she was lost in the view. Harold really had listened to her ramblings about her desire for a home on the beach. Her house, her home, all she needed now was her man. Glancing down at her watch she was surprised to see that an hour had gone by since she'd realized that John had left his phone. That meant he'd been gone for over two hours from the time he left her the note.
Something was not right. This was out of character for John to be gone this long and not contact her. Yes, he forgot his phone, but he would have borrowed a phone to at least call her. Walking back into the bungalow, she went through the kitchen to put her coffee cup in the sink and quickly made her way upstairs with the dog right behind her. Picking up the note from John again, she checked the time he'd written down. The time was definitely over two and a half hours ago! Now she knew something was wrong. He would never have been gone this long without contacting her. Reaching for her gun on the nightstand, she walked into the closet and grabbed the leather jacket she'd worn on the bike. Going back through the kitchen she grabbed John's phone and made sure hers was in her pocket.
Looking at Bear, she knew she couldn't leave him here. He'd have to come with her. Walking out of the kitchen to the garage she was glad to see that John had taken the bike and left the car. Again looking at the dog, she was worried about him riding in the John's car. Love the dog or not, John would not be happy about claw marks or even holes in his leather seats. Looking around she found a thick tarp and laid it on the passenger seat of the car. The dog jumped in as if he'd always ridden shotgun.
Smiling to herself, Elise walked around and got in the driver's seat. Sliding into the seat Elise almost laughed out loud. Her feet didn't even reach the pedals! John, with his long legs, had the seat pushed back to the max. Using the power seat button Elise almost had to bring the seat to the closest setting to be comfortable. Checking out all the bells and whistles they had played with on the drive here, how many nights ago?, Elise paused to think. They had spent three glorious nights together here, away from the world. Please don't let it end badly...
John had left the keys in the ignition, thank goodness. Turning the key, the powerful engine roared to life. Letting it warm up, Elise finished the other adjustments to make the car suitable for her to drive. Laying her gun on the console by the gear shift she was ready to go find John.
Putting the car in gear, Elise slowly let off the clutch and the car backed out of the garage. Once clear of the door, the automatic sensor lowered the door and sealed itself. Driving down the long, twisty driveway Elise got a feel for the response of the car. It drove like a dream…German engineering at its finest. Slowly easing out, she was able to verify there were no cars on the road so she was safe to pull out of the 'hidden' driveway.
Once on the highway, Elise quickly put the powerful machine through its paces. Smoothly changing gears, she was up to 100 mph before she knew it. Backing off the speed until she was legal, she tried to rein in her apprehension. No need to attract the attention of the police…at least not yet.
Bear sat in the passenger seat, looking like he was born to ride. He was a big dog and his head was actually higher than Elise's. Reaching over she scratched him behind the ears and said, "Glad to have you with me Bear. I may need you to help track down John."
Even driving at the posted speed limit, it didn't take long to reach the outskirts of the town. Since it was off season, there were not many people around. Driving slowly down the main road, Elise felt conspicuous in the black Porsche. It probably fit in during the summer months but during off season she felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb.
Looking for a grocery store she finally spotted one a couple of blocks away. Driving up to it she was relieved to see John's bike parked in the front, the helmet hanging on the handlebars. Pulling up next to it, she turned off the car. Looking over at Bear she said "You gotta stay here boy, I'll be right back, hopefully with John." Bear whined but stayed put in the car.
Opening the car door, she looked around, expecting John to come walking up, grinning from ear to ear and full of some bullshit story about why he hadn't called her. But he was nowhere to be seen. Walking into the grocery store she realized how small it was. It only had about ten aisles and two registers. Walking up and down the aisles, it took less than two minutes to determine that John was not here.
Elise walked back to the front and looked around, trying to assess the situation. At first she thought there were no helpful security cameras, only two people in the store. There was a female cashier and there also someone in the customer service booth but she couldn't see them in the raised area. Figuring that a female would remember John better than a man, she headed over to the cashier.
As she got closer, she noticed there were indeed small, outdated cameras in the customer service area and near the cashier's area. Elise thought she'd better get some human intel before relying on those ancient devices. "Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me?' smiled Elise.
"Why sure honey, what do you ya need?" The red-headed cashier smiled back.
"I'm looking for my friend. I think he came in here a couple of hours ago and maybe bought some dog food? Tall, good looking man with salt and pepper hair?"
The cashier smiled a wide grin. "Oh yeah, I remember him, very nice looking fella. And he did ask about the dog food."
"That's him. Do you know where he went? I was expecting him home over an hour ago." Elise worked hard not to sound frantic, to remain calm and in control. "I'd really appreciate any help you could give me."
"Hmm. I remember him bein' in here and I seem to remember him carrying a bag of dog food over one shoulder..." Mused the cashier. "Then I remember he was talking to that woman."
"Woman? What woman, what did she look like?" Elise was having a hard time trying to keep from screaming at the cashier to tell her everything. "Can you describe her?"
The cashier gave Elise a look of sympathy, no doubt thinking that Elise was about to find out she was being cheated on. "Well, she was a sight taller than you, had long wavy dark hair. She's been hanging around town for the last couple of days. We don't get many strangers here during off season, so you kinda had to notice her."
Taking a deep breath and holding it, Elise processed what the woman had told her. John had met the woman here. Did she find John or did John come into town to specifically meet her?
"Did he seem surprised to see her or was he expecting her?" She pressed the cashier for more details.
"Oh I think she surprised him alright. He just stood there staring at her with his jaw on the floor. Not that I was paying really close attention or anything, we're just a small town after all and well…." The woman blushed. "We don't get many guys in here looking as good as yer man, if you'll pardon me saying so."
Elise finally exhaled. The woman was a surprise to John, not someone he expected to meet. "Did they leave together?" She was almost afraid of what the answer would be.
"Yep, they sure did. Walked out kinda fast after chit-chatting in the back of the store. From what I could tell, their conversation got kinda heated. I remember yer man was not happy. Whatever that hussy said, he didn't like it. Not one little bit."
Elise couldn't help but smile for a second as the cashier had obviously decided to take her side. "Why do you say that? Could you hear them?"
"No, they was talking too soft, but I'm pretty good at reading body language and he surely was angry. His hands were clenched and he was speakin' a bit loud and harsh. Was kinda glad they left the store before he did something."
"How long ago did they leave?" questioned Elise, meanwhile a million different scenarios were tumbling around in her head.
"They left about an hour or so ago? I'm not real sure." answered the cashier. Looking at Elise she wasn't quite sure how the young woman was calmly handling the fact that her man had left with another woman.
"Did you see what kind of car they left in by chance?" Asked Elise hopefully.
Wrinkling her forehead, the cashier thought for a moment, "I think I saw them get into a big black car. I do remember that she got into the driver's seat."
"Thank you. You've been a big help." Smiled Elise. The cashier noticed that the smile didn't reach her eyes. The look in those dark blue eyes was icy and made her almost shiver. She didn't envy either the woman OR the man when this one caught up with them.
Walking back to the car, Elise knew she needed help and needed it fast. Reaching into her back pocket she pulled out her phone, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and dialed Harold.