Chapter Thirty-Six

A loud beeping sound brought them both abruptly out of the moment. Jake froze, thinking it was another security alarm.

But Kat just exhaled loudly in exasperation. "Only the stove," she explained. "Dinner for our guests." She pulled away from Jake reluctantly and they looked at each other, their mutual desire evident. She stood. "I’ll take care of that and be back in a little while. Would you like something to read to pass the time?"

"Sure," Jake answered, leaning over to try to better see the books on the shelf under the bedside table. "Whatcha got?"

Kat smiled. "I don’t think those would interest you. What do you like? Mystery? Biography?"

"A mystery sounds good."

Kat nodded and left. When she did, Jake leaned farther over until she nearly toppled out of bed, determined to read the titles of the books Kat thought she would probably not be interested in. "Ah," she said aloud when she finally was able to get a good look at them. The titles were all in Greek.

The beeping stopped, and a minute later Kat reappeared with a paperback in her hand. "Try this. It’s set in Isle Royale National Park, just a bit north of here in Lake Superior."

Jake took the book from her and scanned the cover. A Superior Death, by Nevada Barr. "Thanks," she said, glancing up at Kat. She looked toward the shelf by the bed. "Greek?"

Kat nodded. She took a deep breath and suddenly seemed to withdraw into herself. There was a sad, faraway look in her eyes. "I was born on Cyprus," she said. "I’ve lived here--in the States--most of my life. But I guess Greek is still my first language."

Jake had no idea that she had just learned something that Kat had volunteered only once before. To Evan Garner.

"Do you go back there often?" Jake asked.

Kat wouldn’t look at her, and it was a long moment before she answered.

"No," she finally replied in a soft voice, as if there was more to say but she would not bring herself to say it. Then Kat sighed and seemed to shake off the memories. "Better go feed our two guests. I won’t be long. Anything else I can get you?"

"No, thanks," Jake said, her mind still curious about Kat’s mysterious past. Will I ever know you? Will you tell me what it is you’re remembering that brings you so much pain?

Kat took the chicken dinners out to the generator room and went through the cautious routine of feeding her prisoners and letting them outside. Frank first again, then Otter. The sky was still overcast, but the snowfall had diminished to a few scattered flakes.

While she watched them--her gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other--her thoughts strayed back to Cyprus and Kyrenia, the fishing village on the northern shore where she’d grown up. She couldn’t go back there now if she wanted to. Even under an assumed name, it wasn’t safe.

"Koproskilo," she spat, an expletive that literally translated to dog shit but was more the Greek equivalent of bastard. She meant it as a general curse toward all the people who kept her from her home, both past and present. Kyrenia was no longer Greek. Since 1974 it had been part of the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a country recognized by no one but Turkey. To the rest of the world it was occupied Cyprus--the northern portion of the country still under military occupation by tens of thousands of Turkish troops. Turkish settlers now lived in her family home, a large estate outside the village.

It had been a glorious place to grow up. Her father’s fame and celebrity paid for servants and parties and vacations in exotic places. She missed the little walled garden where she’d go to read in the late-afternoon Mediterranean sun. And she’d never seen water the same deep blue as that in Kyrenia harbor. Her father used to take her there to watch the fishing boats.

Father, would you forgive me the things I’ve done? You spent your life preaching conciliation, didn’t you? She pictured him the last time she’d seen him--on the television, speaking before the United Nations. The news stations had run that tape a lot when her father and mother were killed just a week after the speech.

Thousands of her neighbors had fled Kyrenia and other villages in the north, abandoning their homes and belongings to become refugees in the south. They were the lucky ones. Her parents stayed to meet the invading Turkish troops.

Her father was convinced that his diplomatic status would protect them. But he and his wife were murdered in their sleep.

Kat was thousands of miles away at the time, spending the summer after her ninth birthday at an exclusive riding camp in Maine. The woods there were a lot like this, she remembered, her eyes taking in the dense stands of pine and mixed hardwoods about her. It was nothing at all like the terrain of her homeland, with its scattering of mountains and vast groves of lemon trees.

A sound jolted her back to the present. Otter peeing a short distance away.

Kat turned and shined the flashlight on the security panel to punch in the numbers that would open the secret door: 2-3-7-3. "Let’s go," she said to Otter.

The address of the old estate, thought the assassin watching them through high-powered binoculars. Sentimental one, aren’t you, Katarzyna?

Once Kat had tended to the men, she returned to the living room and went to her desk, glancing automatically at the monitors. One was black. She went into the tunnel to remove the jacket she’d thrown over the camera there when Otter was inside the pantry.

Better, she thought, returning to the desk to see all three monitors now operating normally. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed that earlier. She felt relatively safe now that the snowfall had erased all the tracks. But she told herself she still needed to keep an eye on the monitors, especially with Otter and Frank here and part of the security system deliberately disabled. The keypad locks on the doors were still enabled, but she was going in and out of them so often now that she hadn’t turned the alarm system back on. It had been off since Frank had arrived.

She turned on her computer to see whether there were any updates from Kenny. There were two e-mails from him, both short and sweet. The first read: Transportation anytime after tomorrow 6 pm. Need four hours advance notice of rendezvous. The second said: Money transferred. Pickup 9 a.m.

It was midnight. Kat shut down the computer and stretched, yawning. Despite the sleep she’d gotten, she could stand a few hours more. She headed to the bedroom to check on Jake.

Jake was propped up, her back against the headboard. She was so engrossed in the novel she was reading that she didn’t immediately notice Kat standing in the doorway.

But within just a minute or so, she seemed to feel Kat’s eyes on her. She glanced up and smiled. "Hi. How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," Kat replied, crossing the room to drop into the chair beside the bed. "Enjoying the book?"

Jake bent the corner of a page to mark her spot and set the book on the table. "Very much. How is... everything?"

"If you mean our guests, they’re fine. No trouble." Kat reached out a hand and laid it atop Jake’s, which rested beside her on the fleece blanket. "And I’m working on a plan to get us out of here to a safer place where you can get back to 100 percent."

"As long as I’m with you," Jake said. "Have I thanked you recently for taking such good care of me?" Her thumb gently caressed Kat’s palm.

Both pairs of eyes fell to their joined hands as Kat began to return the light caresses. The touch was electrifying.

Their eyes met, three feet apart.

Then two feet, as they leaned toward each other. Their intentions obvious, both women smiled slightly just before the final distance was closed and their lips met in a kiss that reflected the growing urgency of the attraction between them.

As their tongues met and their heartbeats accelerated, Kat’s hand came up to Jake’s cheek, stroking it softly, then more firmly. She reached around behind Jake’s neck to pull them closer together.

The kiss deepened and Jake’s hand found its way behind Kat’s back, stroking between Kat’s shoulder blades, pulling, urging her even closer.

Kat complied, her lips briefly breaking contact with Jake’s only so that she could move to sit on the bed. They quickly came together again, mouths meeting hungrily, hands caressing in ever widening exploratory paths.

Jake raked her fingernails lightly across Kat’s broad, softly muscled back. Down to her hip, then along the top of her thigh.

Kat’s fingertips trailed along Jake’s side and found their way beneath her sweatshirt, seeking naked flesh. Each touch edged tantalizingly closer to their areas of greatest pleasure.

Otter was dreaming he was back in prison when he was awakened by a loud noise, a cold blast of air, and a bright light in his eyes. The light moved away to shine on Frank’s face.

Frank grumbled until he cracked open his eyes, squinting against the harsh glare, and remembered where he was. Then he grew silent.

A velvet-smooth female voice, an octave higher than Kat’s, addressed the men. "Hi, boys," it drawled. "Are we having fun yet?"

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30