Spy Games (24 page)

Van put a finger to my lips to quiet me. “We have the real dongle. We swapped it off your key chain yesterday. I just got verification this afternoon—it’s our dongle.” He gave me a lopsided grin. Half his face still wasn’t working real great. “We tried to swap it out at your mom’s house, but Dutch interrupted us—”

“What!” I gave Van a shove.

“Hey! I thought you’d be happy.”

“What was all this about?” I made an encompassing gesture with my arms. “Why did I risk my life?”

“To get Dutch back,” Van said, nonplussed. “And capture Goon.” He pulled me close again.

Van’s phone rang. He flicked it open. “Yeah…yeah…yeah…okay.” He hung up and flashed me a tender, compassionate look. “My agents just found Ket.” His tone of voice didn’t bode well for Ket’s well-being.

I gulped. “Yeah?”

“They found him shot to death in an alley near another entrance to the Underground.”

“He’s dead?” I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. I was free.
Free.
I snuggled into Van for comfort. “Huff?”

“Canarino’s right-hand man. No sign of him. But your car’s fine. He never had any intention of stealing it.”

“Do you think he killed…?”

“Yeah, probably. And Jay, too. We think it was Huff who was following you in the warehouse yesterday. When you thought it was me. He’s been following you. Keeping an eye on you and the dongle.”

My knees buckled as I realized killing Ket was probably the making up Huff had mentioned. I felt sick.

Van caught me and swung me up into his arms. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

Van carried me back into the safety of Lou’s. I blinked into the light. Grandpa sat at a table, being questioned by special agents and fussed over by paramedics.

“There she is! There’s my girl!” He stood and ran to us, enveloping Van and me in a big Dutch hug.

“Grandpa!” I hugged him back.

Dutch let us go and took a step back. He gave Van a squeeze on the shoulder. “This one’s a good one,” he said to me. He turned to Van. “Thank you, young man.”

Van nodded.

“You like him?” I whispered to Grandpa. “You are aware that he’s not a nerd, and I like him a lot.”

Dutch winked at me just as two paramedics came up beside him. He nodded his head toward them. “They want me to go to the hospital for observation.”

“Go,” I said.

Dutch looked at Van. “I guess you’re in good hands.”

I leaned over and kissed Grandpa on the cheek. “Go,” I said again. He let the two medics lead him through a crowd of reporters to an ambulance waiting for him just outside Lou’s. I watched him go.

“I could really use a drink,” I said as the medics loaded Grandpa in the ambulance. “Did Cliff ever order me one?”

“Ask him.” Van nodded to the corner of the room where special agents had Steve, Cliff, and Jim in cuffs and were reading them their rights.

“They look busy.”

War, Kyle, and Ace sat at the table where I’d left them, answering questions for several other agents. Outside, Grandpa’s ambulance pulled away, past a horde of news crews and cameramen awaiting our departure.

War jumped up and almost kissed me, he looked so happy. He caught himself in time and handed me one of the FSC trophies instead. “For the last honest camper.” He looked both sheepish and grateful.

I took it from him and tried to smile. “And here I was going for Miss Congeniality.”

“That, too. You did a hell of a job at camp. We’re proud of you, CT,” War said and cleared his throat. “On behalf of FSC, I’d like to offer you a free session of your choice at any of our facilities.”

“Thanks.” I smiled my appreciation, not planning on taking him up on that offer any time soon.

Another ambulance worked its way to the front of the building. Van took me by the elbow. “Your carriage awaits.”

“That?” I pointed. “I’m fine.”

He gave me a look meant to silence me.

“You’re coming with me, Mr. Hardhead.”

He did the grin thing again and guided me toward the door. “Ready?”

I nodded, and clutching my FSC statuette like it was an Oscar, made my celebrity-of-the-moment way into the ambulance as reporters jabbed mics in my face and flashes went off.

“I hope they got my good side this time,” I said as the ambulance doors closed and a paramedic took my blood pressure. “You know what I could use, V?”

“What?” he said from the stretcher next to me.

“A vacation.”

“You’re kidding?”

“I’m not. A vacation on a nice, quiet beach somewhere. No guns. No mobsters. No dongles. I might even buy a new bikini.” I gave him a significant look, imagining him on the beach next to me.

“I have some time off coming up.”

“Do you?”

“How does Hawaii sound?” He squeezed my hand.

“Fantastic.”

He leaned over and brushed my lips with a light kiss. All wasn’t exactly right with the world. But close enough.