The Agent's Proposition

He felt a little uneasy. Could she read his thoughts? “Can you read me?” he asked, trying to keep his voice light and conversational, afraid she wouldn’t answer truthfully.

She shook her head. “No, so don’t worry. Some is the key word. Very few, in fact, and then only some of the time.”

“I see. Well, every little bit helps on the job, I bet.”

“You’re up,” she said, turning her head to look at him. “And I am a very good lie detector when I switch it on.”

“I’m guessing you just did. What would you like to know?”

“Your parents, are they deceased?”

He laughed and sat back, aping her former position and looking straight ahead at the back of the seat in front of him. “Nope. They’re still kicking around Savannah. Don’t see much of them, though. They weren’t too thrilled with my choice of occupations. Dad wanted me to go into business with him. Mom wanted me to marry and settle down on the next block and give her grandbabies.”

“No wife, no kids, no siblings,” she said. And she knew that because she’d read his record. He wished he had the same advantage.

“Just me, the black sheep who strayed from the fold and is too proud to listen to any more ‘I told you sos’ than I have to. Our family get-togethers are usually brief and real predictable.”

“Same here. My mom and dad grew up in an isolated commune left over from the seventies. Genuine California hippies, protests, free love, drugs, you name it. They ran away from that, all the way across the country, when they were seventeen and expecting me. They thought they’d invented monogamy.”

“Joined the good ol’ establishment, huh?”

She huffed a wry little laugh. “Not exactly. They didn’t know how. I give them an A for effort, though. They had trouble holding down jobs for any length of time but they stayed off dope and were faithful to each other, as far as I know. Home schooling in the commune was hit or miss, so they said, but they did manage to get their GEDs and Dad went to trade school.”

“That’s remarkable, don’t you think?”

“They certainly are remarkable, all right. Don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

“What do they do now?” he asked, astounded that she had opened up to him this way and fearing he’d have to keep doing the same. She had a way about her that made it too easy to share, and before he knew it, she’d learn more about him than anybody else in the world knew.

He felt he’d already told her more than he was comfortable with. But the more he learned about Tess’s life, the more he wanted to know.

“Dad’s an electrician, and Mom works for a florist.”

“I bet they’re proud of you,” Cameron said, feeling proud of her himself for all she had accomplished. He knew she had to have put herself through college.

“I don’t know if they are or not. They don’t get what I’m all about, that’s for sure. My mom calls me a changeling.”

“Stranger in the nest. I guess we have something in common, then. That’s good, don’t you think?”

“It’s a little weird,” she said, nodding. “Do you miss what you used to do?”

“I like what I do now. Work for myself. Stress free. Great location,” he replied, wondering if she realized he hadn’t really answered the question.

She looked at him and smiled knowingly. “Why don’t you take a nap, Cochran? You don’t want to talk anymore.”

Good guess. That’s what that was. Or maybe she was adept at mind reading. There were those rumors about the SEXTANT and COMPASS teams. He’d have to watch himself if he didn’t want her to really know him.

Chapter 4

Cameron followed Tess’s lead as they retrieved their bags from the back of the plane and made their way down to the tarmac. He stopped for a moment and drew in a deep draught of the night air after leaving the stuffiness of the plane’s cabin.

He loved the Riviera. Everything was close to the water, and every town, burg and beach was usually teeming with people there to have a good time. The entire coastline had a laid-back party atmosphere.

The level of sophistication was like no other, though a great deal of it was pretense. Everybody liked to think they were rich whether they were or not, and this was certainly a prime place to do that. He found the people watching great entertainment.

They hopped a shuttle to the main terminal and whisked through customs, belongings intact, as soon as they identified themselves. Mercier had cleared the way.

“We’ll get started in the morning, when the shops open,” he said as he headed for the bank on the upper level to exchange their funds for euros.

“I hope we’ll be able to get a car at this hour,” she said as he waited for the exchange to be completed.

“We’ll taxi. It’s not far to the marina. We’ll shop in the morning, then sail on down to Saint-Tropez.”

He noted how she paled at the mention of sailing. This could be a problem, he realized. He didn’t relish the idea of her barfing every few minutes and being miserable the whole time. Maybe he could fix that.

In short order, they were on their way to the marina and the Jezebel, a sixty-footer with a fifteen foot beam and a top speed of thirty-two knots. Mercier had promised it was air-conditioned and roomy enough to impress. Cameron got excited just thinking about it and couldn’t wait to board her.

The marina was lit up like Times Square at Christmas, he noticed as the taxi dropped them off at the boardwalk. He had to exhibit a little false cool to keep from rushing to slip twenty-two.

Tess was busy gaping at the surrounding scenery while he was zeroed in on the boats. And there she was! He stopped just to take her in. She was long and lean as a spearhead honed out of white granite. “What a beauty!” he exclaimed in an almost reverent whisper.

“What did you say? What? The boat? Which one is it?” Tess asked.

“Which one is she?” he corrected. “There she is,” he said, pointing. “Just look at her!”

“Humph. You sound like you’re in love, Cochran. It’s only a boat.”

“But what a boat! Man, I’d give my eyeteeth to own her. C’mon, let’s go.” He didn’t wait. Couldn’t.

He lifted his bag and Tess’s over the rail and stepped onto the aft deck, loving the feel of it beneath his feet. He went up to check the fuel level first, then viewed the controls to make certain the boat was adequate for their needs. “Who am I kidding?” he asked himself. “This baby has everything. State of the art.”

“Good grief. You sound like a kid who just got his first bike,” she said. When he turned, he saw her exploring the saloon.