Confessions by Carol Lynne

beginning to understand that.” There was a
    dramatic sigh on the other end of the phone. “We believe
    Jeffries has been taking independent contracts, but you’re
    the only one who can prove it. We know it and he knows it. It
    would be in your best interest to cooperate with us on this.”
    “What guarantee do I have that I’l live to walk out of a
    meeting with you?”
    “None. But I can guarantee you won’t see Christmas
    unless you give us the information we need to take down
    Jeffries.”
    “I’l be label ed a traitor by the other agents.”
    “No you won’t. No one but myself and the Director
    know anything about Jeffries’ side jobs.”
    “I’l agree to meet you, but it has to be somewhere
    away from headquarters,” Priest offered. He knew he
    wasn’t in a position to make demands, but he had a better
    chance of survival in public.
    “Where?”
    “Flanagan’s in Bethesda, two o’clock tomorrow.”
    Priest waited for several moments. “Deal?”
    “We’l be there.”
    The cal ended abruptly, leaving Priest to wonder
    whether or not he was making the right decision. He was
    glad he’d put Luke on the plane. The way it sounded, the
    agency was in the midst of a major shake-up in personnel,
    a dangerous position to be in when dealing with a company
    ful of paid assassins.
    Although he knew Luke didn’t have his phone turned
    on, Priest couldn’t help himself. He used the same prepaid
    phone he’d used to cal the mystery man and punched in
    Luke’s number. The recording of Luke’s cheerful voice was
    enough to lower Priest’s blood pressure.
    “Hey, it’s Luke. If you’re lookin’ for trouble, you’ve
    come to the right place. Leave a message, and I’l get back
    to you.”
    “It’s me. Just wanted to apologise for the way things
    went down. I’m sure you’re thinking I don’t care, but I do,
    maybe too much.” Priest hung up before he said something
    he’d end up regretting. He turned the phone off and set it on
    the console between the seats along with the agency
    phone.
    He’d need to hand in his agency phone with Jeffries’
    messages stil intact to prove the two hadn’t been in
    contact. Otherwise Priest would have happily thrown the
    damn thing into the Potomac River.

    * * * *
After a long night of flights and layovers, Luke’s plane
    final y landed in Sheridan. He was both happy and
    embarrassed to see Kenny waiting for him. “Hey,” he
    greeted his best friend.
    Kenny gave Luke a lopsided grin before pul ing him
    into a hug. Luke had always loved Kenny’s hugs. There was
    something so accepting about his friendship. Luke knew
    that Kenny, more than anyone, was responsible for anything
    good within him.
    “Sorry things didn’t work out,” Kenny said, drawing
    back.
    Luke shrugged and shouldered his bag. “Does it
    ever?”
    Kenny wrapped an arm around Luke’s neck and
    steered him towards the parking lot. “It wil someday when
    the time’s right.”
    Luke was dying to tel Kenny what Priest did for a
    living, but he knew it wasn’t a good idea. Not only would
    Kenny flip out, but Priest had trusted him with the
    information in the first place. Stil , Luke needed to talk to
    someone. He wished he were closer to Jessup. Sure, he
    knew the guy, but mostly on a professional level.
    After stowing his duffle, Luke climbed in and buckled
    up. “Looks like snow.”
    “They’re predicting some this afternoon. You got in
    just in time.” Kenny reached over and turned off the radio.
    “You can leave it on.”
    “I thought you might want to talk,” Kenny said.
    “Not much to say, real y. We get along great. The sex
    is fucking unbelievable, and I can’t imagine finding a more
    perfect fit for myself.”
    “So why am I picking you up?”
    “Priest was cal ed into work.” Luke could tel by the
    expression on Kenny’s face that he didn’t buy it. “Okay, I
    think I pushed him too far too soon. He said he needed
    some time to work a few things out.”
    “Hel ,