and carried the tray to the desk. “I’ve been thinking, too. I get that it would be more dangerous for you if we both go into the jungle, but—”
“We talked about this, Jayme. The tribes know me, maybe not intimately, but by sight, and they’ve heard of me, seen me working with the plants. I’m a known entity, but if we both show up they could panic at the intrusion. And Fion is going to tail me. She’s trained, and good at tracking. I didn’t pick up on her presence when she followed me on my first day in camp, and I was watching for her.”
He scrubbed his hand over his nape. “Yeah. I get it, but I don’t have to like it. What’s the rest of your plan?”
It was a good plan. She looked into his eyes, waiting, hoping to see some of the worry dissolve. “I’ll give you a map and directions to the clearing where I’m planning to burn my body. If you aren’t able to contact Fred or my old CIA boss to set up an extraction, I’ll make my way back here for a commercial flight. If all else fails, they shouldn’t have any trouble finding me using their heat sensing devices. When I get to Washington, I’ll set up a cache. Remember that loose screw in the molding outside my old apartment door?”
She waited for him to nod. “I’ll cache everything you need to find me behind that strip of wood. You know you’ll be followed by trained officers, and probably military special forces as well. They won’t think it’s odd for you to be searching for me, so it should be easy for you to retrieve the information.”
A vehement shake of Jayme’s head stopped her. “I’ll have already gone to CIA officials with our case. No matter what their response, they’ll have their own plan, and it may not be feasible that I’d still be looking for you. My trip here has probably triggered all kinds of red flags.”
She rubbed at the sudden knot in her stomach. “You’re right. What room were you supposed to be in? Why haven’t they knocked on my door?”
“Think about the people we work with, Kaimi. They’re rarely that direct, especially if they’re gathering intel. They probably want to see where we go. What we do. Above all, they’ll want to know exactly where you are in your research with the formula.”
“Yeah. Okay, I see that. And since they don’t know, they probably haven’t put me on anyone’s kill roster, although Fred is a total unknown.” She snorted. “But I’ll be able to spot anyone who follows me onto a jitney. Even if they’ve recruited a local, there’s a certain aura surrounding operatives. You know that. The longer we worked for the CIA, the easier they were to spot.”
“I don’t like it.” His words were tight with resignation, and her heart ached with the need to reassure him.
She gave him her most soothing smile, and held out her hand. “Come sit with me.”
He did, then wrapped her in his arms. She nuzzled into his chest. “This will work, Jayme. It has to. Once you have my location, you can set up a meeting place and leave me a message under the molding. We shouldn’t use the same place more than once, twice if there’s no other choice.”
He nodded, rubbing his chin against the top of her head. “Let’s shower and…”
She stopped his words with her fingertips. “Time to touch, not talk.”
The shower was warm, wet, and inviting, the sex slow and easy to please Jayme, and then with laughter and fun to please her. These were the images, the memories she’d carry into the jungle, and she depended on them to nurture her on every level.
DRESSED AND READY TO CHECK out of the hotel, Kaimi shouldered her duffle, then grinned at Jayme. “I’m going to settle the bill, stop at a pharmacy for an Ace bandage, or whatever they call them here, and grab a jitney upriver. If I wrap my wrist, there’s less chance Fion will be suspicious.”
He’d just hung up the phone, and waved a piece of paper at her. “Caught a flight for DC. Leaves in an hour so I have to
“We talked about this, Jayme. The tribes know me, maybe not intimately, but by sight, and they’ve heard of me, seen me working with the plants. I’m a known entity, but if we both show up they could panic at the intrusion. And Fion is going to tail me. She’s trained, and good at tracking. I didn’t pick up on her presence when she followed me on my first day in camp, and I was watching for her.”
He scrubbed his hand over his nape. “Yeah. I get it, but I don’t have to like it. What’s the rest of your plan?”
It was a good plan. She looked into his eyes, waiting, hoping to see some of the worry dissolve. “I’ll give you a map and directions to the clearing where I’m planning to burn my body. If you aren’t able to contact Fred or my old CIA boss to set up an extraction, I’ll make my way back here for a commercial flight. If all else fails, they shouldn’t have any trouble finding me using their heat sensing devices. When I get to Washington, I’ll set up a cache. Remember that loose screw in the molding outside my old apartment door?”
She waited for him to nod. “I’ll cache everything you need to find me behind that strip of wood. You know you’ll be followed by trained officers, and probably military special forces as well. They won’t think it’s odd for you to be searching for me, so it should be easy for you to retrieve the information.”
A vehement shake of Jayme’s head stopped her. “I’ll have already gone to CIA officials with our case. No matter what their response, they’ll have their own plan, and it may not be feasible that I’d still be looking for you. My trip here has probably triggered all kinds of red flags.”
She rubbed at the sudden knot in her stomach. “You’re right. What room were you supposed to be in? Why haven’t they knocked on my door?”
“Think about the people we work with, Kaimi. They’re rarely that direct, especially if they’re gathering intel. They probably want to see where we go. What we do. Above all, they’ll want to know exactly where you are in your research with the formula.”
“Yeah. Okay, I see that. And since they don’t know, they probably haven’t put me on anyone’s kill roster, although Fred is a total unknown.” She snorted. “But I’ll be able to spot anyone who follows me onto a jitney. Even if they’ve recruited a local, there’s a certain aura surrounding operatives. You know that. The longer we worked for the CIA, the easier they were to spot.”
“I don’t like it.” His words were tight with resignation, and her heart ached with the need to reassure him.
She gave him her most soothing smile, and held out her hand. “Come sit with me.”
He did, then wrapped her in his arms. She nuzzled into his chest. “This will work, Jayme. It has to. Once you have my location, you can set up a meeting place and leave me a message under the molding. We shouldn’t use the same place more than once, twice if there’s no other choice.”
He nodded, rubbing his chin against the top of her head. “Let’s shower and…”
She stopped his words with her fingertips. “Time to touch, not talk.”
The shower was warm, wet, and inviting, the sex slow and easy to please Jayme, and then with laughter and fun to please her. These were the images, the memories she’d carry into the jungle, and she depended on them to nurture her on every level.
DRESSED AND READY TO CHECK out of the hotel, Kaimi shouldered her duffle, then grinned at Jayme. “I’m going to settle the bill, stop at a pharmacy for an Ace bandage, or whatever they call them here, and grab a jitney upriver. If I wrap my wrist, there’s less chance Fion will be suspicious.”
He’d just hung up the phone, and waved a piece of paper at her. “Caught a flight for DC. Leaves in an hour so I have to
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