going to owe Gabe Laurent with Paris CIA big time. No choice. I needed to tap that information to get you out of here sooner, and Laurent was the only one who could give it to me.” He frowned. “Though I have a hunch he wasn’t telling me everything about Dietrich.” Then he shrugged dismissively. “How are you doing?”
“Fine. Why shouldn’t I be? All I did was sit around and wait.”
“That’s right. What was I thinking? And you can do the very same thing while I drive you home…”
* * *
Forty minutes later Lynch pulled into her condo garage and parked the Lamborghini. She was vaguely aware he’d been unusually silent all the way from the FBI office, but she was too tired to care.
“Thanks, Lynch.” She got out of the car. “Now I’ve got to call Olivia and tell her that I’m on my way up to her condo to pick up Harley.” She moved quickly toward the garage elevator. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, you will.” Lynch got out of his car and strolled after her to the elevator. “But you can’t get rid of me just yet. I have a few duties to take care of that require my attention.” He took out his phone and punched in the number. “Olivia? Kendra is on her way up to assume Harley duty but she’s exhausted, bruised, and trying to hide the fact that one of the cuts on her left hand is bleeding again. Do you really want her taking care of a fine canine like Harley? I have to warn you it would be a disservice to him.” He put the phone on speaker and handed it to Kendra. “Over to you.”
“Olivia, he’s just being—”
“Don’t be stupid, Kendra,” Olivia said curtly. “Of course you don’t have to take care of Harley. Can’t you see everything is changing? The minute you told me about Hayes being shot, my first thought was that things were beginning to shift out of our control. We’ve got to get it back. That means Harley is my responsibility from now until we find the person who put a bullet in Hayes…and probably Elaine. The dog’s probably safer with me anyway. You just concentrate on doing what you need to do. Lynch, I assume you’re listening to this? You wouldn’t want to miss knowing that you got your own way even if it’s your fault that Kendra is in such bad shape. You should have taken better care of her.”
“I’m well aware of that, Olivia. She’s just difficult to—”
“No excuses. Just take care of her now and make sure she doesn’t get an infection.” She cut the connection.
Lynch flinched. “Sometimes getting my way with Olivia can be very confusing. I’m never sure whether I won or lost.”
“Well, thanks to you, I’m sure I lost,” Kendra said through set teeth. “She didn’t even let me get in a word edgewise. And you had no business telling her all that bullshit. I made a deal with her, I keep my promises, and I’m just fine.”
Lynch pressed the button for her condo. “Did I lie to her? Are you exhausted, bruised, and bloody?”
“I’m fine,” she repeated.
He looked at her.
“You exaggerated,” she said, in exasperation. “If it were you, you wouldn’t have even noticed a cut or a bruise. You would have laughed about it.”
“But it’s not me.” He nudged her out of the elevator and toward the front door of her condo. “And I’m not laughing. For some reason I never find it amusing when I see you hurt and bleeding. I’m working on it, but I’m not there yet. It seems to be happening entirely too often lately.” He unlocked her door. “I don’t even like to hear about it, which is why I got a bit upset when Metcalf told me about you swinging through the glass window at that factory. Or when you showed me that bullet wound in your arm that night in Afghanistan.”
“I don’t want to talk about that night.” She went past him into the condo and turned on the overhead lights. “It only makes me angry.”
“I know. But we may have to talk about it anyway.” He smiled. “Not right now, though. I’ve made you angry enough just delving into current events. You’re right, I shouldn’t have indulged myself by saving you from Harley just because I didn’t want to think of him keeping you awake.” He chuckled. “Maybe I was afraid I’d be forced to offer to take care of