Deadly Little Secrets Page 0,34

bit of costume jewelry, I think. All flash and no substance.”

He looked shocked, and she realized with that one statement, she’d said more about how she was feeling about herself than she had in session after session with the department counselor. Before he could respond, Dav and a group of suits skirted around the workmen. She was just far enough away that she couldn’t make out the discussion, but there was a bit of bowing and handshaking and everyone smiled as they departed in the limo.

“Delegation?” She broke the silence, hoping to get back to an even keel.

Gates smiled and the warmth in his eyes returned, but there was sorrow there too. Damn. She’d blown it again. Typical. Italy had been a sinker for her, both personally and professionally. She used to be good at the man-woman game.

He took her hand, eased her out from behind the car door. “Kobe government leaders working on a banking deal to revive a manufacturing plant. They’re trying to get Dav to buy in and bankroll the project.”

“Is he going to bite?”

“Probably. He could use it to his advantage even if the plant loses money. It won’t,” he assured her. “Dav’s very, very good at making money. But the real value is in doing a favor for the Kobe prefecture.”

“Hmm, I can see that.” She might feel that she’d sanded her candy with Gates, but he was evidently still in the game because his hand was at the small of her back again, doing that little flutter with his fingers that made her want to melt into a puddle of goo.

“Good morning, my dear Agent Burton.” Dav grinned, cocking his head to one side as he gave her a long, searching look. “Or should I call you Shirley?”

“Surely, you can call me Ana, Dav,” she said with a matching grin. “Or if we’re to be formal, I’ll say, Agent Ana Burton, arriving as scheduled for my meeting with Mr. Gianikopolis.”

“Well and good,” Dav said. “Gates, would you show Ana to the office? I need to make some notes about our Kobe friends while they’re fresh in my mind. I hope you’ll excuse the slight delay, Ana.”

“Surely.”

Gates’s mouth twitched at her pert rejoinder. “Well, Ana, if you’ll follow me?”

Dav broke away and went in a different direction. She and Gates followed the path to the office where they’d met before. “So, I only get to call you Shirley on Friday nights in an art gallery, right?”

“Exactly. It’s my code name.”

“Like Raising Arizona?”

The laugh slipped out before she could censor it. Damn, he was quick. “Yeah, we’re usin’ code names,” she said, mimicking the character from the movie. “So, does that mean I get to call you Grace for your dancing act, or Nimble for your balance?”

“Done,” he proclaimed, his demeanor relaxed and easy as he poured her a cup of coffee.

She watched him move, appreciated his body while he wasn’t looking. His looks would age well, she decided, then chewed on her lip as she continued her appraisal. The only problem with that magnificent face was that he looked exhausted. That would age anyone prematurely.

Hadn’t she seen the crow’s feet in her own mirror? She chalked them up to no sleep and lots of stress.

“So what’s going on out front?” she asked, then took her cup.

“An interesting event,” he said, sitting at the small conference table as he had before, in the chair at her side rather than across from her.

“Looks like you had some damage. I would think you’d have to get specialists to replace that glass.”

Gates stirred his coffee, looked up and into her eyes. “Yes, we do. Someone shot up the doors on Friday night.” He lowered his voice to an intimate level. “Right after we hung up. Of course, he might have been aiming for me,” he mused with a wry look. “He missed, barely. The doors took the brunt of the damage.”

“That would be Saturday morning,” she said absently, calculating the time. The rest sank in, and she dropped the cup into its saucer with a clatter. “Wait. Shot at you?”

He nodded. “Not the first time. We had police up here within minutes, and the Bureau has been apprised of the situation, as always.”

Now she knew why he looked so tired. He must have stayed up to direct the investigation.

“Dav gets this sort of issue from time to time. We thought we’d headed off any new threats a couple of months ago, but evidently not.”

“You’re not hurt?” She leaned forward,