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“Listen—”
“Did I do something wrong? Or is it that you’re afraid I will?” she asked before I could allay her fears.
“My reason for telling Nemesis I would deploy to Gozo in Michelangelo’s place has nothing to do with you,” I lied. What I said next, though, was the truth. “This op belongs to the Albanian task force, and thus, it’s my decision who deploys. This investigation could lead to us finding the person represented by the A in the AMPS acronym. If successful, it will result in our taking the organization down once and for all.”
“I understand.”
“This is important, Schön. I cannot stress it enough. This isourteam’s op, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let it fall apart before we get started. In fact, if I deem it necessary, I’ll call for Rogue and Ehren from our team to replace Delfino and Atticus, the agents already deployed.”
While she accepted my response, her skepticism regarding her abilities remained apparent.
What could I say to convince her otherwise?Nothing.
I could hardly tell her I got up every morning anxious to see her. I couldn’t admit that since she arrived in Shere, I woke at zero five hundred, telling myself to wait until at least six to get out of bed, when prior to her being on my task force, I could easily have slept until nine. For God’s sake, in just the time we both slept, I missed her. What would days apart be like? But could I confess any of it? Of course I couldn’t.
“You’re certain?” she said in the accent that drove me mad with desire. Maybe some would’ve preferred the softer tones of Italian or French. Maybe before I met Schön, I would’ve too. Now, I found no other intonation as sexy as hers.
“I thought I might start putting notes together. Nemesis wasn’t specific about when I’ll—I mean when we’ll—leave for Gozo,” said Schön.
“I would predict as soon as travel arrangements can be made.”
“Is that something I should take care of?”
I fielded such questions day in, day out. “If there is something you should be doing, as your commander, I will be the one to assign the task. Am I understood?”
She lowered her gaze. “Yes, sir.”
“Schön?”
As I’d told her many times over, I expected her to look at me when we were conversing.
When her cheeks flushed, I wanted to cup her face and tell her it was all right, that, more than her to be subservient, I longed to stare deeply into her cinnamon-colored doe eyes.
“I’ve never been to Malta. What’s it like?” she asked, thankfully shifting our conversation in a more positive direction.
“Italy, the southern part, as far as a similar country. It’s also a lot like Greece. The water is crystal clear and, at times, looks deep sapphire blue and, at others, teal green. There are rolling hills and centuries-old rock formations.”
If we hadn’t been hunting a sex-slave trafficker each time the coalition visited the island, I would’ve said it was peaceful. Even magical. There were trails to hike, endless water for scuba-diving, temple ruins to explore, and fabulous food to taste.
Nemesis hadn’t mentioned what Schön’s and Michelangelo’s covers would be, but like Zeppelin and Verity had been assigned in St. Moritz, a newly married couple on holiday would make sense. Which meant if he went, he, rather than me, would be experiencing the Mediterranean archipelago with her, and that, I wouldn’t stand for. I couldn’t. There had to be a way for me to work it so I’d be undercover with her.
“I’ll check with Nemesis about our itinerary,” I announced, even though she was not the first person I intended to speak with.
“I’ll work on my notes,” said Schön.
I nodded once and left the solarium in search of Zeppelin and Verity. Actually, just Verity, but since the two were inseparable of late, I’d have to endure his taunts in regard to the request I was about to make.
“Verity? A moment?”
She looked up from her laptop. “Of course. What can I do for you?”
“I’m not sure how to ask this.”
She raised a brow.
“It’s about disguises.”
She smiled, perhaps in relief. “Which just so happens to be my area of expertise.”