Page 105 of Blood Game

“Only because I refused to tell you the name of my source for that assignment.” Cate had fired back at him. “The bureau chief wasn't interested in me. You missed out all the way around.”

It was pure 'Cate,' the way she had of slipping something in when no one was expecting it, and then not certain how to take it.

“He knew exactly how to take it,” Cate assured her when they went to their rooms later that night.

“And he knew it was true. Everyone did who worked out of London in those days. He just didn't want to acknowledge that the man might have had his sights set on him. Too much male ego. It's the reason things didn't last between us. That and distance. It's a killer. But he was pretty good in bed.” She had laughed then.

“Maybe too much ego in bed.”

She was the last person Kris would have described having a big ego. It was about experience, things she'd seen, people she'd known—good and bad. It was always about the story, and it was the closest Cate ever came to admitting she once had an affair with Marcus. The friendship had somehow managed to survive.

“But he was pretty good.”

On a scale from one to ten, Kris had asked. Cate had thought about that.

“Probably an eleven.” She had laughed again at Kris’s expression. “Alright, a twelve.”

Right up there with an American colonel stationed in Germany, who had been with the OSS during World War II. The little information Cate had shared about him, his background, and military exploits, had become the basis for the main character in her first book.

After that conversation, Cate had referred to Marcus as 'Twelve,' more than once. That way that something stuck, she found it difficult to maintain that professional relationship when she spoke with him as a source on one of Cate's books.

The physical part of their relationship aside, though, he was obviously deeply saddened by Cate's death. It was there in his voice, and that message.

She thought about waiting until James returned, then decided against it. She had no idea what Marcus's schedule was and wanted to talk to him as soon as possible to find out what Cate might have told him. She reached him as he was leaving for a late morning class at the university.

“I've been worried about you!” Marcus was saying. “Yes, yes, the incident in London has been all over the media, and after what happened to my dear friend...Of course, we must meet. I have just the one class, and then we could meet afterward.”

They agreed to meet as his apartment in the Montparnasse. She had been there before with Cate. His apartment was across from a small park surrounded by Cafés, art studios, and shops.

“Of course,” he assured her. “I will help whatever way I can.”

She brushed aside Luna's concern and her suggestion that she wait for James to return. She had just enough time to shower and dress.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-EIGHT

“Where?” James demanded.

“She was gone when we got back from the warehouse,” Innis explained.

“She went out,” Luna explained. “She made a call, and made arrangements to meet someone.

He recognized the name. Marcus Aronson, who had once worked with Cate and was a resource on two of her books. His number had been on the list of numbers Cate had called when she was there.

“I tried to talk her out of it, to wait until you got back,” Luna told him.

He swore under his breath. She'd been angry the night before, resented that he'd gone alone with Anthony. Stubborn!

“Did she say where?”

“She left this.” Luna handed him the note Kris had left.

“She spoke with him this morning and they arranged to meet.”

The note was brief, that she'd gone to meet Aronson, and would be back later.

“How long ago?”