Tommy Carmellini 02 - The Traitor by Stephen Coonts Read Free Book Online Page B

away. Then I left my watch at the checkpoint and had to run back for it.. . An anxiety dream. What do they mean?
    Jet lag is always worse traveling east. On top of that, I was hungry.
    When I realized that I was wide-awake, I showered, shaved and got dressed. Went downstairs and looked in the bar. Naw. Went outside and saw a pub just down the street. Perfect.
    I don't know about you, but I like London. It's a great town, and the Brits are terrific. They even speak an obsolete form of English that some folks find amusing. Sitting in the pub, I ordered fish and chips and my favorite cider and submerged myself in the delightful atmosphere, surrounded by conversation and laughter as a tennis match played on the telly over the bar.
    In a few minutes the world began to look better. Yeah, I had another Jake Grafton adventure ahead of me, but it was the last one. Yeah, I had woman troubles, but who doesn't? I was munching chips and sipping cider and meditating about what I was going to do after I got out of the Christians In Action when Guess Who came into the joint.
    She looked around, saw me, thought she would leave, then changed her mind and came over. I stood as she approached the table.
    "May I join you?" she asked coolly, formal as hell.
    "Please do."
    I enjoy the company of women—being around them, watching how they move, how they carry themselves, their gestures, listening to what they have to say, all of it—and I had really enjoyed being around this one. I wasn't so sure I was going to like it this time.
    Sarah Houston was seriously brilliant, with a quick, darting mind and a feminine presence that seemed to radiate heat. In addition, she
    had an erect, athletic carriage and was pretty darn good-looking. Tonight, as usual, people at other tables and at the bar had turned to watch as she walked across the room. They kept their eyes on her as she seated herself, and only reluctantly turned away.
    "Couldn't sleep?" I asked.
    "No."
    "T T                "
    Umm.
    The waitress came over and Sarah ordered white wine. "I'm not hungry," she told the young woman in jeans when she asked if Sarah wanted something to eat. The other patrons accepted us as members of the pub community and ceased to pay attention. Sarah helped herself to a small piece of fish off my plate and nibbled on it.
    "Ever been to London before?" I asked, just to make conversation.
    "Back in my dark days." She meant back when she was known as Zelda Hudson and was on a holy quest to get filthy rich. I had known that and forgotten. Since we weren't supposed to talk about Zelda, her former identity, I changed the subject.
    "How about Paris?"
    "No."
    "Great town."
    She didn't respond to that inanity.
    "After this assignment, are you going to stay with the company you work for?" I meant the National Security Agency.
    "I'm still in the process of rehabilitation, I guess." She grimaced. "Not that I have a choice. You sprung me from prison, remember?"
    For some reason the subject wasn't changing. I thought about telling Sarah about my own checkered past, and Grafton's promise, but refrained. Sharing personal secrets with ex-girlfriends is always a bad idea.
    "I'm sorry about the scene on the plane," she said, when the silence had gone on too long.
    I muttered something.
    She took her time on my fish, thoroughly chewing each tiny bite. She didn't look at me.
    When she had finished the last morsel, she cleared her throat. "It was the first time for me." Then she decided that comment could be taken several ways. "The first I fell in love," she said as an addendum.
    I knew I was also the first man she had welcomed into her bed, but she didn't want to discuss that. Nor did I. The silence got wider and deeper.
    "A man once loved me," Sarah said softly. "But I didn't love him." She sat immobile, her eyes focused on infinity.
    "These things happen," I said as gently as I could.
    When the silence was threatening to strangle us both, she said, "Now I know how it