Tell Me No Spies
Authors: Diane Henders
Tags: #thriller, #suspense, #mystery, #espionage, #canada, #science fiction, #technological, #hardboiled, #women sleuths, #spy stories, #calgary, #alberta, #diane henders, #never say spy
Book 4 of the NEVER SAY
SPY series
By Diane Henders
Published November 2011
by PEBKAC Publishing
Smashwords Edition
v.6
ISBN
978-0-9878712-3-7
The town of Silverside
and all secret technologies are products of my imagination. If I’m
abducted by grim-faced men wearing dark glasses, or if I die in an
unexplained fiery car crash, you’ll know I accidentally came a
little too close to the truth.
This is a work of
fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed
in this novel are products of my imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely
coincidental.
Please respect my hard
work by complying with copyright laws. This e-book is licensed for
your personal enjoyment only. You may not resell this e-book under
any circumstances.
Thank you for
reading!
Copyright © 2011 Diane
Henders
All rights reserved,
including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in
any form.
SPY series:
Book 1: Never Say
Spy
Book 2: The Spy Is
Cast
Book 3: Reach For The
Spy
Book 4: Tell Me No
Spies
Book 5: How Spy I
Am
Book 6: A Spy For A
Spy
Book 7: Spy, Spy
Away
Book 8: Spy Now, Pay
Later
Book 9: Spy High
Book 10: Spy Away
Home
More books coming…
Henders
Probably
Inappropriate
Definitely
Inappropriate
Totally
Inappropriate
Completely
Inappropriate
More books coming! For
a current list, please visit
www.dianehenders.com
Or sign up for my New
Book Notification list at
For Phill
Thank you for being my
technical advisor and the most tolerant husband ever. Much
love!
To my beta
readers/editors, especially Carol H., Judy B., and Phill B., with
gratitude:
Many thanks for all your time and effort in catching
my spelling and grammar errors, telling me when I screwed up the
plot or the characters’ motivations, and generally keeping me
honest.
To the other Phil,
with appreciation:
Thanks for all the cold beer and the great
stories about your trucking days. That was the most enjoyable
research I’ve ever done.
To Rick and Sandy H.
at Hand Crafted Images:
Your talent makes my covers
extra-special, and your sense of humour makes photo sessions fun
even for a camera-hater like me. Thank you!
To Steve A. and the
staff at The Shooting Edge:
Thank you for lending us your
excellent facilities for our cover photo sessions. You guys
rock!
To everyone else,
respectfully:
If you find any
typographical errors in this book, please send an email to
[email protected]
.
Mistakes drive me nuts, and I’m sorry if any slipped through.
Please let me know what the error is, and on which page (or at
which position in e-versions). I’ll make sure it gets fixed as soon
as possible. Thanks!
Contents
I suppressed a curse
and furtively shifted the concealed holster to a more comfortable
spot at my waist, rearranging my sweatshirt over it. A tension
headache pounded sullenly at the base of my skull.
The vibration of my
phone made me start, and I snapped a glance over my shoulder before
I snatched it up.
I could barely hear
the whisper on the other end. “Aydan, can you stall him for a few
more minutes?”
“How long?” I hissed.
“What’s wrong?”
“We just need a few
more minutes to get everybody into position.”
“I’ll try.” I punched
the disconnect button with more force than absolutely necessary.
Why the hell did I let myself get sucked into this?
I knotted my fists in
my hair and tugged, but quickly desisted when the door latch
released behind me. Trying to look relaxed, I leaned back in the
chair and stretched my legs out. The security guard glanced my way
and I gave him a quick smile, heart thumping.
At the sound of
footsteps, I turned my smile toward my quarry as I stood. “All
finished?”
“Yes.” He stretched,
grimacing. “Long day.” He made for the door.
“Hang on a second,” I
blurted.
“What?” He shifted
from foot to foot, obviously eager to leave.
“Um…”
Goddammit, what could
I say to stall him? My mind was completely blank. The silence began
to stretch. His forehead creased ever so slightly and his eyes
darted toward the door.
Think, think,
dammit!
Absolutely no
inspiration came to mind.
Shit!
I did my best sheepish
laugh and slapped my forehead. “Forgot what I was going to say.
Sorry, you’re right, it’s been a long day.”
He let out a short
laugh and turned away again. “See you.”
As he disappeared out
the door, I whisked my phone out and hit the speed dial. Still
attempting nonchalance, I wandered out of the building, giving a
farewell wave to the security guard.
The phone rang
interminably at the other end while I muttered, “Pick up, dammit,
pick up!” When I finally heard the whisper on the other end, I
snapped, “He’s on his way!”
“Crap! Can you get
here before him?”
“I’ll try.”
When I was sure nobody
was watching, I launched myself into a silent sprint toward my
car.
I lunged into the
driver’s seat and swore violently when the door slammed on my long
hair and nearly dislocated my neck. I wasted precious seconds
opening and closing the door to free myself. The tires chirped on
the still-warm asphalt as I stomped on the gas.
Minutes later, my car
skidded to a halt in the gravelled alley and I dashed through the
twilight to let myself in the back gate. I spun at the last second
to catch it before it banged behind me, then flew across the yard.
As I reached the top step, the door to the darkened house opened. A
disembodied hand yanked me inside.
My eyes hadn’t
adjusted to the dimness, and I allowed myself to be towed rapidly
through the house. A jerk on my arm made me duck behind the sofa
just as the scrape of the front door key sounded, loud in the
listening silence.
Light and noise
erupted, and Spider recoiled with a yelp, his gangly arms flailing
in shock.
“Surprise!” Linda
flung herself at him, hugging him as he staggered back against the
wall. “Are you surprised?”
Spider’s mouth opened
and closed soundlessly a few times. “Yeah…” he finally quavered.
“Yeah… I’m surprised all right.” His dilated eyes focused on me.
“Aydan! You were in on this all along! I’m going to- ”
I raised my arms in
mock surrender. “Be nice, Spider. You wouldn’t beat up an old lady,
would you?”
“Old lady, my foot,”
he retorted. “I couldn’t beat you up if I tried.”
“Hey, speak for
yourself with that old lady stuff,” his mother tossed over her
shoulder. “Forty-seven isn’t old! That’s my story, and I’m sticking
to it.” She pulled Spider down to kiss him noisily on the cheek.
“Happy birthday, Clyde, honey.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He
beamed at the rowdy crowd in the living room. “Thanks, you guys.
You scared the heck out of me, but thanks.”
Linda tugged at him
and he awkwardly stooped from his beanpole six-foot-two to give her
a quick kiss. His cheeks turned pink when whoops and catcalls burst
out.
Linda shot a devilish
glance at the assembled friends and family, then wrapped her arms
around his neck and stretched to her full almost-five-foot height.
Pandemonium reigned while her theatrically passionate kiss went on
and on. Finally Spider disengaged himself, his face scarlet.
“Isn’t there some cake
or something?” he mumbled, staring at the floor. Laughter filled
the room, and the crowd’s attention shifted when one of his sisters
brought in the cake. As the discordant chorus of “Happy Birthday To
You” rang out, he and Linda sneaked another kiss, their eyes
sparkling.
I leaned back against
the wall, grinning.
“Talk about the long
and short of it. They look just like Ray and me together.” Spider’s
mom smiled up at me. “Thanks for acting as the decoy.”
I laughed and rubbed
at my headache. “You’re welcome. I’m glad it worked. They are cute
together, aren’t they?” I chuckled again, regarding short, plump
Gladys Webb beside me and Spider’s tall, lanky dad across the room.
Like father, like son.
I accepted my piece of
birthday cake and lingered a few more minutes, trying to appear
sociable while I sweated profusely. As soon as I could politely
excuse myself, I did a fast fade out to the mercifully cool evening
air on the back deck.
I was leaning on the
railing and sipping a glass of water when Spider came out and
leaned beside me.
“Thanks for letting
Mom and Linda rope you into this,” he said.
“I didn’t have much
choice. Linda by herself is bad enough. The two of them combined
are an unstoppable force.”
He returned my rueful
grin. “I know. But with two older sisters, I’m used to dominant
females. You haven’t met them yet, have you? Why don’t you come
back inside and I’ll introduce you to everybody?”
I sipped water,
stalling, and he mistook my hesitation. “I know you don’t really
like crowds. It’s okay if you just want to sneak away.”
“Thanks, Spider, but
that wasn’t really what I was thinking. I like your mom, and I’d
like to meet your dad and sisters, but I’m cooking in this
sweatshirt, and I can’t take it off because I wore my waist holster
today. Damn October weather, it was cold this morning and then it
turned hot.”
“Oh.” He eyed me
uncertainly. “Couldn’t you just leave your gun in your car?”
“I could. But I’m not
supposed to. And it’d be Murphy’s Law that I’d need it the one time
I took it off.”
“I guess. I hope you
won’t need it tonight, though.”
“I’m sure I won’t.” I
patted him on the shoulder. “Go enjoy your party.”
He had just
disappeared inside when his father’s bony silhouette appeared in
the doorway. He advanced on me, hand outstretched.
“I’m Ray Webb, Clyde’s
dad. You’re the only tall woman with long red hair here, so you
must be Aydan Kelly.”
“Guilty.” I shook his
hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to finally meet
you, too. Clyde talks a lot about you.”
“Spider talks a lot,
period. But he’s the bright spot of my days at Sirius Dynamics,” I
added quickly. “He’s a great kid. And scary smart.”
Ray winked. “Like his
dad.”
“So I hear.”
I knew Ray by
reputation only, as a civilian researcher at Sirius. He was
brilliant, eccentric, and nowhere close to the security clearance
that would allow him to know about my work. I hunched over the
railing again, making sure my loose sweatshirt concealed my
gun.