Ever? she asked in a small voice. Am I going into the witness protection program?
Is that what you want?
She sighed. I could stand a new identity. Ive always hated the name Lucy. But I want to pick the name.
What would you pick?
Certainly not something as silly as Casanovathough I guess given the way you schmoozed Mrs. Pfluger, it fits. Shes always been mean as a snake to me.
Casanova wasnt my idea. You can call me Bryan. She would have learned his real name soon enough.
And you can call me Lindsay. Lindsay Morgan.
Sounds very sophisticated. Does it have any significance? Do you know anyone named Lindsay? Or Morgan?
No. Ive always liked the actress Lindsay Wagner. You know, the Bionic Woman. I catch it on late-night TV. And MorganI dont know. I pulled it out of thin air.
Exactly what Bryan wanted to hear. Then Lindsay Morgan it is. Get used to it.
Oh, God, she thought, he was serious. She was really getting a new identity. A new life. A new job, a new home, maybe somewhere exciting like New York. She knew she should be terrified. Ruthless criminals with ties to international terrorism had broken into her home and planted bugs. They might even now be searching for her, intending to kill her.
But she could feel nothing but anticipation.
She wished her parents didnt have to worry, though. She wanted to ask Bryan if she would ever see them again. But she had a feeling he really didnt know the answer to that question. Something was troubling him. She got the feeling he was on shaky ground, that the turn this investigation had taken had thrown him for a loop.
He hadnt believed her when shed told him she was being followed. Hed only come to her town house because shed threatened to disappear with all the data. Hed been very surprised to discover she was right, that the operation was blown to bits.
Did he suspect she was the one whod blown it?
I didnt give myself away, she said abruptly, wanting to clear this up right now. I was extremely careful. Until today I did the downloading only five or ten minutes at a time, always when I was alone in my office, the door closed. I never said anything to anyone. Ever. And no one had access to the memory stick. I kept it in my bra.
He looked over at her. Really? Is it there now?
Yes.
The car swerved slightly, and not for any apparent reason. Lucy wondered if something as innocent as mentioning her bra had startled Bryan. But how could it? The guy was a spyhed probably seen things unimaginable to normal people. Surely the mention of womens underwear wouldnt faze him.
Especially her underwear, which was about as boring as underwear could get.
It had been a very long time since anything she said or did had any effect on the opposite sex. She had buried that flirtatious, reckless girl under a frumpy suit, thick glasses and mousy hair, and shed done it for a reason, she reminded herself.
So Bryan had probably been avoiding a bump in the road.
They drove for almost five hours, but the days were long in July, so it was still daylight when they hit New York. Lucy had been to the city many times, but it had been a while, and shed forgotten how much she loved it. New York had an energy unlike any other city in the universe. Even if shed had her eyes closed, shed have known she was here. The traffic noise and exhaust fumes were peculiar only to this place.
Are we staying in Manhattan? she asked.
Yes.
Are you putting me up in a hotel?
No. I dont want to go anyplace where ID is required until we get your new name officially established.
A safe house, then?
The safest.
He flashed her a brief smile, and it was the first time shed seen him looking anything but grim since theyd met. That smile did things to her insides. No wonder cranky Mrs. Pfluger had become so cooperative. If Bryan had taken ten more minutes, the older woman probably would have dropped her own pants. Jeez, Lucy couldnt believe shed taken off her jeans in front of a strange man. But shed been just panicked enough not to care.
Theyd crossed over to Manhattan via the Lincoln Tunnel, and in midtown they were surrounded by skyscrapers, buses, cars, taxis and pedestrians. People were everywhere. And such interesting people! All colors, shapes and sizes. Some were elegantly dressedtheatergoers on their way to catch the curtain perhaps. Some in bedraggled business attire, waving down taxis, looked like they were just getting off from a long day at the office. And of course there were the ubiquitous colorful charactershot-dog vendors, shady men selling designer-watch knock-offs and bootleg DVDs, and your garden-variety vagrants.
Shed forgotten how much she loved this city, though it held some painful reminders, as well. Normally she didnt allow herself to think about her last time here, when shed made a headlong dash home, crying the entire way. But now she did, and she found the pain wasnt so sharp anymore. She felt more sad and wistful than anything.
Shed healed during the past two years. Shed needed the downtime, the safe haven her job at the bank had provided. But she was ready to move on nowolder and wiser. She was actually grateful to the embezzler, whoever he or she was, for shaking her out of her boring, complacent life, or she might have remained there indefinitely, afraid to live again.
She was living now, that was for sure. Riding up Tenth Avenue in a Jaguar with a spy. Not your everyday occurrence.
Lucy cracked open her window, and the wonderful city smells assailed her. She got a whiff of some exotic foodgarlic, tarragon, curryand her stomach rumbled. It occurred to her she hadnt eaten since breakfast, and even then shed barely managed to choke down some yogurt. Shed been too nervous about her situation.
Im starving, she said. Any chance this safe house will have food in the fridge? Or maybe we can order in Chinese? she asked hopefully.
Dont worry, Ill feed you.
They were driving through the Upper West Side now, the street lined with posh shops, trendy restaurants and bodegas, and residential high-rises where the beautiful people lived. Most of her time in New York had been spent around here, near Cruzs apartment.
They passed a restaurant called Une NuitOne Night in French. Though it was early by Manhattan standards, a line of trendily dressed hopefuls was already forming at the door.
I read about that place, she said, nodding toward it. In People magazine, I think. Or maybe The Buzz. Some movie star had a birthday party there or something.
It was one of the Hilton sisters.
Oh, so you keep up with the gossip? How does a spy have time to read The Buzz?
Actually, I didnt read about it. I was there.
No kidding? You know the Hilton sisters? Lucy had always been starstruck. Shed been addicted to celebrity magazines since junior high and had fantasized about someday being one of the beautiful peopleor at least hanging out with them.
Shed learned the hard way that the celebrity scene wasnt all parties and glamour. In fact, beneath all the glitz, it could get pretty rotten. But even after her unhappy brush with that life, she hadnt lost her fascination with it.
Bryan didnt answer, but he pulled his car around a corner and into an underground garage, inserting a pass card to gain entrance.
Um, were not actually stopping to eat, are we? Lucy asked, looking down at her orange polyester pants. I mean, Id love to go to that restaurant someday, but they wouldnt let me in the door dressed like this.
He grinned. I could get you in. But, no, were not going there right now. This is actually your safe house. He pulled into a reserved parking space and cut the engine.
Seems a funny place for a safe house, she commented. I thought wed be a little more isolated.
A safe house can be anywhere, so long as no one knows about it. He led her through a door that was marked Entrance Une Nuit. But once inside a small, featureless foyer, they didnt follow the signs to the restaurant. They boarded a rickety-looking elevator. Bryan pushed a button that had no floor number on it.
Password, please, came a computerized voice.
Enchilada coffee, Bryan replied. The elevator started up.
The amazement on Lucys expressive face gave Bryan a rush of pleasure, and he had to admit that, despite the gravity of his situation, he was enjoying Lucys reactions. Hed expected her to be a basket case, a perpetually panicked paranoid. But shed risen to the occasion, showing a presence of mind few civilians possessed.
How James Bond, Lucy said. The elevator is password protected?
With the latest voice-recognition software. No one gets into this loft but meand my guests, of course.
So this is where you live?
Yeah. You have a problem with that?
No, but it seems a little odd, thats all. I didnt think spies normally brought witnesses in protective custody to their homes.
They dont. This is a special occasion.
Why? Surely this case isnt a particularly big or significant one. You must have dozens, hundreds of people attempting to funnel funds to terrorists.
He debated how much to tell her. But he decided she could handle the truth. He wanted her to understand she could trust no one but him. I have strong reason to believe Ive been betrayed by my own peoplewhich means theres not a safe house in our system thats truly safe. This is the one place I could think of where no one could possibly find you.
You mean, the people you work withthe other spiesdont know where you live?
They dont even know my name. To the others in my cell, and even to my boss, Im Casanova.
Wow.
The elevator doors opened, and Bryan led Lucy into his private living space. A couple of years ago, hed bought the entire building where Une Nuit was located. Hed renovated and expanded the dining area, used the second floor for offices and storage, and had the top two floors converted to living space.
Hed spared no expensehe hadnt had to. Though he had some family money, and he was well paid as a top-echelon government agent, this was the home that Une Nuit had built. The restaurant, which hed originally opened as a cover so that not even his closest friends and family would know of his true vocation, had become unexpectedly popularand lucrative.
The apartments floor plan wasnt completely open, but a few interior walls had been placed at odd angles so the place didnt feel like a box. The foyer opened up on one side to an enormous, modern kitchen hed designed himself, with the latest in brushed-steel appliances. The kitchen was open to the living room, which faced a row of tall windows looking out onto Columbus Avenue. The floor was the original warehouse planking, sanded and polished to a high sheen. Some walls he had left as natural brick, while hed had others plastered and painted a pristine white.
The furnishings were ultramodern, comfortable but sparse. He did his entertaining in the restaurant, so he didnt need lots of chairs or sofas. Original art adorned the space, but again, not too mucha small abstract painting here, a funky sculpture there. Things hed seen, wanted, picked up. Mostly from starving artists getting their starts, although a few pieces might be worth some serious money by now.
I love this place! Lucy whirled around, trying to take it all in. You live here? You actually live here?
When Im home, which lately hasnt been all that often.
How long will I be staying here? Not that Im complaining, just trying to prepare myself. Will you want me to testify at a trial? Will I have to stay indoors all the time, or can I go out?
He smiled at her exuberance, which radiated from her every pore. Hed thought her plain when he first saw her, but he could see that wasnt true, even in those horrible orange pants. She had an infectious smile and bright, lively eyes in a shade of pale blue hed seldom seen.
I wont keep you locked up like a prisoner, he said. Well be able to venture out some. I dont imagine youll run into anyone you know this far from home. As for his family, there was no way to avoid them. He would have to find a way to explain her sudden presence in his life.
Um, actually, thats not true, she said. I lived here for a while.
What? This was news to him. The exhaustive background check hed done on her hadnt mentioned any residences in New York. Thats impossible. But then he remembered those two years when shed disappeared from the system.
Have you ever heard of a band called In Tight? she asked.
Sure. Theyre hot right now. In fact, didnt they play the Super Bowl half-time this year?
She nodded. I used to work for them.
Now it was Bryans turn to be shocked. You? Working for a rock band?
I answered an ad on the Internet, and I got a job working on In Tights financesyou know, helping to manage the money when they did concert tours, stuff like that.
Bryan had a hard time picturing Lucy Miller hanging out with wild-haired musicians. Was it possible she was pulling his leg? Was Lucy Miller a pathological liar?
I did a background check on you, he said. There was nothing about
They paid me off the books. They werent as famous then. They gave me a place to live, too, so you wouldnt have found an apartment under my name. Im just telling you this so youll know that I might run into people who would recognize me.
Well just have to make sure that doesnt happen. He studied her from head to toe, thinking how she could be made to look differentdifferent hair, different eyes. How would you feel about a makeover?
He was worried that hed insulted her, but instead she brightened. Oh, Id love one. Can I be a blonde? I think Lindsay Morgan would be a blonde.
If you like. My cousin Scarlet is the assistant fashion editor at Charisma magazine. She can bring over a truckload of clothes and cosmetics, hair stuff. Do you need the glasses?
Only if I dont want to run into walls.
Well get you some contacts. Maybe green ones, though its a shame to cover up those pretty blue eyes.
She looked away, embarrassed. Dont tease me. My eyes are a very ordinary shade of bluealmost gray. Boring.
I dont find them boring at all.
She peeked up at him. Youre serious.
Maybe he shouldnt have said anything. He didnt want Lucy feeling threatened, since she was forced to shack up with him. Dont worry, Im not going to hit on you. But you do have pretty eyes.