Midnight rainbow

There was the first hint in Sabin’s eyes that Jane wasn’t quite what he’d expected. Grant stood behind her, his arms calmly folded, and waited.

Sabin examined her open expression, the catlike slant of her dark eyes, the light dusting of freckles across her cheekbones. Then he quickly glanced at Grant, who was planted like the Rock of Gibraltar

behind her. He could question her, but he had the feeling that Grant wouldn’t let her be harassed in any way. It wasn’t like Sullivan to get involved, but he was out of the business now, so the old rules didn’t apply. She wasn’t a great beauty, but there was a lively charm about her that almost made Sabin want to smile. Maybe she’d gotten close to Sullivan. Sabin didn’t trust that openness, however, because he knew more about her now than he had in the beginning.

"Ms. Greer," he began slowly, "did you know that George Persall was–"

"Yes, I did," Jane interrupted cheerfully. "I helped him sometimes, but not often, because he liked to use different methods every time. I believe this is what you want." She opened the backpack and began digging in it. "I know it’s in here. There!" She produced the small roll of film, placing it on his desk.

Both men looked thunderstruck. "You’ve just been carrying it around?" Sabin asked in disbelief.

"Well, I didn’t have a chance to hide it. Sometimes I put it in my pocket. That way Turego could search my room all he wanted and he’d never find anything. All of you spy types try to make everything too complicated. George always told me to keep it simple."

Grant began to chuckle. He couldn’t help it; it was funny. "Jane, why didn’t you tell me you had the microfilm?"

"I thought it would be safer for you if you didn’t know about it."

Again Sabin looked thunderstruck, as if he couldn’t believe anyone would actually feel the need to protect Grant Sullivan. As Kell was normally the most impassive of men, Grant knew that Jane had tilted him off balance, just as she did everyone she met. Sabin coughed to cover his reaction.

"Ms. Greer," he asked cautiously, "do you know what’s on the film?"

"No. Neither did George."

Grant was laughing again. "Go ahead," he told Sabin. "Tell her about the film. Or, better yet, show her. She’ll enjoy it."

Sabin shook his head, then picked up the film and pulled it out, unwinding it. Grant produced his cigarette lighter, leaned forward, and set the end of the film on fire. The three watched as the flames slowly ate up the length of celluloid until it burned close to Sabin’s fingers and he dropped it into a large ashtray. "The film," Sabin explained, "was a copy of something we don’t want anyone else to know. All we wanted was for it to be destroyed before anyone saw it."

With the stench of burning plastic in her nostrils, Jane silently watched the last of the film curl and crumble. All they’d wanted was for it to be destroyed, and she’d hauled it through a jungle and across half a continent–just to hand it over and watch it burn. Her lips twitched; she was afraid of making a scene, so she tried to control the urge. But it was irresistible; it rolled upward, and a giggle escaped. She turned, looking at Grant, and between them flashed the memory of everything they’d been through. She giggled again, then they were both laughing, Jane hanging on to his shirt because she was laughing so hard her knees had gone limp.

"I fell down a cliff," she gasped. "We stole a truck… shot another truck…! broke Turego’s nose… all to watchit burn!"

Grant went into another spasm of laughter, holding his sore ribs and bending double. Sabin watched them clinging to each other and laughing uproariously. Curiosity seized him. "Why did you shoot a truck?" he asked; then suddenly he was laughing, too.

An agent paused outside the door, his head tilted, listening. No, it was impossible. Sabin never laughed.

They lay in bed in a hotel in the middle of Washington, D.C., pleasantly tired. They had made love as soon as the door was locked behind them, falling on the bed and removing only the necessary clothing. But that had been hours before, and now they were completely nude, slipping gradually into sleep.

Grant’s hand moved up and down her back in a lazy pattern. "Just how involved were you in Persall’s activities?"

"Not very," she murmured. "Oh, I knew about them. I had to know, so I could cover for him if I had to. And he sometimes used me as a courier, but not very often. Still, he talked to me a lot, telling me things. He was a strange, lonely man."

"Was he your lover?"

She lifted her head from his chest, surprised. "George? Of course not!"

"Why ‘of course not’? He was a man, wasn’t he? And he was in your bedroom when he died."

She paused. "George had a problem, a medical one. He wasn’t capable of being anyone’s lover."

"So that part of the report was wrong, too."

"Deliberately. He used me as a sort of shield."

He put his hand in her hair and held her for his kiss. "I’m glad. He was too old for you."

Jane watched him with wise, dark eyes. "Even if he hadn’t been, I wasn’t interested. You might as well know, you’re the only lover I’ve ever had. Until I met you, I’d never… wanted anyone."

"And when you met me…?" he murmured.

"I wanted." She lowered her head and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him, slithering her body over his until she felt his hardening response.

"I wanted, too," he said, his words a mere breath over her skin.

"I love you." The words were a cry of pain, launched by desperation, because she knew this was definitely the last time unless she took the chance. "Will you marry me?"