A Thin Disguise by Catherine Bybee

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Leo had laid traps many times in his career, most of them on paper, or during questioning.

But this one was so much sweeter.

She was close.

He felt her.

They left the hotel and rented a car.

Apparently, he was destined to be in the passenger seat while a woman drove.

Jax knew the roads, knew what the signs were saying without looking them up on a translation app.

Leo was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the people he’d been in contact with so far spoke English.

“Do you think she’s still in Germany?” he asked Jax.

“If she’s not, she’s likely on her way back. You had the TV on in the room, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then she knows you’re in Germany. Which is why she said you were going to get yourself killed.”

Leo had concluded the same thing. Disconnecting the computer was one of those tough love moments that gutted him.

He knew Olivia cared or she wouldn’t have contacted him.

But that had been hours ago.

He was banking on her contacting him again . . . soon.

They drove through the flat countryside of late fall colors while winter’s pointy nails put a chill in the air. The terrain, the climate . . . all of it was so incredibly opposite of living in California.

“What are the chances of Charlie talking to us?”

“He won’t tell us a thing unless he thinks it will protect Olivia.”

“He called Neil. Obviously, he felt she needed something.”

Jax nodded. “I wouldn’t be here if Neil felt differently.” She reached for the volume on the radio and turned it up with a smile. “I haven’t heard this song since I graduated.”

Leo smiled. It was in German. He didn’t understand a word.

The gates of Richter reminded him of old movies where the camera rolled up to a castle.

Jax gave her name to a man at the gate.

“Since when do schools have guards?” Leo asked.

“This is Richter.” She leaned out the window, said something else to the man, and waited for the gate to open.

Even though Leo had seen the grounds via Neil’s cameras—or more to the point, Neil tapping into Richter’s cameras—they didn’t do justice to the real thing.

The school loomed ahead like the giant it was. Stone and brick, pillars and glass. Lush trees lined the drive that went on forever. “This is pretty impressive.”

“It is all that.” Jax looked out the window and up into the trees as she drove. “Cameras are everywhere. Big Brother has nothing on Richter.”

“Duly noted.”

There were only a couple of cars parked in front of the school. From the maps he’d studied, the staff parking was around the back and only visitors parked at the entrance. “I take it there aren’t very many visitors.”

Jax put the car in park and cut the engine. “Never really are. More now than when I was here. This is more for dropping off and picking up, and since it’s a boarding school, that only happens on weekends and holidays. When there are events, a valet service is hired.”

“What is tuition?”

Jax laughed. “Too much. You ready?”

“From the second I got on the plane.”

They exited the car and walked the short distance to the front doors.

Jax lost all semblance of the slightly carefree twenty-four-year-old the second she placed one foot on the first step. Her shoulders pushed back, her chin shot up, and she removed her large-rimmed sunglasses as they approached the man standing at the top.

Her first words were in German and met with a smile.

She reached out a hand and shook his.

Both of his hands sandwiched hers.

“Where are my manners?” Jax turned to Leo. “Headmaster Vogt, I’d like to introduce a friend of mine, Leo Kenner.” The last thing they wanted was Leo’s real name used.

“Mr. Kenner. Welcome to Richter.”

“Leo, please.” They shook hands. “Headmaster.”

The man was slightly shorter than Leo, maybe a decade older. When he spoke English, most of his German accent disappeared. “Only the students call me Headmaster. It’s Johan.”

Jax placed her hand on Leo’s arm and stepped closer. For the next however long they were on campus, Jax and Leo were a couple, and she was showing him where she went to school.

“I told you he was kind.”

“What brings you back?” Johan asked.

“Like I told your secretary, I wanted to show Leo where I grew up before he meets my parents.”

Johan stepped aside; his eyes found Leo’s. “Ahh, the parents. That’s always a special time.”

“Jax has warned me.”

She smiled, patted his arm. “That I have.”

They walked into a grand foyer that spread out to the left and right in equal proportions. Straight ahead were massive windowpaned doors leading into a courtyard.

“This is unbelievable,” Leo murmured.

“Nothing in America compares,” Jax said.

Johan walked them toward the courtyard. “I would certainly hope not.”

The courtyard was filled with clusters of students of all ages.

“The scarves are new,” Jax pointed out.

“A demand of the students.”

“Since when do the students demand anything?” Jax asked.

“You know there have been many changes since you were in attendance. The students having a voice in their lives here is one of them. When scarves for the different dorms were suggested, I honestly thought we’d be asked to hand out wands and teach classes on how to use eye of newt.” He paused as they all chuckled. “As it turns out, it’s easier to determine if a student is somewhere they shouldn’t be.”

Jax leaned forward. “They’d just borrow someone else’s if they want to sneak around.”

Johan laughed. “We are aware. But then it’s willful, isn’t it?”

Leo felt Jax’s fingers grip his arm. “How is willful disobedience handled these days?” Leo asked.

Johan met his gaze. “Not as strongly as it once was. I assure you.”

“That’s good to know.”

The headmaster turned to them, clasped his hands. “I certainly don’t need to give you a tour, as Jacqueline is quite capable.”

Leo smiled at Jax when her full name was used.

The headmaster continued. “All I ask is that you don’t disturb any classes in session. We reserve that for parents considering Richter for their children.”

Jax tilted her head. “That’s a little far off.”

Johan looked between the two of them, his smile wide. “Life sneaks up on you.”

“Is there anywhere you’d like us to avoid?” Jax asked.

He shook his head. “We have nothing to hide here at Richter.” He started walking away.

“Headmaster?” Jax stopped him. “Is Checkpoint Charlie still here? I’d really like him to meet Leo.”

“Yes, Charles spends quite a bit of time in the upperclassmen dorms. You’ll likely find him there.”

“Thank you.”

Johan turned to Leo. “Wonderful to meet you. Do stop by the administration and let them know when you’re leaving campus.”

Jax let go of Leo’s arm as the headmaster walked out of sight. “Anytime someone tells you they have nothing to hide . . .”

“They have something to hide.”

Jax sighed. “Let’s go find Charlie.”

Olivia thought she was done spying on Richter.

Until she followed Leo and Jax as they left the Hilton and drove there.

God, it was good to see him.

Goddamn him for following her to Germany.

And damn it to hell . . . what had Charlie told them?

Olivia followed them back to the hotel and then again an hour later when they left to grab dinner. Once she was fairly certain that was the extent of their plans, she liberated a master key from a hotel maid and slipped into Leo’s room.

She searched his things but didn’t touch his computer. Three women on Neil’s team were trained by the same instructors as her. When it was obvious there wasn’t anything in the room that clued her in to something useful, she sat in the lone chair, grabbed a jar of fifteen-euro peanuts, and put her feet up on the bed.

She needed to end this thing and send him back to the States after shattering any fantasy he had about her.

Because that’s all she could be.

A fantasy.

Ninety minutes—and half the minibar snacks later—the electronic lock on Leo’s door told her it was showtime.

She took a fortifying breath and put on her best resting bitch face.

Leo stopped in his doorway, his eyes aimed right at her.

Ignoring the surge of adrenaline and the increasing beat of her heart, she set the pace. “Close the damn door before someone sees me.”

He released the door, let it swing shut, and took a step closer. The relief on his face was so transparent she wanted to cry inside. That was the kind of look that would get him killed.

She lifted a hand. “No, no. This is not a social call.”

He stopped. “You look tired.”

She stood. “What are you trying to prove?” she asked and didn’t wait for him to reply. “That the FBI hires idiots? Because coming here, looking for me . . . you’re a dead man walking if anyone connects the dots.”

“A chance I’m willing to take.” He removed his jacket and tossed it on the edge of the bed.

She dug her nails into her palms. “What did Charlie tell you?”

He smiled. “I find it completely counterproductive for you to tell me you don’t care and follow me at the same time.”

“I tried shaking you in Vegas.” She pointed to her chest. “This Olivia would have used you for a night and kicked you out in the street without your shoes. The woman in Colorado no longer exists. I’m sure Neil warned you about me.”

Leo rubbed his chin. “Neil told me a lot . . . but Sasha, she was the one with some insight.”

Olivia took one step closer, lowered her voice. “I am not the kind of person you want anything to do with.”

Leo sighed, rolled his index finger in the air. “Oh, I know it. The Assassin and the FBI Agent. Believe me, that’s been spinning in my head for a month.”

Why was he smiling? “I’ve killed people.”

He chuckled. “Killed. Past tense.”

“Leo—”

“You’re not on any list, by the way. Not one. We’ve looked. You were truly a ghost in those years you worked for you-know-who.” He pulled at the top button of his shirt. “According to my people, you’re nothing.”

“That doesn’t change the facts.”

“No. It doesn’t. As Neil pointed out . . . you and I know a lot of people who might have ended someone else’s life. Half of Neil’s team saw combat.”

“Not the same.”

“Are you telling me you took joy in killing?” He narrowed his gaze.

She blinked a few times. “Like plucking birds from the sky.”

He grinned.

She wanted to slap him. “Why are you doing this?”

“I told you my feelings,” he said slowly. “When you love someone, you don’t sit back while they self-destruct. You try and stop them. In fact . . . that’s kinda what you’re doing right now.”

She swallowed, his words too close to the truth.

He took a step closer.

She held her ground.

“Me loving you will not get me killed,” he said. “You loving me—”

“I don’t love you.” Her words were sharp.

Again with his smile. “That’s fine. Not going to change anything.”

“Is that right?”

He nodded. “My objective is the same. Find your classmate from Richter before you do.”

It was annoying that he was neck and neck with her intelligence. “And do what?”

“Same as you. Find out who hired him or her.”

She turned away from him for the first time since he entered the room. What now? Race him to Budapest? Him or her . . . Leo didn’t have a name. And even if Charlie had given them the same information, she had the advantage.

Olivia moved her head from side to side as she turned. “I’ve warned you. My conscience is clear.” She started to walk by him.

He laughed.

She stopped in front of him, her glare directed to his eyes. “What do you find so amusing?”

“Assassins don’t have a conscience.”

She needed to leave.

One step and his hand shot out and grabbed hers.

She was out of his grip and had him pinned against the wall, her elbow to his neck, in two breaths. “Don’t.”

Both of his hands came to her waist. His eyes softened.

Her hold faltered.

Leo grasped her hips and brought them flush with his.

“You’re an idiot.”

He held her in place and gently removed the arm she had to his throat. “I know.”

She stared, breath harsh, and Leo crashed his lips to hers.

She let him . . . for a moment. How she missed him, wanted him even with all the risk. Push him away. Show him you don’t care.

Olivia followed her inner voice, tried to shove.

He didn’t budge.

She closed her lips, denying him.

Leo’s hand moved to her neck, her hair, and not so gently pulled it back.

Her eyes opened to find him staring, his thumb stroking her jaw, and when she gasped, he kissed her again.

And she was drowning. The feel of him on her, the taste of his lips . . .

Use him and kick him out.

She could do that. One night.

The second her mind decided, she swept his tongue with hers and pushed against his erection with a fever that matched the stupidity of the moment.

Clothes flew and hands moved. Neither of them said a word. This was raw and physical, the kind of sex Olivia preferred.

His fingers pinched.

Her nails dragged over his skin.

Need. Just need,she chanted in her head.

The second Leo pushed her onto the bed he was inside her and everything stilled.

And just like that, he intertwined their fingers before he started to move. The raw became tender, the physical became more. The more that lingered in her chest as he brought her closer to completion.

Only she knew how this man worked. She wrapped her legs around his waist and gave in.

Olivia took what he offered, over and over.

He told her she cared.

She called him a fool.

And with every insult, he made her cry out his name again.

Hours later, they gave in to exhaustion. And somewhere in the middle of the night, she pressed her lips to his chest before sneaking out of his room.