Curtain Call (The Jewel Project #7)

Epilogue

Ten years later

A myriad of faces slid across the large screen, each one lingering only for a few seconds before switching to the next.

Kyle didn't need more. He'd become accustomed to catching the tiny detail he was looking for in the split second it was on screen. Over the years, he'd had to absorb impossible amounts of information and comb through it to find what he needed.

At first, it had been information about the agents the Counters still had. Then, as their war waged on and the Counters crumbled, they'd branched out to leaders of various crime rings. He did have and entire army of men to keep busy after all.

And as they searched and eliminated, they had finally come to the point where he believed they'd reached the final head of the Counters. The last man standing.

"Hey, how's it going?" Kay came next to him and leaned her elbow on his shoulder. "Dinner is almost ready."

He leaned in a planted a short kiss on her lips. "Good, I'm starving. And I'd say it's going pretty well. These are the people on the last personnel list Corey provided."

Kay's blue eyes focused on the screen as her finger played with a loose tendril of golden hair. She hadn't changed much over the years, if at all. She was still as gorgeous as the day they met and smelled like lilies. As fun, as intelligent and as ready for action.

"Huh..." She pushed a button on the console in front of the screen and the image froze, displaying Harry. "So, he's still with them?"

Kyle glanced at Sam's former best friend as well. "It's not confirmed. Corey and Vanessa think he might be on the run, actually."

"Well, good luck to him," Kay mumbled, pressing the button again and letting the images resume their hectic dance.

And as the headshots flickered by, it was Kyle's turn to press the button to stop the slideshow. The haggard face of a man filled the screen. His cheeks were saggy, like a bulldog's, and his eyes sunken, with heavy bags under them. The pockmarks and the papery aspect of his skin indicated he was a heavy smoker. His hair, even if barely visible because of the buzz cut, seemed to be mostly white.

"Ugh," Kay said. "Seems like a fit. And that name... Rufus Peck."

"We might be looking at the last of the Agency heads," Kyle said. The information accompanying the photo fit. Ex-military, early sixties, around for the Counters' descent into madness as the Cold War ended and they remained pointless.

"So..." She hesitated for a moment. "Are you planning to go after him personally?"

He tapped his fingers to his chin. "I don't know, I haven't considered it yet. Would be only fair."

"I guess." She tried to sound casual, but she was obviously nervous.

He grinned. "Still worried about me, sweetheart? After all these years?"

She turned and slapped his arm. "I'll always be worried about you. Comes with loving you."

"Or maybe you girls would like to take a stab at him." Because they had been joining them on missions for the past few years, since the kids were old enough to look after each other and they could all head out again.

It had seemed to breathe new life into Kay, Jessie and Angie, to be out on assignments again, infiltrating and bringing down human trafficking rings. And it was how it was supposed to be. Kyle had never intended to cut their wings and keep them inside. They were, after all, very efficient.

Kay's entire frame relaxed and she gave him a seductive smile. "Maybe we could do it together." And she ran her hand down his cheek, on his shoulder, then his side.