Covert Christmas Twin. Heather Woodhaven

there’s no time to be analyzing the security for—”

      “Right. Our visitors will probably be drawn to the front and side entrances. As long as they’re not at the back yet, we make a run for the neighbor’s house. It’s empty. I noticed the foreclosure sign when we approached. You can pick a lock, right?”

      “Yes, but I don’t always carry a lock-picking set.”

      He raised an eyebrow as if in disbelief.

      “Fine. I brought one with me today, but I really don’t carry it at all times.” Truth was, if she hadn’t interacted with the professor at the classroom, she’d planned to investigate the town house before leaving. Not exactly legal, but she’d justified the possibility since she had potential evidence that her birth mother was tampering with her federal investigations by providing anonymous tips. Now, there was no need. Beverly had admitted as much.

      “Unlock the back for us next door, and we can hide in there until the coast is clear enough to make it to my car.”

      Kendra was used to calling the shots when working with a partner, but Joe seemed ready to take the reins. Showing her the way out of the house was one thing, but planning out the mission was another. “My rental car makes more sense. We can ditch it before there’s any need to track it, and I didn’t use my real name to rent it. If it stays at the college campus it’ll draw attention, especially given the shooting investigation, and lead to my identity being discovered faster.”

      Beverly poked her head around the bottom of the staircase. “Go already. The back is clear!”

      “I forgot she had cameras there, too.” Joe pressed the open button on the keypad and they burst through the door, down a long hallway lined with tall windows covered in green roller shades, through a kitchen that still held a woodstove and old-fashioned refrigerator. If they had the time Kendra would’ve wanted to soak in the feeling of being in the early 1900s. Joe led them through the dining room and hovered at the back doorknob.

      They each took a window on either side. “It’s clear over here,” she whispered, in case the men had already entered the house. “Are you sure Beverly has another way out of this place?”

      “I know her well enough to know she always has a backup plan.” Joe put a finger to his lips before he opened the door. She followed him into the sticky air. The so-called bushes he’d referred to were, in reality, five-foot-tall weeds. They ran through the rest of the wild grasses and around the second house.

      “Keep watch.” Kendra slipped out her government-issued steel picks and made short work of the flimsy back-door lock. Joe poked his head around the corner of the house, watching for anyone coming their way. The door squeaked when she pulled on the doorknob, but they slipped inside the weathered blue house into another old kitchen, left abandoned in the middle of a remodel.

      Joe joined her and closed the door behind him. “The men haven’t entered her house yet. They’re circling.” He kept his voice soft.

      Kendra peeled back the side edge of the window shade half an inch. “They’ve got two men approaching the back entrance.” She straightened. “The house is surrounded, but I never saw Beverly exit unless she did while I picked the lock. We know there were men already at the front and side. How is she getting out?”

      “She might have decided to bluff her way out. Unless Masked is sure she’s betrayed them, they won’t hurt her.”

      “How can you be so sure?”

      “Your mother—”

      “Please don’t call her that.” She closed her eyes and exhaled. Her bones felt heavy with destroyed hopes. “I’m not ready. Beverly is so antagonistic, so bitter, so... She knows nothing about me, but she basically implied I’m bad at my job.”

      “Understood. It won’t happen again.” He nodded. “She’s a hard woman, but she’d be the first to admit it. I suppose if you lived your entire adult life undercover, it might do that to a person.”

      Kendra prickled at the thought. She’d been undercover for several years. Already, she’d developed a thick skin and a tendency to assume the worst of people. Was Beverly a walking example of her future? “Why is she so valuable to Masked?”

      “She’s the expert at behavior analysis. The CIA recruited her because she could pinpoint with disturbing accuracy the people that were foreign agents hiding among us. When they sent her overseas, she knew who was an American agent without any prior knowledge. Back in those days, the KGB also seemed to be good at pinpointing Americans. Beverly taught our side what indicators were giving our agents away. Agents often drove the same types of cars, always took the same type of jobs—sometimes the exact same job and apartment as their predecessors.”

      “Does it surprise you that I can believe it? You’ve been in the Bureau long enough to see its flaws, maybe more so since you’re an analyst. Our government excels at many things, but bureaucracy makes room for plenty of blind spots in the intelligence community.”

      “True, but we can thank her for a lot of the improvements that have been made since before we were born. She also pointed out where their training made them stand out in a world of other agents. Her real passion was research, though, so she retired from the CIA at a young age and continued her work in academia. That’s when she met...” Joe’s brow furrowed.

      Kendra wasn’t sure she was ready to hear any more news about her father. “If she was that good, why didn’t she pick up that my father was a double agent?”

      Joe removed his own sunglasses but avoided her gaze. “When I was at the Bureau, I saw enough cases where love blinded people.”

      Her cheeks heated so fast it took her off guard. “Well, I wouldn’t know about that.”

      “I imagine her shame at being duped is what sent her back into Intelligence, but this time with the NCS.”

      “You’re saying it’s her way of making amends.”

      “If I’ve learned one thing today, it’s not to underestimate her. I don’t presume to know any of her motivations.”

      “So you’re sure she’s NCS. How do we know she’s not the mole?”

      “I think her earlier logic about taking down the communications network answered that. Besides, didn’t you say all her anonymous tips helped your cases?”

      She’d forgotten momentarily about that. “I’m finding it hard to believe the unfeeling woman I just met could do anything helpful without her own agenda.”

      “Either way, her actions don’t really sound like the modus operandi of the Pirate.” He peeked out the blinds. “Two more cars arrived. That’s not a good sign.”

      “They wouldn’t send so many if they were just checking on her.” Kendra took another glance out the window to see for herself. “I count three from my vantage point alone. I’m sure there’s more. They haven’t entered the house yet.” She reared back. “We can’t let her be ambushed like this.” She pulled her gun from the back and rushed toward the stairs. “Come on, sharpshooter.”

      “I shot that man only out of defense. I don’t purposely kill anyone. Not anymore.”

      She faltered on the first step. She had a feeling he was referring to his military experience before he joined the FBI. “I appreciate that you saved my life back there. If I haven’t said it before, thank you. But, Joe, I can’t stand around and let Beverly get killed. I can take out most of those gunmen, but not all. I need your help.”

      Joe paled and reached for his weapon. “I can see that.”

      Kendra followed his gaze to a side window with a plate-sized rip in the shade. She’d been spotted.

      Joe