Free The Spy With the Silver Lining by Wendy Rosnau

know me better you’ll find out I don’t give a damn about how I look. I do what I do, and I live with the outcome.”
    “Typical man.”
    “What’s that suppose to mean?”
    “You’re the smart one, you figure it out.”
    This was going to be hell, Pierce thought. He would surely strangle her before week’s end.
    “Can we bury the hatchet?” he asked, keeping his voice level and as emotionless as possible.
    “Where do you want it? Skull, or a little lower? What do you value most? I’ll be sure to take that off first.”
    “This is bullshit.” Pierce slammed on the brakes and pulled to the side of the road. He put the Jeep into Park, then reached across her and swung open the passenger door. “Out.”
    “What?”
    “You heard me. Out. I’m done.”
    “Done?”
    “Done with you. Call Polax and tell him any damn thing you want. Tell him I left you stranded. Tell him I quit. Tell him you need a new bodyguard. One who’s deaf.”
    They were on a back road about three miles from Le Mystère. His home was another two miles farther south. He looked down at her feet. If she took off her shoes, and dug in her heels, she could make it in to town before dark.
    “And Mama?”
    “I’ll send her into town with Lazie. If you stay on this road, you’ll find it. Your kind always manage somehow.”
    “My kind? What’s that suppose to mean?
    “You’re a smart girl, you figure it out,” he said, tossing her words back at her. “Now move your ass.”
    “No.”
    Pierce swore, then climbed out of the Jeep. He rounded the hood and reached into the passenger side to haul her out. She had to know what was coming. Maybe that was why she pulled her gun on him. He never expected it, had been too pissed off at the moment to remember that she was a resourceful bitch.
    “Back up.”
    “Or you’ll shoot me?”
    “That would be murder. I need a better reason to kill a man than stupidity.” She tossed more of his words back at him, then aimed the gun at his right leg. “But knocking you down a notch wouldn’t cause me any sleepless nights. Doubt it?”
    Pierce knew he’d made a rare mistake. She was dead serious about shooting him. Not ending his life, but he’d go down nonetheless. He backed up, watched as she reached out and slammed the door shut, then climbed over the console and into the driver’s seat.
    Then she was speeding away from him, leaving him on the side of the road in a cloud of dust.
    He realized a moment later that his cell phone was still in the Jeep. He couldn’t even call Lazie to come get him.
    “Sonofabitch.”
    It was the beginning of a long string of crude adjectives as Pierce dug in his heels and started toward Le Mystère. Five minutes later, he flagged down Murphy Logen on his way in to Le Mystère to sell his daily catch of fish to Wanda at the Catfish Lounge.
     
    He was a fool if he thought she was going to let him quit. No one quit on her unless it was her idea.
    I’m done. Ha!
    He would be done when she said he was done.
    Casmir rounded a corner and saw what looked like a town. If this was Le Mystère, Mama was going to flip out. Shopping in this town, unless it was for gas and groceries, was definitely out.
    She spotted a bar that seemed to have more activity than anyplace else and pulled the Jeep into the dirt parking lot in front of the Ginger Root. Hoping that someone in this godforsaken place would know the address of Pierce Fourtier’s home, she stepped through the front door and scanned the dingy bar.
    No surprises inside: it was a carbon copy of the outside, even though the handful of lightbulbs dangling from the ceiling defused a multitude of sins. It smelled like a smoker’s heaven. A place Pierce would probably like, she thought.
    She scanned the crowd of men collected at the bar, looking for someone Pierce would know—another gypsy scum. There were several to pick from.
    She headed for the empty stool at the bar, noting there was a woman serving the crusty