Espionage

Grace-Chapter 11

Unlocking the door to her apartment, Grace stepped inside and Isaac followed her. He let out a low whistle, surveying the apartment with a grin. "Nice place you've got here, very nice. You should have invited me over sooner."

Grace laughed and Isaac's grin widened. "I guess technically I didn't invite you the first time, did I?"

"Or the second," Isaac said nonchalantly, popping one of the chocolates he had left for her into his mouth. "This is actually my third visit."

Grace's jaw dropped. How the hell did he do that? "I have so many questions, the most important of which is why?"

"Well, I had to do some recon on my future partner," he teased. "Plus you always have really good snacks lying around."

Rolling her eyes, Grace tried to suppress a grin. When that failed, she said, "I'd tell you to help yourself but hey, you already did that."

Isaac plopped down on the couch as Grace got down a couple of mugs from the cabinet. She scooped some of the hot chocolate mix she had brought with her from the States into the bottom before filling both mugs with milk and stirring them. After placing them in the microwave, she went over to the couch and sat on the armrest next to Isaac's head.

"Tell me something real about you," she said, looking down at him. "I don't think I know anything about you."

Grinning, Isaac sat up, lacing his fingers behind his head. "Well, you already know that I'm a dashing and debonaire spy who enjoys a good prank. Not much else to know really."

It almost felt like his remark was a deliberate slap in the face. Grace opened her mouth to retort, but the sound of the microwave dinging cut across her. She stood up and crossed back into the kitchen in annoyance. "Everything's a joke to you isn't it? Fine, if you don't want to tell me anything, that's your decision."

She set both mugs down on the counter with more force than was absolutely necessary, deliberately turning her back on Isaac. She had felt like they made some good progress, both on the mission and toward becoming friends, but apparently not. She took a slow sip of her hot chocolate but all she managed to do was burn her tongue. Soft footsteps approached the counter from behind her and she heard the scrape of Isaac's mug being taken off the dark granite.

"Okay," he said quietly. "Here you go—two truths and a lie. The first time I saved the Vice President's life was an accident, I have a brother and a sister who don't have any idea where I am, and I've climbed Mount Everest before."

Grace tapped her chin thoughtfully. The problem with playing this with Isaac was that he was a seriously good liar. Even better than most of the agents she had worked with before. But she was starting to get a feel for how he operated now, at least enough that she could make a guess.

"I'm going to say Mount Everest is the lie."

"Wrong," Isaac grinned. Grace frowned for a split second but then the corners of his eyes crinkled as he continued. "They were all true."

"Cheater," Grace giggled, smacking his shoulder good-naturedly. "That's not how the game works."

"Well, no one ever said I played by the rules," Isaac teased, taking another sip of hot chocolate. "I actually climbed Mount Everest in college, it was pretty fun in spite of the frostbite."

Grace just shook her head wryly. In spite of herself, and certainly without her realizing it, she was beginning to like him. All the annoyance and dislike she had harbored for him were melting away, being replaced by an easy friendship. "You never cease to amaze, Cooper."

"I know," he joked, shooting her a teasing smile. "You know, usually how this works is I get to guess now."

Frowning, Grace had to think for a minute. Her life pre-CIA hadn't been all that exciting, but surely she could think of something. "Okay, I broke a vertebrae on my best friend's trampoline when I was little, I was a straight A student in school, and I have been in a kayak right next to a whale."

Isaac considered her for a moment before saying, "There's no way you were in a kayak right next to a whale. That only happens in those cheesy nature documentaries."

"Wrong," Grace laughed. "They were all true. Two can play at that game, Cooper."

They lapsed into silence for several seconds. Grace drained the last of her hot chocolate from the mug and sighed. "So basically our job now is to wait?"

"Yup," Isaac nodded. "We can't really make a move until Wilmer and the rest of the group do. If we don't catch them in the act, this whole mission becomes a moot point."

"I hate waiting," Grace mumbled, rinsing out her mug. "Is there something we can do to help Will in the meantime?"

Isaac shook his head. "Not really, all we can do is report what the terrorists are doing back to him. He even has Hans' house staked out so we don't blow our covers by getting caught spying on them."

Grace nodded. Even though she wanted this mission to be over, she knew that spying was mostly a waiting game. Even though it sucked. She looked over at Isaac who looked at her as though lost in thought.

"What?" she asked, feeling her cheeks heat up under his intense gaze. Isaac seemed to shake himself out of it and said, "You've got a hot chocolate mustache going on there."

Quickly reaching for a napkin, Grace turned away to wipe the hot chocolate away, the blush in her cheeks deepening. How embarrassing was that?!

Wadding the napkin up in her hand, she turned back to Isaac, not quite able to meet his eyes.

"Do you really want to go out with Will?" Isaac asked suddenly, catching Grace completely off guard. Grace just shrugged, why did he care?

"I think so," Grace replied. "I mean he's nice and he seems like a great guy. He did ask me out for a date once this assignment is over. Why?"

Isaac jerked a shoulder in a shrug, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Because I happen to know that he'll bore you to death. He's a great guy but trust me, you might die of boredom."

Giggling, Grace said, "Oh come on, he can't be that bad."

"No, it's true," Isaac grinned. "Snoresville, USA. He has no idea how to talk to smart, sophisticated women like you."

The blush bloomed on Grace's cheeks again. Did he really just give her a compliment? Isaac glanced at his watch quickly before standing up.

"I should go, it's getting late."

Grace nodded and started walking toward the door, but as she drew near to it, she realized that Isaac wasn't right behind her like she had thought. A sudden chill swept through the apartment and Grace walked back into the kitchen to see an open window. Did he just...?

Sticking her head out the window, she cast a glance around for Isaac but he had already disappeared from sight. She shivered in the biting cold night air for a few seconds before giving up looking for him and closing the window. One thing was for sure, there was never a dull moment when Isaac Cooper was around.