Danger, Honey, Danger!

An excerpt from Danger, Honey, Danger!

Her evening clothes neatly folded into a paper back and tucked behind the embassy, Heather waded naked into the water of the Pulgo River. When her mission was complete, she would be able to swim back, slip back into her evening clothes, and rejoin the party. But for now, she gripped the knife in her teeth and peered around for any sign of guards. Then she swam strongly across the little river, navigating by moonlight toward the far shore. It was cold, but only enough to cool her from the warm Czech summer night.

In a few minutes, the nude girl slithered up the river bank thru the reeds. Petrovim's villa was quiet and dark. Heather went quietly to the outbuilding behind the house. The sound of a balalaika played inside. Petrovim's window was lit—and ajar.

Summoning her strength again, Heather climbed the stones on the face of the house. She dug her fingers and toes into the cracks to get a hold. She used the drainpipe to gain a better foothold and boosted herself up to the window.

Inside, the wet, breathless, nude tiptoed across the wooden floor to a desk near the door. Papers lay strewn all around, but she ignored them. She lay the knife aside and pulled the bottom drawer all the way out. Taped to the underside was a piece of paper; just as Petrovim had taught her father to do. On it were seven names, four of them already neatly crossed out. There was her father's name: Herbert Braser.

Just then, the balalaika music stopped. Heather steeled herself to knife anyone who might walk thru the door, Petrovim or not.

Then she had another thought. The balalaika player was probably Gorka, not Petrovim. And since she was traveling as Linda Grader, the lusty playgirl daughter of an American consul, if Gorka found her here, naked, he would merely assume she had slept with Petrovim.

She put her knife and the paper in the drawer and slid it back in place. Then she threw back the bed sheets to rumple them. Just then, footsteps at the door made her freeze. It opened and the light flicked on.

"Miss Grader? Well...I didn't realize your wild streak went quite so deep...."

It was Petrovim—and her knife was well out of reach. She turned.

"Vrusha," she said turning. "I've been waiting for you." She leaned back against the bed with a coy smile.