Noble Intentions: Season Four Read Online Free PDF Page A

arms."
    Bear smiled and nodded and reached out for the salt. "Good job, kid. Now pass that over here."
    They finished eating in less than ten minutes. Bear spent most of that time drinking his coffee, his sandwich only lasting sixty seconds. He scanned the
    street. Every time he glanced at Mandy, she was doing the same. He'd given her pointers on what to look for, patterns she should notice, and what a team
    acting in cohesion might attempt to do while stalking. This information was relearned regularly. In time, she would commit it to memory and it would become
    second nature.
    They left the cafe and joined the crowds on the misty sidewalk. It seemed thicker, denser than just fifteen minutes earlier. Pressing forward, Bear began
    to feel as though they were close to their destination. He resisted the urge to rush, knowing they might be in a holding pattern soon. If they were being
    tailed, even for the purposes of gathering information, he didn't want to linger too long and blow the location. That would hamper their ability to return,
    nullifying his chances of seeing Kat again.
    When they came to the old stone wall, he knew at once they had found the right place.
    "This is it."
    "What is it?"
    "An apartment complex."
    "Who do you know in here?"
    "A friend."
    "We went from England to Rome to Barcelona and then Paris just so you could see a friend?"
    Bear said nothing as they passed the locked iron gate.
    "And why are we walking past? Didn't you call first?"
    "Pipe down, Mandy."
    "Whatever."
    He reached out in front of her and they both stopped. She leaned back against the wall. He faced her. Her eyes darted left and right and back again,
    studying the faces that passed. It was like Bear had eyes in the back of his head now.
    "Listen," he said. "That door needs a key on both sides. Got it? You can't let it fall shut once you get through."
    "How am I going to get through?"
    "We've gotta wait. As soon as someone enters or exits, you catch the gate at the last moment and go through. But make sure it rests against the frame. OK?"
    "OK."
    "All right, go."
    Bear watched the girl trot thirty feet away and stop near the gate. They didn't have to wait more than fifteen minutes for it to open. An older woman
    glanced down and smiled at Mandy as she exited onto the sidewalk. Even held the gate for the girl. Bear overheard Mandy thank the woman in French. Iron
    hinges grated as the gate swung shut, but instead of a rattling as the lock engaged, metal softly clanked against metal.
    Bear waited a minute, then walked toward the gate. Mandy stood on the other side.
    "Papa," she said in her French accent, and she swung the gate open.
    Bear grabbed hold and stepped through, carefully resetting the gate against the lock, but not engaging it.
    He followed the stone sidewalk through the complex until they reached Kat's building. The mist had driven everyone, even the cats, inside. Not even the
    bravest of children were out today. The playground equipment stood barren. Wind blew the swings back and forth. Bear stopped in front of the weathered
    door. Paint littered the stoop like lead snow. With a push, it opened silently on well-oiled hinges. The mustiness of the foyer caused Mandy to sneeze. The
    sound echoed up and down the stairwell.
    They climbed the stairs. Bear three at a time. Mandy running to keep up. Her wheezing returned. Bear slowed down, but it didn't help. Each of the floors
    had different tiling. On Kat's level, it was a blue and pink paisley design. Of all things, that was what Bear had committed to memory. They reached the
    floor, and Bear led the way down the narrow hallway. He stopped at the corner before Kat's apartment.
    "Why are we waiting here?" Mandy asked.
    "Just a minute, all right?" He didn't want to tell her he had to gather up the nerve to knock on the door and face Kat. It wasn't only feelings he had for
    her. It was the guilt of Pierre taking the bullets that had been meant for him.
    She shrugged. "Whatever. Just