I, Spy? (Sophie Green Mysteries, No. 1) (Sophie Green Mystery)

beat.”
    Luke looked into my eyes and we slowed almost to a stop. I could hardly breathe. He was going to kiss me again.
    “Time’s up,” he whispered, and released me.
    Bastard.
    We took the lift up to the third floor and the atmosphere was tense. Gray’s Hotel was movie-set grand, panelled in gleaming wood with faded gilt everywhere and lots of dark, aged paintings. But I hardly noticed, because every sense I had was desperately attuned to Luke walking easily beside me.
    “Knock,” he said to me when we reached the door. “If he’s still awake, go in and wait for him to sleep.”
    “What if he’s not drunk the champagne?”
    “Propose a toast.”
    I took a deep breath and knocked. Nothing. I knocked again. “David?”
    “Oh, he’s David now?” Luke mocked under his breath as I tried the handle, with no success.
    Luke pulled something from his pocket, a little wire, and picked the lock.
    “Please show me how to do that,” I begged.
    “You planning on breaking into a lot of places?”
    No, I just got locked out a lot.
    “Hey, if you know it, I should know it. Spy training and all that,” I whispered as Luke pushed the door open and reached for the gun holstered under his immaculately cut jacket.
    We were immediately hit by the sound of snoring. I couldn’t keep a straight face.
    “Oh, is that the welcome I get?” I said.
    Luke grinned. “Wouldn’t catch me sleeping,” he said. “Oh, Jesus, look at this.”
    We stood and looked at Wright, who was flaked out completely naked on the huge four-poster bed.
    “Oh, that’s just not pretty,” I said, holding up my hand to shield my eyes.
    “Definitely not,” Luke agreed, holstering his gun and going over to Wright. He slapped the sleeping guy’s cheek, and Wright snored louder. “Right. You keep an eye on the door. You never know, he might have invited lots of revellers up here.”
    Charming thought.
    I stood by the door, listening hard for footsteps, while Luke did a lightning sweep of the room. I was gratified to see he checked all the places I had the night before, in Rome. Suitcase, briefcase, drawers, checking for hidden compartments in each.
    Then he went over to the laptop. There hadn’t been one of those in Rome.
    “This could take some time,” he said.
    “Why, computer illiterate?”
    He gave me a withering glance and took a USB stick out of his jacket pocket.
    What the hell else did he keep in there?
    Every minute he spent searching and downloading I was sure Wright was going to wake up or someone was going to come in. I was practically hopping with nervousness when there came a knock on the door.
    “Shit,” I said to Luke, who nodded and quickly ejected the disk and pocketed it.
    “Answer it. Make them go.”
    Heart pounding, I crossed to the door and when I opened it, I nearly fainted.
    “Harvey?”
    “Sophie?” He looked as amazed as me. “What are you doing here?”
    “I, er, this is my room.”
    Harvey looked at the number. “Really? Your room?”
    “I, er…”
    “No,” I felt a hand on my shoulder and another at my waist, “our room. Sophie, honey, friend of yours?”
    Oh, sweet Jesus.

Chapter Twelve
     
    I looked back at Luke, whose fingers were firm on my shoulder, then at Harvey, who looked speechless.
    “You’re sharing with your brother?” he asked eventually, and I could have kicked Luke. Hadn’t he heard me say that?
    “Is that what she called me?” Luke said easily. “Bad girl, Sophie, telling lies like that.”
    Harvey looked between us. “You’re a couple?”
    Looked like it. “Yes,” I said. “But it’s a secret.”
    “Sophie, could I talk to you a second?” Harvey said tensely, and I extracted myself from Luke and slipped out of the room before he could protest.
    “What’s up?”
    Harvey folded his arms. “You didn’t tell me about him in Rome.”
    “No, well, erm, like I said, it’s a secret.”
    “So secret you came back to my room?”
    I blushed.
    “Is that why you left?”
    “Sudden attack of conscience,” I said meekly. “I’m sorry, Harvey. It’s…it’s complicated.”
    That was becoming my catch phrase.
    Harvey shook his glossy head. “And I thought he was your brother,” he said as the door opened and Luke came out.
    “He’s not my brother. My brother is in Essex. You remember, Luke, I was talking to him when we were on the phone the other day…”
    “Oh, so you do have a brother?” Harvey said.
    “I thought he was your boyfriend,” Luke