Cold War, hot spies, y'all. Vincent and Kolya are back -- in the Deep South. They must protect a brilliant chemist and his family while the man completes the new formula he's promised to sell to T.H.R.U.S.T.<br><br>The assignment should have been a piece of pecan pie, but F.I.S.T. has its eye on the formula, and the local rednecks take exception to a bunch of Damn Yankees moving into their territory. Can the two spies keep the family safe? Will the doctor's two precocious children sabotage the whole assignment?<br><br>And what about Vincent and Kolya's new relationship? This is their first assignment since they made the decision to move in together. Can they cope with the strain of the job ... and the humidity? Or will their new romance be put on the back burner along with the grits and collard greens?

Southern Fried Spies

“I’ll help you cook,” she told Nikoloz. “I’d love to learn to make Russian pancakes.”


Dr. Yarborough, caught in mid-sip, choked on his coffee. Vincent slapped the man on the back until he stopped coughing. “If you’re going to play host to all of us,” Vincent said, “Nikoloz and I should go grocery shopping. Make a list of what you and the kids like, and we’ll head into town and load up your larder.”


“I can go with you,” Margaret said with a sidelong glance at Nikoloz. “We can make sure there’s some healthy food in with the junk they usually eat.”


“If it is all right with your father,” Nikoloz said. “See how the batter is bubbling now? It is ready to cook. Try to disturb it as little as possible when you scoop out a spoonful.”


Margaret gave him a brilliant smile, which Vincent wasn’t certain the Russian noticed as he made sure the pancakes didn’t burn. Dr. Yarborough wrote out a grocery order and tried to include some cash, but Vincent nixed that idea.


Chapter 16