Blades of Winter Read Online Free PDF

any connections to the Germans, the Russians, or the Chinese.” Cyrus adds that it’s odd that her employer would send a Level like her on that kind of job. Protectors usually work as high-visibility bodyguards, not undercover agents.
    I foolishly ask him what happened to the restaurant. His subsequent tirade loudly informs me that he’ll spend months filing reports about all the collateral damage. I try to tell him that most of the destruction was done by the competition, but Cyrus shouts, “No excuses! It was a close-quarters urban Job Number. That’s why we assigned this to Grey in the first place.”
    Stealthy, careful, and methodical, an Infiltrator like Grey would be exactly the kind of Level to put into a crowded city restaurant. Not a cocky Interceptor with an outrageously powerful handgun.
    As if Cyrus can read my thoughts, he yells, “And where the hell did that sidearm of yours come from, anyway? I know you tested well, Alix, but you’re not cleared for custom ordnance.” He’s right. My small arms skill is 10, so I was issued an LB-502, which has the standard targeting software and fires only 30-caliber ammo. I’m trying to think of what to say besides “Actually, boss, it’s the Level 20 weapon I swiped from my dead dad’s safe full of classified ExOps bullshit,” when Cyrus gets a call on his commphone.
    “Front Desk,” he barks. His eyebrows drift apart, then slam back together as he listens to the caller. I expecthim to comm silently, but he continues to comm out loud: “Read me the address again … Okay, that’s what I thought you said. When did you receive this? All right, send this intel to the Info people, prep two Squads ASAP, and find me a Level who can lead a Smash ’n’ Grab. No, from my section. Yes, he’ll do fine. Put one Squad under Scarlet. Yes, I know. I’ll clear her with Chanez.” He comms Patrick. “Solomon, meet me in the garage right away.” My pulse speeds up, because when Cyrus uses our field handles, it means we’re on the clock.
    Then he says to me, “Scarlet, there’s been an incident at your house.”

C HAPTER 5
S AME MORNING , 9:30 A.M. EST C RYSTAL C ITY , V IRGINIA , USA
    The front door of my house has been smashed open. Inside it looks like a hurricane blew through. Patrick runs a scan for heat signatures, but it turns up negative. Mom’s car is in the driveway, but nobody’s home. Nobody warm anyway.
    “CLEO?”
I run around the first floor and shout, “
Mom?
Where are you?” It’s such a disaster in here—the inside of my house is almost unrecognizable—that it feels like a different address. Cyrus and I go upstairs to search for clues. Every cabinet, drawer, and closet has been opened and rifled through. They even punched holes in the walls to look for secret hiding places.
    Cyrus asks, “Scarlet, did your mother go to work today?”
    “No, she was working from home. The water heater crapped out and she needed to be here for the plumber.”
    Downstairs, Trick examines the house with his scanners. Suddenly he comms, “Oh, shit! Scarlet! Cyrus, sir! Time to go!”
    Cyrus and I look at each other. I comm, “Time frame?”
    “Right now!” Trick shouts as his footsteps run out the front door.
    Cyrus and I each leap out a window and jump off the porch roof. We land halfway across the front lawn. Cyrus drops to the ground and ends up flat on his stomach. I come down on my feet, but I’m immediately knocked off them as the home I’ve grown up in explodes with a shattering roar. I sail across the street and bash into my neighbor’s garage door. The little windows inthe door shatter and shower me with glass shards. Trick is there a few moments later, followed by a hailstorm of house chunks and everything they used to contain.
    “Alix! I mean … Scarlet, are you all right?” It’s touching how concerned he is about me. Most people don’t have that kind of person in their life, so I consider myself lucky. He’s not supposed to call me