Blood and Fire Read Online Free PDF

finally blurting out his piece. The processing delay had been longer than she’d anticipated. The gulper had bleeped the data to her laptop, run it through the word-recognition bot, and subsequently beeped her, but a dangerously long time had passed between when Howard pronounced the key words, “Magda Ranieri,” and when Zoe had gotten the signal. Almost four fucking minutes. Zoe could tell by the time she’d gotten to the room that Howard had spilled his guts completely.
    That bad, bad boy. They would have to scramble to clean this up.
    She didn’t understand why King had not simply ordered her to kill Howard years ago, but he had his reasons. And, of course, he’d wanted to maintain his power over Howard to the end. Howard had to understand who was boss. It was appropriate that he submit, that he behave and obey, to the moment of his death. And that he be punished for transgression. That was something she could well understand.
    In fact, she understood it so well, her guts churned with apprehension. King would be so angry. She needed for this assignment to go well. Her last assignment had been compromised by her lack of emotional self-control. She’d been working on that problem, putting in the hard time with DeepWeave XIII, the latest of King’s brilliant programming sequences. Four hours a day; two before work, two before bed. The same amount of time she spent working out.
    Please, let him not be angry. It wasn’t her fault. It was the time delay in the word-rec bot, not her. But King did not accept excuses.
    Zoe stared out the window as she touched a speed dial on her cell. Howard’s daughter stood outside by the entrance to the rose garden, her long, curly red hair flying in the breeze. As Zoe watched, she looked straight up at Zoe, with disconcerting directness.
    Zoe suppressed the urge to step back, away from the window. She had this situation under control. No one could intimidate her.
    So the Parr woman had opted not to make an immediate complaint about Miriam the nurse’s shocking rudeness. A stroke of luck in terms of timing, since after today, this place would never see Zoe’s face again. She was grateful this hadn’t happened when she was off shift. But that was due to her own careful planning and scheduling. Howard’s daughter was regular in her visits. The first Tuesday of the month, never weekends, no other visitors. After taking into account this dull regularity, King had decided that Zoe could handle the long-term surveillance job without backup. And until this moment, Zoe had been convinced that this job was make-work, inflicted to punish her with boredom. But she never complained. Not even when forced to do the disgusting, mind-numbing personal services nurses performed for their patients. Cheerfully, with professional perfection. For fucking years.
    Anything to make him forgive her. Approve of her again.
    The phone rang and rang. Ten times, fifteen. Zoe waited patiently, watching Lily wandering aimlessly in the flowerbeds. King was a busy, important man, with many things to attend to. She must wait her turn.
    Lily glanced up again, and Zoe stared down, composing herself. She began to mentally recite a DeepWeave emergency intervention in her mind to calm herself before—
    Click. “Zoe, my dear,” that beloved voice said. “Tell me everything.”
    Oh. Zoe sucked in air, nostrils flaring. That voice. So deep, so rich, so sparkling. It just undid her. She fought the jolt of excitement, clenched her body, ruthlessly pulled herself together.
    “Howard’s been bad,” she announced. Her voice barely quavered.
    A considering pause from the other end. “He told the girl?”
    “Yes.” She braced herself and confessed. “He named names.”
    “Ah.” That agonizing silence ticking by, again. “And how is it that you allowed him to do this, my dear?” King asked, his voice terrifyingly gentle. “What was the scope of this assignment? Had you forgotten? ”
    “No!” She gulped. “They