Blowback (The Black Cipher Files Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

was largely wasted.
    He pulled up in front of the café. “I saw your NSA badge.”
    My NSA badge with Staci Grant’s name? When?
    “After.” His gaze poured over my body like warm oil. “When I planted the tracker.”
    Suddenly, I was back in that hotel room, where he’d trailed his hands in the same path his eyes now traced. All the blood in my body pooled low, throbbed between my thighs. Even knowing I didn’t quite trust him, my body ached for that physical connection with him again.
    His eyes were as hot as my body and helplessly, I glanced down to see the bulge in his jeans.
    I couldn’t afford the distraction, the mistake.
    I clenched the door handle, forcing myself away from the edge of insanity.
    I never had more than one sexual encounter with a man. Never. No attachments, no emotional weapons for extortion. I needed to stay secure. For Bella.
    I never broke my rules. But I was tempted.
    And that pissed me off. “I’ll be right back.”
    He slammed the car door shut as I yanked the glass-fronted door to the café open. Someone had spruced up a tired old diner with red and white toile curtains. The linoleum had seen better days, so had the chrome stools and Naugahyde booths in cherry red.
    A silver-speckled curved counter held desktop setups with internet access. My fingers itched to get at a keyboard, but not until I unloaded Lucas.
    He dogged me, invaded my personal space, then whispered, “What’s your real name?”
    He couldn’t know I was undercover as Staci. I curled my body away from him. “Privacy.”
    If we didn’t sit down soon we’d draw the attention of the other patrons. Five for Fighting crooned about not being superman and espresso and steamed milk scented the air as I waited for him to make himself scarce.
    “On one condition.”
    Tension hummed through me. I could disable him, but we needed to be forgettable.
    “What?”
    “You answer ten questions.”
    “One.”
    “Eight.”
    “Three.”
    “Six.”
    “Five.”
    “Deal.” He sauntered over to a booth far away from the counter.
    I finessed the keys. Sometimes being a techno-nerd comes in handy. I hack into computers for the fun of it. Not much else to do when you live alone, work alone, survive alone.
    I accessed Bella’s email, watching her instant message her friends about where to party tonight. For just a moment, I imagined her primping in front of a mirror, playing with eye shadow and lip gloss. Her life was fun, carefree. All the things I’d given up.
    Something within me eased. Bella was safe.
    I touched a finger to the screen. Keep safe, baby girl.
    I erased the footprints from my illegal foray. I’d made sure Bella was safe.
    I glanced quickly at Lucas but he was reading a paper. With a furtive movement, I examined the key fob, eyeing the seam. Pressing on the symbol in the center, the end popped off. I’d been right. The fob hid a computer flash key. I shoved the key into the USB port, accessed my secure and encrypted site and with a few clicks uploaded the scientist’s information on the fob to my untraceable storage account.
    I wanted to take a look at the information I’d found, but the tingling at the back of my neck hadn’t gone away. It was growing stronger. Something was definitely wrong.
    I wiped away the connection info on the hard drive.
    Lucas stood, cased the café. He felt it too. We’d been in one place far too long.
    He strode over to me. “Time to go.”
    “Yeah.” I was already moving.
    We jumped in the car in a synchronized maneuver. Lucas gunned into the back alley, just as a big black Suburban plowed into the parking lot at the diner.
    “Duck.”
    I was one step ahead of him.
    Tracking device, most likely on me. Pretty sure it wasn’t him. We’d switched cars twice, different rental companies, different makes and models. We’d alternated between local roads and freeways.
    At the last place, he’d paid cash and used an ID that identified him as Mark Wesson.
    I dove into the backseat