Diamonds Are Truly Forever: An Agent Ex Novel 2 Read Online Free PDF

her friends Mandy and Willow, who’d also been married to spies, knew Drew worked for the spying arm of the CIA. Everyone else, including her mom and stepdad, and Drew’s parents, thought Drew was a sales executive who spent so much time on the road that their marriage had failed.
    “I don’t like this, Drew. We’re going to end up hurting the people we care about most. They’ll be happy for us, or try to be. Imagine how they’ll feel a few days or weeks from now when you catch these creeps and we go our separate ways again.”
    “Stace—”
    She shook her head and waved his protests aside. “If I were a braver woman, I’d just walk away. Let this wacko kill me if he will.” She stared at the table again. “I’m just too much of a coward.”
    “No!” Drew grabbed her hand.
    His outburst startled her. Her heart pounded wildly, but she still couldn’t look at him.
    “It’s not just about you.” He paused. “Think what that would do to me, Stace.”
    The raw emotion in his voice made her ache for what used to be between them.
    “Do you think I could live with myself, knowing I was responsible for your death?” He tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at him.
    She sniffed, trying to hold back tears. Sometimes it was too easy to think of him as amoral, invincible, and without feelings. She hated times like these, when he seemed to be the caring man she’d married. Especially now, when she felt vulnerable and was trying to put him in the past, and he insisted on reminding her he was human.
    “Believe me, there are bigger issues we’re involved in, too,” he said, still holding her gaze. “More lives are at stake than our own.”
    She swallowed hard and pulled her hand out from his. She hated this chasm between rock and hard place. “So what do I tell people?”
    “As little as possible,” he said without missing a beat. “That I’ve quit the job you hated so much. I’ve gotten a local marketing gig, hardly any travel, so you’ve come back to me.” He paused. “And Stace, try to sound loving and happy when you tell them the good news.”
    Her heart leaped into her throat. Good news, right.
    “What about Mandy? I can tell her the truth, can’t I? After all, she was married to one of your best friends from the Agency. We can trust her.”
    “No, Stace. We don’t trust anyone, not even Mandy. Not Willow, either. The fewer people who know, the better, and the safer you’ll be.
    “It’s only a half-truth. Even you should be able to carry that one off.” He got up and handed her the phone.
    She thrust it back at him. “I’ll use my cell.”
    He refused to take it. “Use the landline. It’s more secure.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “I check it for bugs regularly.” He scooped his keys up off the counter.
    “Going someplace?” Of course he’s running off.
    “Yeah, to get some groceries. All I have in the fridge is beer and leftovers. You’re drinking the last can of pop.”
    “Nice to know you’re a considerate host. And?” She knew full well groceries weren’t at the top of his mind.
    “To investigate before the scene goes totally cold and get that window fixed before you go broke paying for heat.”
    “First forty-eight hours and drafts, those are your concerns?” Yeah, she knew, solve the crime in the first forty-eight or likely you’d never solve it. She started out of her chair.
    He turned around and put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back into it. The man had the reactions of a cat. “Sit.”
    “I’m going with you.”
    “You’re staying. You’ll be safer here.”
    Sometimes Drew was serious and sometimes he was deadly serious. This was the second case. She knew enough to recognize his mood and not argue.
    “I’m in solitary now?” She really didn’t feel like being alone so soon after nearly being shot.
    “You’re never alone. I’m always watching.”
    “Now, that makes me feel better.”
    He grabbed his coat from where he’d tossed it on the sofa.