Fated Identity (Red Star #6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

but quickly dismissed the younger man once Grady and Brienne appeared outside his door.
    Dave’s office was small, but the furniture was an immaculate red oak with ornate handles and matching bookcases off to the side. Literature and history books adorned the shelves, but it was the miniature metal models of World War II planes and tanks that gave the room a unique look. His office furnished the impression that the professor was a historian managing his own tiny museum.
    “You’re bleeding.” Dave was already standing when he took some tissues from a box he kept on his desk, handing them over with a look of concern. Grady had dismissed the small cuts as insignificant seeing as it wasn’t Brienne who’d been hurt. He could take care of himself at a later time, but he would clean up the best he could seeing as it was distracting Dave. “Grady, what happened? Do I need to alert security?”
    “No,” Grady replied, pressing the thin white material against the small cuts on his hand. The blood quickly soaked in, but the majority of the wounds were superficial. Only one was still bleeding. “I need your vehicle. I can’t explain right now, but we’re in a bit of a bind.”
    “Of course,” Dave replied, his gaze drifting to where Brienne was looking at her cell phone. Grady had thought she’d left it in her purse back in the car, but she’d apparently had it on her person. She was holding it up before he could give her a dressing-down on security protocol. She’d already turned the device off, as he had done with his own back when they’d stopped running. “I’m parked…”
    Dave continued to give instructions on how to reach his vehicle, leaving Grady to scrutinize Brienne. She was standing to the left of the door with her right arm straight at her side, giving her the opportunity to draw the weapon from underneath her white jacket with little effort should the need arise.
    Brienne appeared calm and collected, her breathing even. There wasn’t even a tremor in her hands, though there were a few smears of blood on her sleeve from when Grady had pulled her from the car. The pallor of her face had whitened and caused the red lipstick on her lips to become even brighter. He would have given anything to be able to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay, but he made an effort to never lie unless it was a life and death situation.
    “I appreciate this, Dave.” Grady tossed the used tissues into the trashcan, taking time to pull the desk phone toward him. It was the standard black and silver model installed in most offices. He’d be able to place a call without turning on his own cellular device. “Would you give us a moment alone? We won’t be long.”
    One of Dave’s best qualities was that he never asked questions, though he was always willing to provide answers and toe the line. He vacated the office without a second glance. Grady had already dialed the number of SSA Telfer and pressed the speaker button before the door had completely shut.
    Brienne hesitated and shot a sideways look at the doorknob. She most likely wanted to lock it, but Grady wasn’t concerned with anyone walking in unannounced. Dave wouldn’t have gone far and would be monitoring the traffic in and out of the department.
    “Telfer.”
    “We ran into a problem en route to our meeting,” Grady informed Brienne’s SSA, keeping an eye on Brienne to see if she wanted to add anything to the conversation. She stepped forward, about to speak when Telfer cut in with a directive no agent wanted to hear.
    “Agent Chaylse is in the crosshairs of ISI. Bring her in now.”
    The line disconnected, leaving Grady and Brienne to deal with the aftermath of such a decree. He didn’t hesitate to reach for her, bringing her into his embrace and wishing it were that easy to shield her from what was to come. The ISI was Pakistan’s premier military-operated intelligence service. These weren’t amateurs who were after Brienne and