Hidden Trump (Bite Back 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

that fell out. A short note said it was a compilation of reports of attacks that mentioned dogs or wild animals. I’d made the case to Morales that werewolves and Athanate should be considered good citizens until proven otherwise. This report might show me how far I’d stuck my neck out on behalf of the Weres.
    “Good.” I pocketed the drive. “Any other cases?”
    “Only one. The guy came through asking for you specifically. Quinn. Said he knows you.”
    I lifted an eyebrow and Tullah showed me the note she’d taken. The Quinns, Niall and Ruth, were old family friends. Tullah had taken down the address and written ‘theft/insurance’ next to the name.
    We’d reached the edge of the park. My Ops 4-10 training and my instincts were in conflict. The training said this was becoming dangerous, we’d been too exposed too long. The instincts said I should be making more time for Tullah, make sure she was all right and safe.
    “I’ll call him tomorrow,” I said, my attention distracted by color and movement back at the middle gate. Three clowns had come into the park. One was pushing a cart and banging a bass drum; the other two were running around, selling ice cream from the cart.
    Classic setup. They were moving too fast. They’d sell more by standing still.
    “Come on.” I grabbed her elbow and hauled her out of the park and behind the nearest van.
    “You got a thing about clowns?” she said.
    “I’ve got a thing about noise and distraction in crowds,” I replied. “Maybe just my paranoia, but you never know, one of these nights a clown may try and eat you.”
    “Eww. You know, you’re freaky sometimes, boss. Surely Hoben’s not going to be able to do much with ZK gone?”
    “Just like he’s still free, I doubt all of ZK have been caught. And anyway, he’s borrowing people from Matlal, and that’s even more worrying.” I peered around the van. The clowns were moving in the other direction. False alarm, maybe. “Anything else?”
    “Yeah. The FBI want to talk to you.” Tullah passed over the last note in her file. “I don’t want to be out of line here,” she said hesitantly, “but it’s probably better to talk to them while they’re kinda not sure what they want to talk to you about.”
    “Hmm.” I nodded gloomily.
    I knew she was right, but I couldn’t imagine any visit with the feds would be pleasant or short. I had a life hedged with secrets. All my time in Ops 4-10 was special access program levels of secret. And of course, I couldn’t talk about the Athanate. Or Were. Or Adepts. They were bound to stumble across something I couldn’t tell them. In the worst case scenario, they might decide they had sufficient to detain me for obstructing an investigation—while they ‘cleared things up.’ Or have me restrained under the mental health regulations. That was a big risk for me; I had to be free to go after Hoben and I had to be at the Athanate Assembly on Saturday.
    “Is it okay?” she asked, joining me to look back at the park. “I didn’t see anything suspicious.”
    “Yeah, probably nothing, this time,” I said.
    “I better get back. I have to leave early today.”
    She sounded concerned. I raised an eyebrow.
    “Talk with Ma and Pa.” She rolled her eyes. “Formal. Meet the boyfriend. Then, later, discuss the job. Review my progress as an Adept.”
    She was trying to laugh it off, and it wasn’t quite working.
    I retrieved the cell I’d taken at Castle Pines from my pocket.
    “If you’re seeing Matt, ask him to run his analyses on this cell, please. And warn him I’ll want a couple of other little jobs.” Matt was her new boyfriend, with the brain of an über-geek behind the face of an angel. He worked for the Kingslund Group.
    “You cleared it with Jen?”
    “I will.”
    “Okay.” She walked off. I watched her get into her car, and no one followed or even appeared to notice her leaving. The groups of people I’d been worried about were still in the park,