How Spy I Am Read Online Free PDF Page B

not trusting me, and I’m not
going to report anything. But we’d better get going.”
    “Okay.” I stowed my
phone back in my pouch. “Where’s Miss Lacey?”
    “In my apartment,”
Hellhound said. “She came an’ said some guy was tryin’ to force ya
to go with him. I told her to stay there until I came to get
her.”
    “I’ll go get her, and
I’ll get your crutches, too. You shouldn’t have been walking on
that ankle.”
    He winked. “I wasn’t.
I was walkin’ on my foot.”
    “Wise-ass.” I dropped
a kiss on his lips and went to retrieve Miss Lacey.

    On the long drive back
to Silverside, I tried to pry more information out of Richardson,
but he refused to tell me anything. His eyes were constantly in
motion, scanning the countryside, the oncoming traffic, the cars
behind us, and even the sky. Nervousness skittered in my stomach.
This couldn’t be good.
    My uneasiness
ratcheted up another notch when he parked a block away from Sirius
Dynamics. As he shot a wary glance around the bowling alley’s
almost-deserted parking lot, I gave him a suspicious glance of my
own.
    “Why are we here?” I
asked, trying to keep the mistrust out of my voice.
    “Secret entrance,” he
muttered. “Come on.”
    We got out of the car
and he hustled me through the back door of the dilapidated building
as if he expected a flock of ninjas to descend from the rooftop.
Hell, by that time, it wouldn’t have surprised me.
    The deafening rattle
of bowling pins and machinery made me stuff my fingers in my ears
while we trekked through the dark corridor behind the lanes. At the
opposite side of the building, Richardson produced a key and
unlocked the door to an electrical room. He pulled me inside, and
the closing door mercifully muffled the din.
    We assessed each other
from close range for a moment, and my pulse rate picked up. Small
room. Too close.
    The backward step I’d
intended to take turned into a skittish hop when he reached for me.
He stepped away instantly, his hands jerking back. “Sorry. I just
need to get past you to that panel.”
    “Okay…” I hoped he
didn’t notice me hyperventilating while I sidestepped, trying to
maintain maximum personal space.
    After we had circled
each other, Richardson pressed a series of breakers on the panel
and leaned forward for a retinal scan.
    Stay calm. Same old,
same old. I could do this.
    A section of wall
swung away and I stepped into the cramped time-delay chamber
holding my breath. When the door closed behind us, I let the air
out slowly. I hid my quaking knees as best I could while he
triggered the retinal scan at the next door.
    He glanced over.
“Aydan, don’t worry. I promise, I won’t hurt you,” he assured me.
“You’re safe. We’re just going into the secured area under Sirius
Dynamics to meet Stemp.”
    I took another deep
breath and held my voice steady. “Thanks, Mark, I know. I’m just
really claustrophobic. This time delay chamber always freaks me
out.”
    “Oh.” Relief softened
his face. “I’m sorry this is hard for you, but I’m glad you’re not
afraid of me.”
    “No, I trust you,” I
lied.
    An eternal thirty
seconds later, the latch released with a muffled click and
Richardson swung the door open to reveal concrete stairs. I drew in
a long breath, trying to ignore the sensation of dark water closing
over my head while I walked down.
    A short trip down a
deserted white corridor brought us to a featureless white door. My
back crawled as Richardson opened the door and gestured me ahead of
him.
    I took a couple of
long strides to face Stemp where he sat behind a desk.
    “What?” I demanded.
“What the hell’s going on?”
    “Please sit,” Stemp
said dispassionately.
    I squelched the urge
to lunge over his desk and yell. Been there, done that, and it
hadn’t turned out well last time. I dropped into the vacant chair,
trying not to look and feel like a petulant teenager. Slowly
releasing the fist that had clenched in spite of me, I