Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“Why don’t you manipulate her spirit?” Sara asked Ivan. “You can make her do whatever we need.”
“Manipulating her isn’t going to tell us what we want to hear,” Ivan said. “I can make her talk, but she can only tell what she knows. There may be more going on behind the scenes, and knowing only half the truth makes us more vulnerable than knowing nothing.”
“He’s right.” Cain took a seat on the sofa. “We need a different strategy.”
“I think I know a way,” Joss said, meeting Bono’s gaze.
From the way his boss stared at him, he got a feeling it had something to do with him.
“Go on,” Cain said.
“She took a liking to Bono.”
No way. He knew where this was going, and it wasn’t a game he was prepared to play. “Forget it. I won’t do it.”
Joss grinned. “I haven’t said anything yet.”
“You don’t have to.” Bono got to his feet. “That shmuck expression on your face says it all.”
“She gave you her card.”
He dragged a hand over his shaved head. “I don’t need another palm reading.”
“I don’t think her intention was to give you a palm reading.”
Everyone stared at him with new interest.
“No,” he said, his voice firm. “I fly your asses around, and that’s where it ends.”
“You were there, Bono,” Sean said. “Did she not say we were going to die?”
He turned away. “The answer is no.”
“Bono.” Cain said his name with enough authority to make him look back at the commander. “Who sponsored the weapons for the civil war that crippled your country? Who took over the African communication networks with promises of new schools and universities, schools that spread propaganda and recruited boys to fight a men’s war?”
“Don’t lecture me on Godfrey’s sins. Nobody knows the consequences of that evil man’s actions better than I do.”
“This will be for your country.”
“I’m not doing this for my fucking country or for anything. I’m a pilot, not an assassin.”
“I’m not asking you to kill her,” Cain said. “I’m asking you for a couple of hours of your life. Find out what you can, and go back to your flying. You won’t need to carry anyone’s blood on your hands.”
Maya chuckled. “Come on, Bono. You can’t be that naïve. Working for Joss, you’re covered in blood.”
“Maya,” Cain said with a warning in his voice.
“We have children,” Joss said. “I’d like for them to grow up with parents.”
“Damn you, Joss.” Joss knew mentioning the kids would get to him. He loved those kids like they were his own. He wiped a hand over his jaw. “I don’t want to be the reason for her to get hurt.”
“You’re not,” Cain said flatly. “That card was dealt when she used her art to work for our enemy.”
He hung his head. “Only once.” He slowly lifted his gaze back to Cain. “I’ll see her one more time, and then I’m done.”
Cain pushed a button on his wrist pad that pulled up a hologram of the area around the club. “Let’s get to work. Bono, go get ready. You have a date tonight.”
There wasn’t a telephone number on the card, only an address. Not sure of what he’d find, Bono located the street and stopped in front of a trailer park. Judging by the small patches of flower and vegetable gardens on every plot, most people resided here permanently.
After asking around, he was directed to an old-fashioned type of caravan that had seen better days. The door opened before he could knock. Sky leaned in the frame, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and leggings. Her feet were clad in socks and her hair braided down the sides of her face. The braids made her look younger than the twenty-five years her file stated.
“Come in.”
Not waiting for a response, she moved back inside.
Joss had fitted him with a wrist pad in case he needed backup. To avoid suspicion should he be searched, they’d decided he wouldn’t wear the comms earpiece or a wire. His only weapons were his hands. After a moment’s hesitation, he followed, uttering a silent sigh of relief when no one else waited inside.
She held out her arms and turned in a circle. “Welcome to my home.”
The interior was decorated much like her reading room at the sex club with colorful drapes, gold tinsel, and a velvet bedspread. A kitchenette with a small table took up one corner and a dressing table with an ornate mirror the other.
She regarded him from under her golden lashes. “You seem surprised.”
“Do you live alone?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m surprised.”
“Why?”
“Your boyfriend seemed possessive. I didn’t take him for the type that would let you camp out on your own.”
“Reading palms isn’t easy. I sometimes need space.”
“Where does he live?”
“In a house.”
“Do you live there too?”
“You’re asking awfully prying questions.”
“I’m only trying to understand the situation.”
“You mean you’re trying to figure out how our relationship works, if I’m free to fuck other men, like you, for example.”