AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Easy enough.”
“Do you have anything that needs to go to the dry cleaners?” Her gaze falls pointedly to the pile of ski clothes on the floor.
“Are you going to do my dry cleaning for me?”
“Wouldn’t a good wife do her husband’s dry cleaning?”
“I wouldn’t know. Never had one.”
“Well, you strike me as the kind of man who would want his wife to handle the dry cleaning.” She peeks up at me through her lashes. There’s invitation written from her flirtatious smile down to the tips of her hot pink toenails.
“Do I, now?” My throat tightens as another body part twitches to life.
“Yeah, you’re like a military guy, right? Bed corners should be folded in tight. Everything ironed.” She pauses, peering up at me with a grin that’s full of innuendo. “Did I get that wrong?”
“Yeah, I’d say so.” In a flash, I have her in her arms. She squeals as I walk her backward, hands on her ass. She bounces on the bed. “Let me show you exactly what I want from a wife, Mrs. Garcia.”
* * *
In the morning, I take off on a morning run, eager to scout our new neighborhood by foot. When I return, the house is silent.
“Sophia?” I call.
In the kitchen, there’s a note on the pristine counter.
D- Be back tomorrow. Will drop dry cleaning off. Love, S.
The note follows CIA protocols. It fits with our character profiles. If anyone broke into our house, or followed me in after my run, the note supports our covers. Yet, my thumb brushes over the wordlove. Idiotic.
I’m in the back of the house, about to shower, when my phone vibrates. The number is Rita’s.
“Aunt Rita?”
“Is this a good time to talk?”
“Shoot.”
“You’ve got a meeting in one hour with the cross-agency task force. You’ll get briefed on Operation CalTan. FBI is technically lead. They pulled in an external resource about a month ago after we busted several DEA agents in a sting.”
“I read about that.” The agency did a good job of keeping it mostly out of the media, but within the intelligence community, that kind of sting spreads fast.
“You shouldn’t have any issue working with them. Since you’re based near Santa Barbara, we’ve pulled in a local resource. The man you’ll be meeting with is your former employer. Goes by Wolf?”
“Yep.” I have a lot of respect for Ryan. Working with him won’t be a problem.
“He’s going to lead the meeting. You can brief Sophia when she returns tomorrow night.”
“Copy that.”
“We have offices set up for you. Ryan’s going to come in as a client interested in your services. Your assistant will be FBI. She’ll be working reception.”
“Gotcha.” I’m hit with a vision of weeks spent sitting around our fake office. “Will I take on other clients?”
“Very well could have some real ones come through the door. If you do, service them. You’ll be able to access instructions later on.”
In Mexico City, my cover was a banker, so I’m already familiar with the lingo. She gives me the address for my offices. After showering, with one glance in my closet, it’s clear I do not have an adequate wardrobe for this op.
I put on dark jeans, a light, long sleeve, crewneck sweater, which will probably be far too warm for Santa Barbara, and the brown leather loafers I wore in the airport. After this meeting, I’ll need to go shopping.
