Assassin's Promise, The Red Team Series, Book 5 by Elaine Levine Read Free Book Online Page B

joined as he carried her into her bedroom. He withdrew and set her on her feet next to the bed. “Want me to leave, Remi?”
    No. She didn’t, and that should have panicked her. Instead, she felt a wonderful warmth she wasn’t ready to let go of. “No. I want you to stay.”
    “Good.”
     
    Remi’s bed was a crisp white-on-white set of cotton pillows and duvet cover. The air conditioning made the room cool. Greer ditched the condom in her bathroom. When he came back, Remi was in the middle of the bed. He picked the side nearest the door and settled next to her.
    She moved closer, draping herself over his chest, twining her leg with his. He kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger there. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her in his arms, warm and sated. Her fingers were playing with his chest hair.  
    “Tired?” he asked.
    “I am. Thank you for staying. I would have been scared alone.”
    He knew the feeling well. He hated being alone when he slept. “Close your eyes and sleep.” He felt the sigh she drew as if it came from his own lungs.  
    “I hope you’re going to be around here for a little while.”
    “I am. A very little while.”
    “I’d like to see more of you. While you’re here.”
    Greer smiled as he touched her face. “You’ve seen all of me.”
    She shook her head. “I’ve only seen your shell.”
    His smile faded. “It’s dark inside the shell. Not a place for someone like you.”
    “Because of the war?”
    “Because of my war.” He reached for the sheet and drew it up over her shoulder. “Remi—before I leave, can I take a copy of your laptop?”
    She pulled the sheet with her and sat up slightly to look down at him. “No.”
    He touched her arm. “The WKB’s like a—” he struggled for the right word “—a flesh eating bacteria. Given a task, they will keep throwing resources at it until it’s achieved or until they’re ended. You don’t know what they’re after. Let me try to see what it is they want.”
    “My laptop has a good amount of my research on it. I can’t risk that.”
    “I’m not going to mess it up. I’ll take an image and use some of my team’s analytics to figure it out. Your data’s going no farther than my team.”
    She frowned. “You have a team?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Why? What are you working on? What is so important about Sally that she’s of interest to the Department of Homeland Security?”
    “Sally is a symptom of a bigger issue. She’s a lead we’re following.”
    “Villalobo said you’re working on a case. What is it?”
    “I don’t have clearance to tell you.”
    “You want me to share my data, put my sources at risk—without any information from you. No.”
    “I’m asking for your help. Have your sources committed any crimes? Are they engaged in treasonous behavior?”
    “No. They’re pacifists, Greer. They’re good people who just want to live their lives.”
    “Then we don’t give a shit about them. I need to know what it is the WKB wants so damn badly that they’ll expose themselves to outsiders in order to get.”
    “The Friends are not involved in anything treasonous.”
    “They’re friendly with the WKB. Makes them guilty by association.”
    “Don’t do this. Please don’t do this. I promised them I would protect them in exchange for opening their community to me. No one, ever, has been allowed as close as I’ve gotten. My research is unique in my field. The Friends are one of the few surviving utopian societies from the nineteenth century. That’s huge.”
    Greer touched her face, easing a lock of hair from her eyes. “Remi, something very bad is underway. When I said it was a war, I wasn’t being dramatic. You know the Friends. I know the WKB. You don’t want to be in their sights.”
    She leaned away from him. “I think you should go.”
    Greer sighed. “All right.” He swept the sheet off and crossed the room naked.  
    Remi put a robe on and followed him downstairs. He dressed, then