Beneath the Surface by Cat Johnson Read Free Book Online Page A

my own. If I show up dead in the street one night, I’ll be listed as just another John Doe.”
    She frowned, torn. “If you can’t be affiliated, how are you paid by the department then?”
    He laughed again. “Look, we get through today, I crack this case and stop those drugs from coming into my city and onto the streets, I will sit down and tell you everything you want to know. Right down to my pension and benefits plan. But right now, there isn’t time.”
    Dropping her gaze, she forced herself to ask one more question. “So you and I…it was all for your cover?” His cover . She sounded ridiculous using his spy lingo.
    He lifted her chin with one hand and lowered his head to speak close and right up in her face. “No. Don’t ever think that. I had my eye on you from the first moment I saw you yesterday morning, wandering around like a tourist and staring up at the ceiling. The fact you worked here was a coincidence and yeah, I’ll admit, convenient that I suddenly had access to a Grand Central expert. But you and I last night was just that…you and I. That was not work. That was me, a man wanting a woman he found…finds…very attractive and wants to know better.”
    She’d never felt more confused in her entire life, and that must have shown all over her face.
    “Beth. There will be plenty of time to doubt me later. If I’m lying you can take the story to the police or the damn New York Times if you want. But right now, what would it hurt to simply trust me? Please, let me do my job.”
    Pulling in a deep, shaky breath, Beth nodded. Raising her voice, she called out, “Robby, take him down there. Do whatever he says but be careful. Lyssa, you come back to the office with me.” Then she looked back at Rick’s relieved face. “If you are lying, and if you get Robby hurt in any way, I will track you down myself. My father was a cop before he died. I know my way around a gun.”
    Unexpectedly, Rick smiled. “You are full of surprises, aren’t you? And you can shoot. I knew there was a reason I was so attracted to you. I can’t wait to find out more later, and to repeat last night.” He grabbed her face and planted a big kiss directly on her lips. “Hold that thought.”
    Then he and Robby disappeared down the dimly lit hallway, and Beth was left to worry. Two thoughts dominated her thoughts. One, she hoped Rick had told her the truth. Two, if he had been truthful and was correct about the massive amounts of drugs coming through here literally beneath her nose, and he and Robby were about to stumble directly into the middle of the whole operation, she really hoped he was carrying a gun. A big one.
    Not too long after Lyssa and Beth had arrived back at the office, Robby hurled through the door, alone and flushed. “What the hell is going on and who is that guy, Beth?”
    “Why? What happened?” Beth stood so fast, she sent her wheeled desk chair flying behind her. It crashed into the metal filing cabinet with a loud bang that did nothing to soothe her already jangling nerves.
    “We got down to the elevator. He took one look at it, dragged me back down the passageway, made me swear to come right back here to you and not talk to a soul or he’d do all sorts of bodily harm to me. Then he disappeared.”
    Beth sighed. So now Rick was down there alone, possibly with these drug runners. Should she call someone? If only he had given her the name and number of his contact at the NYPD. What if he needed help and his cell phone didn’t work down there? Her heart pounded. He could be killed and no one would ever know. Or, he could wrap up this case and disappear into his undercover network never to be heard from again. Or even worse than that, what if the entire thing was one big lie? Either way, truth or lie, what if she never saw him again?
    “What do we do now?” Lyssa, looking relieved at Robby’s reappearance, had run over to give him a big hug. If only Beth could do the same with Rick.
    The wheels