Chastity Flame by K. A. Laity Read Free Book Online Page B

his
shoulder back at her, uncertain. Then his gaze shifted, his eyes
went wide and he turned and ran. Chastity whirled around and Amélie
followed suit. Two men in black were making their way purposefully
toward them. Without a word, Chastity and Amélie crouched down and
the four operatives met with silent efficiency on the empty street.
The blows fell hard and fast. Chastity landed a couple that
connected, one to the knee, another to the shin of her opponent.
She sidestepped a blow to her chest and retaliated with a slash to
his windpipe, staggering him a little. Amélie dropped her adversary
with a move so fast that Chastity could not tell where she hit him,
just that he was suddenly on the ground and still. The two of them
turned on the other, and in no time had him groaning beside his
comrade. Amélie dug through her shoulder bag and came out with some
nylon restraints, handing a set to Chastity, which she slipped
around the arms of the man in front of her.
    Amélie was already phoning for a pick
up, speaking rapidly into her mobile in French, then snapping the
clamshell shut. "They'll be here in seven minutes."
    Chastity nodded. She rifled through
the pockets of the op but found nothing. She looked over at Amélie,
who had also found nothing of note. "Who do you work for?" The guy
blinked up at her, his brain still chugging at a snail's pace from
the blows, head lolling. Amélie's bloke was still out cold. I'm
going to have to learn that move, Chastity thought with
envy.
    "They're here," Amélie said under her
breath. "Shall we ramble on?"
    Chastity looked back toward the hotel.
A few attendees were staring in their direction, vaguely
interested. The hacker was nowhere to be seen. Had he scarpered
because he knew who the ops were? Or because he thought they were
after him? There was no way to know. "Yes, let's go."
    They walked along for a few blocks,
surreptitiously watching the arrival of the apparent emergency
medical techs, who carried off the two prone figures as Chastity
and Amélie rounded the next corner. As they put some distance
between the scene and themselves, Chastity went over the events of
the evening to see if there was anything to salvage. He was
suspicious of her, afraid and unlikely to make contact again.
Monitor was not going to be happy.
    "Shall we have a drink?" Amélie said
at last, when they paused on a corner. She had her hands in her
pockets and was staring off in the opposite direction.
    "I suppose," Chastity said. What the
hell? There was time enough to check in and no doubt Monitor would
want her to return to London in the morning. Might as well make the
most of the trip. "Where to?"
    "How about your hotel room?" Amélie
grinned up at her. "We can get a bottle of wine. I am far too tense
to go home now. A good fight, it gets the blood up,
yes?"
    Chastity returned the smile. It was
true. The adrenaline still pumped through her veins. A little wine
would take the edge off, certainly. They hailed a cab and jumped
in. Chastity heard her mobile chime and found a text message with
her Eurostar reservation time and number. "An early start," she
sighed to Amélie.
    Back in the room, Amélie went straight
for the menu, chose a very good bottle of Bordeaux and ordered a
cheese tray as well. "Wine without cheese? Sacrilege!" she said,
taking in Chastity's room curiously.
    "You have to show me that move you
used," Chastity said, after they had tipped the waiter and sent him
on his way. She took a piece of an aromatic cheese she did not
recognize and chewed it slowly. It matched perfectly with the
wine.
    Amélie laughed. "It's not so much, but
let me try." She threw back her glass of wine and stood up. "It
will be easier without this bulky jumper," she added, suiting
action to words. They had already both removed their shoes while
waiting for the wine, but Chastity was intrigued now: particularly,
because Amélie was not wearing a bra.
    Her small breasts were pale and the
tiny pinkish nipples stood erect