Cloud Dust: RD-1 by Connie Suttle Read Free Book Online Page B

writes
the Sarah Fox mysteries. If you don't behave, she'll kill you at least twice in
her next book."
    "How did you escape your handler?" I ignored August
and pointed my question directly at Rafe.
    "Why do you want to know?" he asked, his voice cool,
his face expressionless. That probably came in handy in the spy business when
dealing with difficult people. I figured all the women in the Mansion were
already signing up for nights with Rafe. He was attractive in a rough sort of
way—tall, with dark hair, darker eyes and an air of command about him.
    "Looking for pointers," I replied, setting a cup of
full-caf in front of the former Soviet spy. "Want cream and/or
sugar?"
    "Neither. I don't intend to drink much," he
shrugged.
    "I thought so."
    "Tell me," he said, "what do you think of the Five?
Does it irritate you that they call themselves the Five instead of the Six?"
    "Really?" I huffed. "Why would I want to be
associated with that bunch of prejudiced jerks? Why do you want to know? Have
they excluded you already, too?"
    "Corinne," August warned. "Shaw and I are here,
remember, and others may be listening."
    "Really?" I said again. "Like I don't know
already that every moment of every day is under microscopic scrutiny?"
    "I," Rafe cleared his throat, "just wanted to
drop by and apologize, for earlier and for later."
    "Later what?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
    "For when I knock you to the floor on multiple occasions
during your lessons."
    "Oh, for cripes' sake," I tossed up a hand and slid
off my barstool. "Auggie, did you hear that? He's going to kill me. Look,
why can't we not do this, and just say we did?"
    "Auggie?" Shaw seemed interested, suddenly.
    "We're not buying monogrammed towels," I snapped at
Shaw. "If I call him Auggie, it's because he deserves to be
irritated."
    "You really write the Sarah Fox mysteries?" Rafe
asked.
    "What? That was five minutes ago. Are you slow or something?"
I asked, shaking my head at him.
    * * *
    Ilya
    Truthfully, I expected someone who'd hide in a corner the
moment I reappeared. I certainly didn't expect what I found. After speaking
with her for only a few minutes, I learned she was just as adept at assessing others
as I was. I found it disconcerting, too, that she could read me just as easily.
    "Is this talent you have for reading people part of your
writing ability?" I asked. Yes, I'd read Sarah Fox's novels. All of
them . I wasn't going to divulge that information. Let her think I
disapproved of her talent. That would keep her unbalanced and easier to
unsettle. Vulnerable people could be manipulated.
    "You're not a spy, here," she pointed out. For the
first time, I blinked first. "Auggie, did you show him any pictures of the
guy who killed the Russian Ambassador?"
    I turned quickly in Colonel Hunter's direction. I hadn't
gotten that news. "He's dead?" I asked.
    "Here." Colonel Hunter drew out his cell and
scrolled through photographs before settling on one. "This one killed the
Ambassador. Know who he is?"
    * * *
    Corinne
    He knew . I know he knew. He shook his head anyway.
August pocketed his cell with a sigh. "Just wanted to check," he
said. "Thanks."
    "No trouble," Rafe replied. Yes, he could lie with
the best of them. I wasn't fooled for a minute. "Is he dead, too? The one
in the photograph?"
    "Yeah."
    "Too bad you didn't get information from him,
first."
    "What makes you think we didn't?" August asked.
    "He's fishing," I said. "Now he knows for
sure."
    "Cori," August warned.
    "Yeah." I slumped in my chair.
    * * *
    Ilya
    I was beginning to see already what it had taken them more
than five years to find—Corinne Watson was dangerous. I'd perfected the craft
of reading people and situations after years of practice. She had it naturally.
To me, that meant it could be the least of her talents. That concerned me. Did
they not see that she was concealing what she was?
    While I considered keeping my mystery to myself, I began to
worry that I might not unravel hers and I really wanted to