Shift by Sidney Bristol Read Free Book Online Page B

while he continued to pretend to work. She glanced left, then right before opting for one of the guest bedrooms for whatever task she was about to perform.
    The Boca bungalow was a mostly open concept design. From the dining area he’d taken over as his workstation he could see into almost every room. More importantly, he had a clear view of the three entrances to the house, the street out front, and the driveway. The rear of the house was more or less protected by the neighbor, a canine cop for Miami-Dade, who kept several big German shepherds loose in his backyard. The neighbors on either side were an elderly couple and a white-collar jackass, respectively. All they needed to know was that Emery and Tori were another set of renters in a long line of faces.
    The house wasn’t an FBI asset, though.
    It belonged to Emery. He’d taken it for payment for a side job and set it up as a vacation property for out-of-towners to rent, though he left it vacant more often than he let it out. One of the consequences of his deep cover was performing the duties he was renowned for. He’d accumulated a small wealth of assets, but right now the house was the most valuable of all. On paper, it was owned by an alias Emery had used on occasion. It was as untraceable as he could make it.
    Tori paced from one bedroom into another, carrying the paper bag from the hardware store with her. He needed to get her clothes, toiletries besides what they’d scrounged together at a gas station, and more supplies. The stops were unavoidable. They couldn’t go backward. Their homes were potentially compromised. They could only move on, but each time Tori showed her face created another opportunity for the hit team to find her, be that by their digital footprint or a sighting.
    The thought spurred him to action. He brought up the sites where Matvei’s flunkies had checked in and also the dispatch log of police officers at the Miami airport. According to flight records, Matvei Kozlov’s plane had landed almost an hour ago. From the TSA logs he could see that the security agents had acted better than Emery hoped, and taken the Russians into custody. It wouldn’t last. Chances were, they’d already been released, but it still meant Emery and Tori had a head start. He’d love to log into the NSA’s tracking capabilities, and were he operating under the FBI’s sanctioning he could. But he wasn’t. They were on their own.
    He had no way of tracking the Russians in real time unless one of them used their social media accounts. It was the best he could do without a tracking device or tricking the hit team into downloading a GPS app. Even they couldn’t be that stupid. Last he’d been able to identify, the Russians were in the airport, on the road, or already hunting.
    Emery brought up the app he used to keep tabs on the crew on his new phone. The image zoomed out until he could see most of Florida. There were several dots on the screen clustered to the north, which would be the group with Aiden. The others were in relative proximity to Miami. He zoomed in until he could see the spread of locations. CJ might not realize Emery’s defection quite yet.
    â€œAny developments?” Tori dropped into the chair across the table from him, one arm draped over the back, her legs crossed.
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œWhat do we do now?”
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œIs that the only word you know?”
    â€œNo.” Emery inhaled. Growing up he’d been the unwanted second child. His input was never wanted and the opportunity to be involved was rarely provided within their family unit. He knew his conversational skills left something to be desired, especially considering how chatty Tori could be. For her, he’d make an effort. “It looks like Roni and the others should be getting to their hotel soon.”
    â€œWhat about the necklace tracker? Is it working?” Tori leaned forward, her