Twisted Mercy (Red Team Book 4) by Elaine Levine Read Free Book Online

them. And you did it for eleven days, pulsing yours ahead of everyone else’s. Fucking genius.”
    “Greer, I went to jail for that. I lost everything.”
    “I know. What happened to your family is a guy’s worst nightmare. But I can’t help admiring your crazy thought process. I told myself to think like you do when I was a baby hacker. And not just when navigating networks, but when I get inside someone’s brain and want to short-circuit it. What you did got you a place on the Red Team. We're working together because of it. And I’m not sorry for that.”
    Max drew in a long breath. “So, what, do we hug now or something?” he asked, trying to break the strange tension he was feeling.
    Greer laughed. “Forget it. Don’t want your head to explode. Let’s just finish this so we can get some shut-eye before the meeting tomorrow.”

CHAPTER FIVE

    Yusef Sayed picked up the line his wife had put on hold for him in the small motel’s office. All their rooms, save one, had been booked for Cheyenne’s big annual rodeo, and still their lobby was full of guests hopeful there had been a last-minute cancellation.  
    They did have one empty room—the one Yusef kept reserved for use by his associates from Afghanistan. Sometimes he rented it. Like now, when the rates he could charge were double and even triple the norm.
    “Peace be upon you,” a man greeted him in Pashto on the other end of the line. Hearing the language of his homeland, a sound his soul yearned to hear, tightened the nerves in his body. He wondered what would be asked of him now.
    “Hello,” Yusef responded in English, unsure who might be listening—on the line or in the lobby. It was his way of warning his caller.
    “ Yusef Sayed? ” the man asked.
    “Yes. May I help you?”
    “ I am Jafaar Majid,” the man said, switching to English. “Our friend Abdul said you had a room for me. ”
    “Oh.” Yusef looked over at his wife. A shadow came over her face. “Yes. I do, of course. I’m happy to hear from you. When may I expect your arrival?”
    “ In two days. Tell me, the man who calls himself Khalid, do you have a way of contacting him? Abdul wishes that I speak with him while I’m in town. He has made it clear that Khalid does not represent him. Such a fact as you’ve been asserting casts doubts upon your loyalty to us. ”
    Yusef stepped into a back room with the phone, closing the door behind him. “You have no reason to doubt my loyalty,” he said, switching to Pashto. “Your room awaits you. I will call Khalid and let him explain himself to you. When shall I arrange the meeting?”
    “Day after I get there. Pick a time.”
    “So I shall. I look forward to your visit.”
    “ As do I. ”

    * * *  

    Max rolled to his side and stuffed a pillow over his head. Unfortunately, he couldn’t cover his nose, which kept pulling long, sweet-scented draws of air into his lungs. Fucking flowers. He was smelling flowers. And bacon. He sniffed the air. Coffee, too.
    He opened his eyes, peeping between his pillows. Morning was in full swing. He pushed the pillow away and sat up, squinting from the bright light flooding his cabin. The woman from yesterday was in his kitchen. Her hair was damp.  
    Max groaned and sat up. Setting his elbows on his jeans, he covered his face with his hands and rubbed his eyes.
    “Morning,” a soft female voice greeted him. Hope. Her name was Hope, he reminded himself.
    “What are you doing here?” he growled, lifting his face to look at her. Greer had dropped him off close to five that morning. It felt like he’d only been asleep an hour.
    “You said I could use your bathroom.”
    “My bathroom, yeah. Not my kitchen.” He got up and prowled over to see what she was doing, ’cause goddamn did it smell good. And he really was pretty hungry.
    “Maybe you should have made that distinction a little clearer.” She flipped a pancake.
    “Maybe so. Where’d you get all that stuff?” Last he looked, he had