Read Online Exposed - A Thriller Novella (Chandler Series) by J.A. Konrath & Ann Voss Peterson by J.A. Konrath - Free Book Online Page A

course, Jacob was right. But often playing
devil’s advocate could help sort through confusing or complicated
situations like this one. I was hoping that strategy would work
now, because I was confused as hell.
    I kept moving, rimming Columbus Circle, my
mind racing as fast as my feet.
    “Or Kirk could have taken out Morrissey
himself, maybe with the VIP’s blessing.”
    When we’d been in the limo, Kirk had a chance
to kill Julie and me. But that would have been a mistake. First of
all, driving around with two dead chicks in your car wasn’t safe.
Second, killing me would have brought a shit storm down on him and
whoever controlled him. Better to wait until the heat died down and
let me deliver her, thinking the op had ended there.
    “He must need her alive,” I said.
    “Agreed. Kirk has had sniper training. He
could have taken her out without involving you at all. Or you could
have been ordered to do it.”
    I hesitated. Could I have killed Julie if
that was my assignment? Probably not. But there were other female
assassins they could have assigned in my place, women who didn’t
have a history similar to Julie’s and wouldn’t hesitate to complete
the job.
    “So why lie to us about the father?”
    “It’s the government, Chandler. I think lying
is merely the default setting.”
    “I don’t like being lied to. Or used.”
    Jacob paused for a beat before replying. “I
do have one thing. The assignment was routed through the defense
department.”
    “So the VIP is someone in the Pentagon? Or is
it the Pentagon itself?”
    “Don’t know. I’m trying to find more.”
    And maybe, if I could catch up with Kirk, I
could do the same from my end. “Thanks, Jacob.”
    “Good luck.”
    I stuffed the phone back in my pocket and
eyed the streets leading off the circle.
    I wanted answers.
    I also wanted to make sure Julie was
safe.
    But apparently I wasn’t the only one looking
for her.
    The SUV holding the men I’d noticed earlier
was just inching onto Broadway.
    Cabs clogged the flow of traffic like
cholesterol in a fat guy’s bloodstream, but not one had its light
on indicating it was for hire. Even if I could flag down a ride,
traffic was moving so slowly, I’d never catch the men I’d pegged as
Middle Eastern operatives, let alone Kirk. He’d be long gone and so
would Julie.
    I needed to find another way, and running
wasn’t cutting it.
    The jingle of a bell caught my ear, followed
by a voice speaking heavily accented English.
    “Out of the way. Move!”
    I spun around just as a bike/cart combination
drew even with me, one of the pedicab drivers I’d noticed earlier
taking a couple of tourists into the park. I shot out a hand and
grabbed the handlebars, wresting the vehicle to a halt.
    “Get off,” I said evenly.
    He stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.
    “Get off. Now.”
    I grabbed his left hand and jammed his wrist
backward. Using the leverage, I twisted his arm and his whole body
moved to the side and off the seat.
    “Okay, okay, take it,” he said.
    He also held up his wallet. Only in New
York.
    I released him, climbing onto the seat.
    “Hey, you can’t do that, lady!”
    The couple in the cart. I’d almost forgotten
them.
    I shot the man a hard look. He was in his
fifties, soft around the middle, with a bulbous nose, sitting next
to a woman who had the exact same face, only twenty years
older.
    “You and your mom get out,” I said. “This is
your only warning.”
    “You’re stealing this man’s bike! I’m calling
the cops!”
    “Call them, Walter!” Mom chimed in. “And make
a citizen’s arrest!”
    Neither got out.
    “Your choice.”
    I drove the balls of my feet down on the
pedals. Pedestrians in the crosswalk scurrying out of the way, I
cut across Central Park West and skirted the edge of the circle and
onto Broadway.
    “Stop!” Walter yelled. “You’re under
arrest!”
    North of Columbus Circle, Broadway turned
into a boulevard, traffic flowing both up and down town.