Read Online If Looks Could Kill by Elizabeth Cage - Free Book Online Page A

She sipped her soda and winced as her hurt elbow gave her a jolt of pain. “It was the only thing tangible in the whole building.”
    â€œYou mean other than splinters and rat poops,” Jo replied. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “Sorry, T., I don’t buy it. What would a possible nuke smuggler want with high-end silk? I think we’re so desperate for a clue that we’ll consider anything at this point.”
    â€œI hate it when you’re right,” Theresa muttered.
    â€œThen you must hate just about everything I say, huh?” Jo quipped.
    Theresa burst out laughing. “Yeah, you just keep on believing that, Jo. Then it must be true.”
    â€œOh, it’s true,” Jo said, smiling slyly.
    â€œWhatever. I think we owe it to ourselves to let Uncle Sam in on all this.”
    Jo nodded. “Good idea. He might have a helpful hint.”
    Theresa wrinkled her nose. “Helpful? Sammy? All heever does is bark at us. It’s like he’s a demented parent and high-level civil servant all rolled into one.”
    â€œYou’re being too hard on the old guy,” Jo said. Her eyes narrowed playfully. “I bet he’s hot.”
    Theresa looked horrified. “Uncle Sam? Are you nuts?”
    â€œCome on,” Jo protested. “That voice, that authoritarian manner. I bet he’s a handsome man.”
    Theresa shook her head. “No way. I think he hides behind that digital distortion because he looks like the Phantom of the Opera.”
    â€œLook at Charlie’s Angels ,” Jo argued. “Charlie turned out to be Blake Carrington, this totally sexy billionaire.”
    Theresa rolled her eyes. “Charlie turned out to be the voice of John Forsythe, a handsome character actor who played a billionaire on TV. I think you’re taking your spy fantasy just a little too far. And another thing, the flat is probably bugged. Uncle Sam now knows that you have a crush on him.”
    Jo’s jaw dropped. “I do not!”
    â€œWhat did you just say?” Theresa asked, grinning. “Two key words: hot and sexy.”
    Jo shook her head violently and turned her voice up several decibels. “If you’re listening, Sammy, I do not have a crush on you. T.’s making the whole thing up. She’s bored since she broke her computer.”
    â€œVery nice, Jo. Now you’re talking to walls.”
    Jo sank back into her pillows. “As long as they don’t answer me.”
    â€œAnyway, we still should call Uncle Sam. I need to remind him that the encryptions on my new computer need to be top-shelf.” Theresa’s jaw ground at the thought of being hoodwinked by another programmer. “With this new gear I’ll be able to hack into Bill Gates’s pocket protector. No huckster hacker is going to keep me out of Luscious’s files.”
    She smiled a deliciously evil smile.
    â€œHis little empire is coming down.”
    â€¢Â Â â€¢Â Â â€¢
    Caylin gasped as she peeked between the curtains.
    It was a computer room!
    The entire right wall was a complex system of spinning, humming, clicking hard drives. An air conditionerblew frigid air from the ceiling. Several bald techies pecked away on various keyboards or pulled apart circuit boards.
    A few feet away Lucien and the man who must have been the head techie were having a heated discussion.
    â€œYou have to understand, Mr. West,” he said firmly—placatingly. “No files were compromised. All information is intact.”
    â€œHow were they able to break in as far as they did in the first place?” Lucien demanded, his blue eyes flashing.
    The techie shrugged. “They were very good.” He smiled in satisfaction. “We were better.”
    Lucien smiled back sarcastically. “You were better. Yet you weren’t good enough to track this thief down. I need to know where they are if I’m to prevent this from