Read Online Reach For the Spy by Diane Henders - Free Book Online Page B

was resisting the urge to ask me what the hell
had been going on. I relaxed when he apparently let it go.
    “I need you to carry
your phone with you at all times,” he said. “Just in case.
Especially if you’re going to play hide and seek with the
cameras.”
    I sighed, feeling the
noose tightening. “Okay.”
    “What’s the story with
your neighbour? Does he suspect anything?”
    “No. This was the first
time he’s ever been in the yard. But I told Hellhound about the
bugs and cameras.”
    “All right. Hurry up
and get rid of your hoe. You can follow me into town, and I’ll meet
you at Sirius.”
    I arrived at Sirius
Dynamics twenty minutes later and navigated the depressing security
with a sense of impending doom. I had been so looking forward to
having two full days up in the daylight and open air. My hands
started to tremble again when I opened the door at the bottom of
the concrete stairwell.
    Kane and Spider looked
up from Spider’s desk in the lab as I came in. “Good, you’re here,”
Spider said. “We just intercepted this communication, and we think
it may be important.”
    “That’d be a nice
change from all the tedious crap we’ve been wading through,” I
muttered as I slouched into my chair. “Where is it?”
    “In the usual file
room,” Spider said.
    I nodded morosely and
stepped into the network.
    The digital file was
enormous. After the first fifty pages, my brain ceased to process
any of the information, and I simply decrypted the document word
for word without comprehension.
    At long last, I spoke
into the network interface. “That’s it. Is there anything else you
need here?”
    Spider’s voice vibrated
with excitement. “No. That was excellent. That document was a
game-changer. Come on out.”
    I heaved my aching
avatar up from its chair and stumbled toward the portal. When I
stepped through, my fatigue made the pain seem worse than usual,
and I caught myself whimpering while I beat my throbbing head
against the nearest solid surface.
    A few seconds later, I
recognized the solid surface as Kane’s chest when he held my head
firmly against him. “Aydan, stop,” he commanded.
    I groaned and made an
effort to unclench my teeth. “I’m okay. You can let go now.”
    He released me and
raised my chin to look into my eyes. “Are you sure you’re
okay?”
    “Yeah. Just tired. What
time...” I raised a shaking arm to glance at my watch and
suppressed another whimper. Eight o’clock. I was starving.
    Kane looked at his
watch, too, and his expression darkened. “Aydan, I’m so sorry. We
did it to you again. Can you make it upstairs?”
    “Yeah. I can manage
without regular meals as long as I don’t have to run any
marathons.”
    I hauled my trembling
body out of the chair and staggered for the door.
    Kane’s hand was under
my elbow as he turned back. “Webb, get that document sent out
ASAP.”
    “I will.” Spider turned
back to his keyboard, fingers flying.
    I straightened and did
my best to approximate a normal stride down the hallway. Kane paced
beside me, watching me closely. He put his hand under my elbow
again while I dragged myself up the stairs and into the time-delay
chamber.
    When the heavy door
finally released, he guided me to one of the lobby chairs. “Stay
here. I’ve got some orange juice upstairs.”
    I put out a hand to
stop him. “It’s okay. I only have a problem if I exert myself. I’ll
just swing into the burger joint on the way home and grab
something.”
    He eyed my trembling
hands. “I’ll follow you.”
    I really wasn’t in the
mood for company, but I was too tired to argue. I sighed and headed
for the door.
    The burger was greasy
and nowhere near as good as Eddy’s. I nibbled it half-heartedly
while Kane devoured his meal. When I couldn’t force myself to
swallow any more of it, I laid the remains back into the basket and
sank my aching head into my hands.
    I started out of my
semi-conscious doze at the sound of Kane’s voice. “You