Read Online Until Midnight by Desiree Holt, Cerise DeLand - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Desiree Holt, Cerise DeLand
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swivel and admire,
“a traffic monitoring system for most major cities where we have client operations in progress.”
“Isn’t that illegal in the States?”
She nodded. “It is. But all of these are in cities outside the country. Addis Ababa.
Singapore. Sana’i.”
He got a horrible look of delight on his face. “No wonder you get big bucks. The
worst hellholes in the world and you are monitoring them like hawks.”
“Make no mistake. When we find something that we think the Feds or Interpol
should know, we share. Good intelligence is all about being a team player. Gets you where you want to be.”
“Not left in the dust?” He shook his head. “Amen to that, babe. I’ve worked with a clamp on for so many years, I don’t know if I’m able to share.”
That got to the core of their issue and her problem here. “But with me, here, on this, you must, Adam.” She let that sink in before she let him know more. “Or we cannot go on.”
He went still. “Old habits are hard to break.”
She waited.
“My entire identity is tied up with what I do.”
She bit her lip.
“I don’t think anyone has ever quit the service. Ever even tried.”
As the silence in the room lengthened, he added, “A few have gone on to politics.”
56
Until Midnight
She tipped her head in question.
“Not my ambition.”
She arched a brow.
“Mine has always been just finding bad guys and putting them away. Occasionally,
I’ve helped a few people get justice, but it was always justice for the state, too.”
She swallowed. Was she losing him here?
He sat forward. “I’ll make you a deal for now. For this.”
She held her breath.
“What I know, what I learn, you’ll know. What resources I have, I’ll use them for
this. I owe it to King Saul Boulevard. I owe it to my country. I owe it to myself. And my friend’s sister. At the end of this, when we find out who does this and why, I’ll make a choice.”
She nodded. “I see.”
“You agree?”
“Deal,” she told him, knowing she had to take what he offered and run with it. He
was key now to her thinking about this mystery. He knew facts, understood the
pharmaceutical issues from a different angle and had experience tracking it. Whether he had been successful or not before this didn’t really matter so much as the fact that he wanted to continue. Continue with her. Continue for her. And she needed him. His clever brain. His smart humor. Yes, she craved him. Like sunshine and rain. And for an excitement and a delight in living that she had never known until he took her in his arms and loved her with that fabulous body.
He tried to smile. His mouth didn’t work.
She rose from her chair. “Come meet two of my staff who can give us the run-down
on Abbas and Haller. Maddie and Dan are married. Recently, too. They met while Dan was on a project for the Feds and Maddie was chief of staff to the Speaker of the
House.”
57
Desiree Holt & Cerise DeLand
“Maddie…” Adam snapped his fingers. “She worked for Paul Trask? Good god. I
read about her!”
“She helped to put him away. Dan and she saved each other from Trask’s attempt
to kill them and bury what they knew about his operations in south Texas.”
“It’ll be an honor to meet them,” Adam told her. “But why with this? What do they
bring to the table?”
“Maddie has a large network of friends and acquaintances. She uses her
connections well. To our benefit.” Nicki wiggled her brows. “And Dan has a deft hand with technology. Computers. Decoding. Analysis. He has become invaluable to us
here.”
“Which way to the newly married couple?”
Nicki threw Adam a grin and pressed a button. The wall behind her slid silently
open and there, at a large glass table, sat her old college friend, Madison, talking quietly with her new husband, tall, fit, Dan Foreman. Dan had his hand on Maddie’s cheek and the tender look in his eyes made Nicki startle. That look . She’d seen it on
“a traffic monitoring system for most major cities where we have client operations in progress.”
“Isn’t that illegal in the States?”
She nodded. “It is. But all of these are in cities outside the country. Addis Ababa.
Singapore. Sana’i.”
He got a horrible look of delight on his face. “No wonder you get big bucks. The
worst hellholes in the world and you are monitoring them like hawks.”
“Make no mistake. When we find something that we think the Feds or Interpol
should know, we share. Good intelligence is all about being a team player. Gets you where you want to be.”
“Not left in the dust?” He shook his head. “Amen to that, babe. I’ve worked with a clamp on for so many years, I don’t know if I’m able to share.”
That got to the core of their issue and her problem here. “But with me, here, on this, you must, Adam.” She let that sink in before she let him know more. “Or we cannot go on.”
He went still. “Old habits are hard to break.”
She waited.
“My entire identity is tied up with what I do.”
She bit her lip.
“I don’t think anyone has ever quit the service. Ever even tried.”
As the silence in the room lengthened, he added, “A few have gone on to politics.”
56
Until Midnight
She tipped her head in question.
“Not my ambition.”
She arched a brow.
“Mine has always been just finding bad guys and putting them away. Occasionally,
I’ve helped a few people get justice, but it was always justice for the state, too.”
She swallowed. Was she losing him here?
He sat forward. “I’ll make you a deal for now. For this.”
She held her breath.
“What I know, what I learn, you’ll know. What resources I have, I’ll use them for
this. I owe it to King Saul Boulevard. I owe it to my country. I owe it to myself. And my friend’s sister. At the end of this, when we find out who does this and why, I’ll make a choice.”
She nodded. “I see.”
“You agree?”
“Deal,” she told him, knowing she had to take what he offered and run with it. He
was key now to her thinking about this mystery. He knew facts, understood the
pharmaceutical issues from a different angle and had experience tracking it. Whether he had been successful or not before this didn’t really matter so much as the fact that he wanted to continue. Continue with her. Continue for her. And she needed him. His clever brain. His smart humor. Yes, she craved him. Like sunshine and rain. And for an excitement and a delight in living that she had never known until he took her in his arms and loved her with that fabulous body.
He tried to smile. His mouth didn’t work.
She rose from her chair. “Come meet two of my staff who can give us the run-down
on Abbas and Haller. Maddie and Dan are married. Recently, too. They met while Dan was on a project for the Feds and Maddie was chief of staff to the Speaker of the
House.”
57
Desiree Holt & Cerise DeLand
“Maddie…” Adam snapped his fingers. “She worked for Paul Trask? Good god. I
read about her!”
“She helped to put him away. Dan and she saved each other from Trask’s attempt
to kill them and bury what they knew about his operations in south Texas.”
“It’ll be an honor to meet them,” Adam told her. “But why with this? What do they
bring to the table?”
“Maddie has a large network of friends and acquaintances. She uses her
connections well. To our benefit.” Nicki wiggled her brows. “And Dan has a deft hand with technology. Computers. Decoding. Analysis. He has become invaluable to us
here.”
“Which way to the newly married couple?”
Nicki threw Adam a grin and pressed a button. The wall behind her slid silently
open and there, at a large glass table, sat her old college friend, Madison, talking quietly with her new husband, tall, fit, Dan Foreman. Dan had his hand on Maddie’s cheek and the tender look in his eyes made Nicki startle. That look . She’d seen it on
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