Hearts Aflame Collection III: 4-Book Bundle Read Online Free Page B

Jeanine. It was owned by an old woman who knew the two of them, since their diaper days and even now, when John entered, he could scarcely order a coffee without her making conversation about Jeanine, and high school. He rather liked the reminder though. With Jeanine having been completely gone for almost ten years, it was nice to have some proof that she had ever existed.
    “Hello,” he greeted the woman with a forced smile, but even she could see the dejection in his eyes.
    “How are you, Johnny?” the old woman with graying hair and red lipstick asked, her voice shaking with age.
    He chuckled. “Don't call me Johnny, Annie.”
    She raised an eyebrow. “That's Mrs. Annie to you.”
    John shrugged.
    “How is the new girlfriend?” she asked.
    A smile played at John's lips. “You know, she's not really new anymore. It's been two years.”
    “Well, she'll always be new to me,” she replied as she grabbed a clean mug and placed it under a cappuccino machine. She could already guess what he would order.
    “You can't discriminate against every one of my girlfriends who isn't Jeanine,” John scolded.
    She shrugged as she placed a cappuccino in front of John. He grabbed it, gratefully holding it in between hiss hands. She peered at him, a knowing gleam in her eyes.
    “What?” he asked, a little unnerved.
    “She isn't dead.” She whispered, before slapping the front page of today's newspaper down in front of him.
    Woman Arrested in Washington DC for the Attempted Murder of Saudi Arabian Ambassador
     

Chapter Five
     
    The last three days were a complete blur. One moment, I was in my apartment pretending to be in love and the next, I was sitting in between four walls, trapped. I sat in the interrogation room, patiently waiting. My heart had begun racing again but I took a few deep breaths to calm it. There was no sense in freaking out now. I knew that eventually someone would show up, clear everything up with DC, and I would be able to leave.
    I closed my eyes, listening to the silence, trying not to think of anything. However, despite all of that, my breath came more and more difficult with each passing moment. I began to lose control of my own mind. It began to run ahead of me, images flipping through my brain, anxiety freezing me to my place. I imagined the director's voice in my head, his dismay, his disappointment at finding out that we were caught.
    Only, that didn't really make any sense. It couldn't have been my fault that we were unable to carry out the mission. If Liam wasn't lying and if I didn't make a massive mistake, than it was their fault. We weren't given adequate information. But even then, if the director knew something went amiss, he definitely had the resources and intelligence to get to me first. Nothing about this situation made any sense to me.
    There was a low groan as a guard pushed the heavy door open. A tall, lanky man in a gray custom suit entered. He sat down across from me, unpacked two notepads from his briefcase and shot me a grim smile.
    “How are you today?” His heavy northern accent echoed off of the walls.
    I shot him a quick smile, then returned my gaze to my own hands. “Fine.”
    “Okay.” He leaned in, folding his hands in front of him. “Do you know why you are here?”
    “I haven't done anything wrong,” I replied.
    He nodded. “Right, well we have reason to think that you have.” 
    I raised an eyebrow. “That's too bad.”
    “How do you know Liam?” he asked.
    I shrugged.
    He grimaced. “Are you saying you don't know how you know him?” His pitch raised as he was trying to convey how ridiculous his own statement was.
    “I don't have to know anything without a lawyer,” I sneered.
    He sat back in his chair, darting his eyes first to the right, then to the left, as if in disbelief at what I just said. I watched as he folded and unfolded his fingers, rocking back and forth. He opened his mouth once or twice, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell me