Pure Desire [Pure 3] (Siren Publishing Allure) Read Online Free Page B

head jerked up, and he stared wide-eyed at Jenkins McGovern. “Excuse me?”
    Superior Sterns smirked, leaned back in the chair, crossed his arms behind his head, a telltale sign he was clearly enjoying the look of dismay Noor assumed registered on his face.
    He sat up straight and directed a question to Jenkins McGovern. “What exactly do you mean by she doesn’t know we exist —I assume when you say we, you are speaking of our government organizations and the emperor’s madness?”
    “Not exactly,” Councilman Farrow said.
    “This just gets better and better,” Sterns said, snickering.
    Jenkins McGovern gave Sterns a sloe-eyed look before turning to Noor. “Are you aware of the Interplanetary Destination Act of 2030?”
    “Sir, it was required reading when I joined the academy. It is unlawful for anyone to time travel unless the eight planets who make up the Federation Conglomerate unanimously and collectively agree to cross boundaries into the past.” His eyes flickered from man to man. “Just how many votes do we have on our side?”
    “Sanguine, Polaria, and Calidus is tentative,” the Councilman said.
    “Two?” The men nodded. Noor gave a low whistle. Yeah, he could kiss his ass good-bye and probably his career to if he screwed up. Not that such was an immediate concern, his paramount worry centered on surviving the assignment unscathed and, best case scenario, alive.
    Councilman Farrow stood up and started pacing, the first show of emotion he was gravely concerned or agitated—perhaps both—about the entire ordeal. “I don’t need to remind you our situation is precarious. We don’t have time to try to cut through the bureaucratic red-tape bullshit. As we speak, the emperor is marching on another planet and I would bet my behind they easily fold under his assault. It’s a small planet, probably no more than a few thousand in their army, but that’s still more able bodies added to his arsenal.” He stopped moving, turned, and settled a discerning gaze on him. “Your record speaks for itself, Agent Rynoir. Jenkins and I evaluated twenty-five agents’ dossiers, got it down to five finalists, and you were still our number one candidate. You are intelligent, street savvy, and can be a chameleon, if need be. You know your weapons, tactical operations, and how to carry out a mission, and from what I read and heard, you don’t always go by the book.” He eyed him perceptively before continuing the thread of conversation. “I need to know you are in before we continue.”
    “Where do I travel to, or back to?”
    Jenkins McGovern looked up at the ceiling as if to say “thank you, Immaculate Providence.”
    “Somewhere in Texas,” the Councilman said.
    “Can you be a little more specific?”
    “We don’t have much information. It’s still something we have to work through before you leave,” Jenkins McGovern said.
    “We thought we had the right coordinates with Lumpkins, but we botched it,” Sterns said.
    Noor glared at him. “You said rookie Lumpkins went undercover and was killed by a drug cartel.”
    “The command center underestimated certain aspects, atmospheric conditions, and there were some technical difficulties. We expect to have everything figured out in two days, when the next lunar cycle is conducive to traveling through the hemisphere.” Sterns didn’t sound confident.
    “I have to travel in two days. What if you don’t have everything corrected by then?”
    Sterns shrugged with indifference. “You get peeled from the vessel like melted plastic wrap. Unfortunately, malfunctions are not always avoidable.”
    His blasé attitude about an agent’s death sent a frigid chill through Noor’s veins. It took everything he had not to jump across the table and choke some sense into Sterns’s scrawny neck.
    “I will oversee the preparations myself,” the Councilman said.
    “We can’t afford to lose another good agent. The best of the best are on this,” Jenkins McGovern