Operation Proof of Life Read Online Free Page A

secretive behavior the last time she snuck out in the wee hours of the morning, but an old paranoia had gripped him hard. If she was hiding something, Conrad wasn’t sure he wanted to know…or should know. Her job was hers alone. He had no say over what she was working on, and he had to have faith that she could handle whatever it was. Still, he couldn’t control the flip of his heart or the unease in his stomach. If she was keeping the details of her assignment a close hold, it meant the assignment was dangerous.
    He sensed more than heard her close the front door as she slipped into the Arlington night. In one fluid motion, he threw back the sheet, grabbed his own jeans and tugged them on. Tonight he would tail her and find out exactly where she was going, who she was meeting, just for peace of mind. Sweeping both his personal cell phone and his work cell from the nightstand, he hoped for the best and steeled his gut for the worst. Never in his life had he loved a woman like he loved Julia.
    Jogging to the front door, Conrad picked up his running shoes. Outside, the sidewalk was cool and gritty under his bare feet. Before he could throw his shoes into the passenger seat of his Jeep, one of his phones rang. “What now?” he muttered. One good thing about pretending to be dead had been that no one demanded his attention.
    Now, in his new position as Director of Operations, he was constantly getting calls from field operators, section managers and other CIA directors at all times of the day and night. He no longer had the option of laying low under the radar. If anything, he was the center of everyone’s target these days and he hated it. Michael Stone, the deputy director and his boss, had painted a neon green bull’s-eye on Conrad’s forehead just because Julia had picked him over Stone after the battle to oust the mole. Stone had been in love with her, but in the end, lost her to the better man. Conrad grinned at the thought as he fumbled with his work phone. He stared at it a second, hitting the connect button twice, before realizing his personal cell was still buzzing maniacally in his jeans pocket. He pulled it out, looked at the LCD screen and frowned at the ID. Big Mike .
    With that nickname, clearly Ace, his coroner-turned-spy friend, had been playing personal assistant again with Con’s phone.
    The phone buzzed in his hand like a giant wasp. What could Stone want at this time of night?
    Julia.
    Con’s heart thudded hard. Jamming the phone into the crook of his neck, he started the Jeep, his eyes scanning the road for the taillights of a certain white Audi. “Yeah?”
    Stone’s voice was clear and commanding, like always. “Meet me at my place in half an hour.”
    Conrad concentrated on wheeling the Jeep in the direction he’d seen her disappear. “Why?”
    “I have an assignment for you.”
    “It’s after midnight if you haven’t noticed. Go to bed. You might have to act like you know what you’re doing tomorrow.”
    “My house, Flynn, or you won’t have a job tomorrow.”
    The boss card again. He shifted and pushed the gas pedal into the floor, imagining the man’s face under his foot. “Does this have anything to do with Julia?”
    “Julia?” Stone’s voice dropped a notch. “Is she okay?”
    “Forget I mentioned her.” He snapped the phone shut and dropped it on top of his running shoes. His eyes caught the red flash of brake lights and his gut tightened in response. While he’d done his best to ignore the jealousy Stone triggered in him, it was always there in the background, haunting him like his tattered past as a renegade spy.
    His gut didn’t release until two miles south of Arlington when the Audi left the interstate and pulled into a Perkins restaurant. A giant American flag waved its shadow over Julia’s petite figure as she exited her car and walked inside.
    There were no FBI initials on the back of her pink Roxy jacket.
    Conrad huffed out a sigh. No undercover work, just a