Atlas (The Atlas Series) Read Free Page A

instinct that this woman was a terrorist.
    Kala grabbed back Jack’s gun and looked him in the eye. “She has a briefcase and I’m checking it out.”
    Jack didn’t argue. He pulled the curtain open further to get a look at the mystery woman himself. “Where is she?”
    Kala was putting her jeans on, but dashed back to the window.
    The woman was gone.
    And really gone.
    No sign of her anywhere.
    Jack wrapped his arms around Kala from behind and kissed her neck. “Are you sure you weren’t imagining things?”
    Was she?
    Could she have possibly made up the whole thing in her head? It definitely wasn’t like her, but it was late and now that Kala looked outside…
    She pulled away from Jack and placed his gun down on the dresser, then she rejoined him at the window. “You think I’m crazy,” she accused.
    Jack smiled. “My kind of crazy.”
    Kala relaxed and smiled back as Jack leaned down, giving her a kiss that made her knees wobble.
    A loud buzzing interrupted them.
    Kala mumbled into Jack’s lips, “That’s your phone.”
    Jack finished the kiss, then pulled away and picked up the phone by his bedside.
    Kala watched as Jack’s face revealed something she’d never seen in him before. Ever.
    Fear.
    It was so foreign to her she didn’t know how to react.
    “What is it?” she asked and found that her voice was shaky.
    When Jack looked up at Kala, all signs of fear were gone.
    Kala was starting to wonder if she was going insane. First the woman appearing-disappearing, then Jack being scared? Her eyes were playing tricks on her. Or her brain was. Or maybe it was all that tequila.
    “We’ve got an assignment.” Jack put his phone down and started to get dressed.
    Kala was a bit taken aback. Usually when the team was called in all their phones went off at the same time like a universal alarm.
    Kala’s phone hadn’t made a peep.
    A slow inkling of doubt started to creep up in her brain. Was Jack lying to her? Why would he when she could easily catch him in a lie like that?
    “Are you going to get dressed?” Jack was transitioning into “commander mode.”
    “Yeah,” Kala said and since she already had her jeans on she reached for her t-shirt on the floor.
    Both their phones went off at the same time.
    Kala grabbed her phone off the dresser and checked the message:
    Compound A.S.A.P.
    Kala tried not to show what she was feeling. Something was weird. And something was off. Jack received a message almost two minutes before the rest of the team received orders to report in. It was nearly impossible for Kala not to be suspicious. In the three years that Kala had served in Jack’s company, Jack never received orders first. Orders came from General Turner and they were simultaneously sent to everyone on the team. So who had given Jack the heads up? And why?
    Kala desperately wanted to grab Jack’s phone and see who the first message was from.
    Jack was fully dressed and tossed Kala her jacket. “Let’s get going.”
    “I took a cab.” Kala was horrified. The last thing she wanted to do was arrive at headquarters with Jack. Derek and Lali would know right away about their affair. It was extremely difficult to hide anything from the two of them and Kala was positive Lali was already suspicious. But to arrive together at three in the morning? They wouldn’t be fooling anyone.
    “Your choices are simple: take another cab or come with me. What will it be?” Jack had a kind of hopeful look in his eyes, and Kala knew he wanted her to come with him.
    “I’ll call a cab.” Kala just couldn’t. She wasn’t ready.
    Jack seemed to be okay with this as he smiled knowingly at her. “Stubborn as ever.”
    Kala just nodded, called a cab and headed for the front door.
    Jack went with her. Before he walked towards his car he leaned down and kissed her. “See you there.”
    Kala nodded back and watched as Jack got into his car and drove away, toward the Compound. She waited for her cab as patiently as she could,