Free Fall Read Free Page B

bathroom, closed the door, and turned on the faucet to prevent Roc from hearing. No matter how much I tried to convince myself this was just reaction to recent events and fears, I realized it was different. This wasn’t the first time. For weeks now, I’d experienced this same sickness. I told myself it was just the thought of what lay ahead for me without Roc, but in my heart, I knew the truth.
    When I was able to leave the bathroom, I went downstairs and found Roc in his study talking with Mark. The moment I walked into the room, both men stopped their discussion and turned to me.
    “Rainie, I didn’t expect you up so soon.” Roc got to his feet and kissed my cheek.
    Mark was the only one of the team Roc trusted with knowing the truth about our relationship. Mark was a good friend of Roc’s, but even so, we were taking a huge risk by letting anyone in on our secret.
    Romantic relationships between Bureau members were a big no-no. But that hadn’t stopped us. We’d been attracted right from the start. We’d gotten married within a few months of sleeping together that first time. All very secretive.
    Although most of the team suspected something was going on between us, we all pretty much honored the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ policy.
    Of course, this meant living separate lives for the world around us to see, finding only a few precious moments together where we could be just another married couple. With Roc’s increased work assignments for the Bureau, which took him away from me for weeks at a time, those moments were becoming almost nonexistent.
    I still kept my apartment on Rosedale, and Roc had the house here in Brightwood Park.
    We lived separately.
    I hated the lies but I’d learned to tolerate our secret life because I loved Roc and I didn’t want to live without him. Lately though, I found myself thinking about things like family and growing old together. Having more than just a few moments in secret as husband and wife. But as Roc was quick to point out, there could never be a normal life for us. We were spies; we’d both chosen this path.
    “Did you get anything useful out of the suspect last night, Mark?” I asked and watched the two exchange an unreadable look.
    “Nothing useful has turned up yet, Agent McClain,” he said without really looking at me. I didn’t believe him. There had been something in the way the man emphasized my last name that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It was almost as if he knew everything about me, including my marriage to Roc.
    I had little doubt I would face this man again someday. It wasn’t over between us—not by a long shot. I’d meet him again, no matter how desperate I was to get out of this game, because like it or not, we had unfinished business together.
    Before that moment came, I’d need to make a decision. I had to decide how I was going to stay alive.
    Something in Mark’s evasive manner made me wonder what the two of them had been talking about before I came in. There were ways of getting information out of even the most dedicated opponents. The Agency’s own Stevie Rodriguez came from a military background. He’d cut his teeth on this sort of thing during the first Gulf War.
    “Are you sure? Because he definitely appeared to be someone of interest. I’m thinking possibly someone high up in the ranks of the FLA.”
    Another curious exchange between them had me wondering what they weren’t telling me.
    “Did you at least learn his identity?” I asked incredulously.
    Mark hesitated so long that I wondered if he’d even answer the question. “His name is Doren Alderees, but I’m afraid he’s a dead end.”
    “A dead end? Are you sure?”
    “I’m positive. Geez, Rainie. Let it go.” I stared at him in shock and wondered why he was being so defensive. After another minute passed, Mark tried to make amends. “If you’re feeling up to it, I’d like to ask you some routine questions about last night, just for the