Girl Undercover 8 & 9: Traitor & The Smiley Killer Read Free

short while ago.” He spoke so fast I had to prick up my ears to make sure I understood what he was saying.
    I guess he isn’t waiting for Stenger then, I concluded, sighing inwardly.
    “Nadja already left,” Janine replied, her tone cutting. “In other words, no point for you to hang around here any longer. I’m going to dinner at Chatterly’s house. Why don’t you join me?”
    She wasn’t really asking him; she was telling him. Or maybe ordering was a more apt description considering the way she was staring him down, looking like she was daring him to even think about refusing her suggestion.
    “Sure,” he said and walked up to her.
    Janine’s gaze found me then. Her nude-painted lips pulled into a taut smile that failed to reach her eyes. “Oh, hello, Jamie, I didn’t realize that was you! How was your date the other night?”
    I smiled back and shrugged. “It was nice, but unfortunately not a match.”
    She made a sad face. “Oh, no, that’s too bad. Well, it’s his loss. You looked fabulous!”
    “Thank you. Did you guys have a nice dinner?”
    “Fantastic. You’re here late. You’re not training someone this late, are you?” I felt like she was using a magnifying glass, she was studying me so closely.
    “No, I’m just here to pick up something that I forgot in my locker. Are you going to be in town for a while?”
    “Unfortunately not. I’ll be leaving for D.C. early tomorrow morning.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “I so wish we had time for another session. Please do send me a workout that I can do on my own until I see you again. That would be so helpful.”
    “It’ll be in your inbox before the end of the week.”
    “That sounds great. Have a great night.” She gave me a nod and then walked out through one of the glass doors, Burt trailing immediately behind her. He didn’t even look at me, not to mention say goodbye.
    “Likewise,” I said to the senator, not sure if she heard me. Burt’s behavior had me so transfixed that I’d spoken a couple of beats too late.
    As soon as they had disappeared from my view, I found my phone in my purse and dialed Ian.

Chapter 2
    Ian picked up the phone right away. “Gabi. What’s going on?”
    “A lot more than I assume is going on for you,” I replied dryly. “Still no sight of Jonah then, I presume?”
    “None whatsoever, I’m afraid. I’ve thumbed through this newspaper so many times now I could recite all the headlines by heart. Which is good because it just started to rain, so the ink’s beginning to bleed.”
    “Well, I have lots of news for you.”
    “Shoot.”
    “For one, I just bumped into Burt, the trainer, again. He went to Nikkei to meet up with one of the membership directors. Guess who came out of the elevator right as he was trying to tell me something that sounded important?”
    “Don’t tell me you just saw Stenger…” Ian’s voice had gone from light to tense.
    “No, I wasn’t that lucky. It does seem like Burt knows who Stenger is, though. What’s more, I’m having the distinct feeling he might tell me about it, too.”
    “Really? Let’s hope you’re right. Who did you see coming out of the elevator?”
    “Janine Eastwood suddenly appeared as we were talking and Burt totally freaked. It was like he turned into a wooden doll at the sheer sight of the woman. She then ordered him to come with her to have dinner at Damon Chatterly’s house. The two of them just left to go there.”
    “Hmm,” Ian said, sounding pensive. “At the governor’s house, you say? Where are you right now?”
    “Still in the downstairs lobby at Nikkei. That’s where I bumped into Burt.”
    “Let’s continue this discussion at my house, okay? I’ve had enough of waiting around for this anger-challenged youngster to appear and the rain’s picking up. Soon, it’ll be pouring. There’ll be plenty more opportunities to find Stenger now that we know he’s Jonah’s father and likely in the city.”
    “Yeah, if he