Ice Cold Read Free Page B

into the inky, star-studded sky over T-FLAC Montana headquarters.
    The unmarked plane seated twelve comfortably. Bed in back. Two luxurious bathrooms. Plenty of room to move about. Rafael was quite content to sit and watch Winston ignoring him. No chitchat, he did like that about her.
    She looked mildly irritated to find him watching her when she glanced up. “Like what you see?” he asked, just to see if he could get a rise out of her.
    “On a purely cerebral level, yes,” she said without hesitation. “You’re strong, intelligent, and known to think on your feet. All assets in a partner.” She dropped her gaze to her open laptop and used one finger to scroll slowly.
    “Hansen had enemies.” Hell, they all had enemies. They weren’t in the business to make friends.
    “Probably fewer than most.” She paused what she was doing to look at him again. Her eyes were eerie pale. Compelling. Chilly no matter what her expression. She was hard to read. “Jack kept to himself, and he wasn’t exactly controversial. You say a woman called in the message that he wasn’t able to come with you?”
    “Or a voice manipulated to sound female. Ops is doing an analysis. The call appeared to have originated from the house at eighteen hundred.”
    Her eyes widened. “Precisely?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I was in the house at that time.”
    “Could’ve been rerouted.”
    “Ops will trace it.” She crossed her legs, and he wondered if she planned to walk through a bombsite in those damn boots. Her “go” bag was half the size of his and his was small and compact. He sure as hell wasn’t taking her shopping the moment they landed in Greece. Unfortunate she wasn’t prepared, but he wouldn’t require her services for more than twenty-four hours.
    “Everyone knows Jack’s divorced,” she pointed out. “So, someone calling in and claiming to be his wife would raise a red flag immediately.”
    “Obviously the plan.”
    “The killer wanted you to come to the house.”
    He offered a mild glance. “Or you on this op.”
    “Yes, that thought’s crossed my mind as well. But there are less dramatic ways to switch operatives than a brutal, senseless murder.”
    “Clearly, someone is trying to make a point.”
    “ Someone’s going to get their ass kicked before I kill them,” Honey told him in a non-dramatic, no-nonsense tone. “Jack had three beautiful daughters under the age of twelve who need their father, even if he was a long-distance father.”
    “Don’t take this personally, Winston.”
    She settled her laptop on the small table in front of her. “We have a job to do, let’s do it. I still need briefing. The flight will barely give me enough time to gather as much intel as possible before we lan—What’s that look for?”
    She’d have to be human to take anything personally. “You weren’t close?”
    The placid expression, or lack thereof, on her beautiful face didn’t change with his question; she merely said flatly, “He was my boss for five years. I respected him enormously.”
    “That wasn’t the question.” He wanted to shake her to see if there was a drop of emotion in her. There must be. God only knew she didn’t show an atom of it on the outside.
    No, wait. Yes. There . An almost imperceptible flinch around her eyes. There and then just as quickly wiped clean. She had cared for Hansen, had, Rafael suspected, cared for her supervisor more than she was willing to share.
    “That’s the only answer I’m giving you.” She went back to her computer.
    Even though Winston’s back was stick-up-her-ass-straight, she gave a focused, frowning impression as she hunched over the keyboard. As soon as they reached cruising altitude, she glanced up, shutting the laptop. She lifted her lashes, frowning slightly as she noticed he was still watching her.
    “I’ll be right back.” She uncurled her long legs and rose to stroll past him toward the aft cabin, leaving a drift of expensive Carolina Herrera perfume in