Jenna Petersen - [Lady Spies] Read Free Page A

who had gotten so close were generally coming in for a kiss, not a fight. With a blush darkening her creamy skin, she backed away.
    “I am Lady Anastasia Whittig,” she said, her voicesofter, calmer. Her chin inched up with pride and outrage. “ I am one of the spies you believe incapable of performing her duty.”
    Lucas felt the corner of his lips curl up in an unstoppable smile at the way she held herself. A spitfire. He’d never been able to resist a spitfire and this one was a beauty, indeed. It had been a long time since he really saw a woman when he looked at her. Normally he gave them their pleasure, relieved his own needs, and never thought of them again. He just didn’t have the time nor inclination to involve himself past a night’s tumble.
    But he saw Anastasia Whittig. In fact, he drank her in.
    Big brown eyes that reflected every bit of emotion bubbling inside her. He had no doubt they would reflect desire just as brightly as they showed anger. Chestnut hair in a lopsided bun. Even her black mourning gown couldn’t cover up the lush curves of her body. It didn’t take much to imagine what she would look like without the gown confining her.
    He shook off the thought. What was he thinking? This was not the moment to get caught up in lust for a woman. And especially not one of these Lady Spies, the quasi-mythical group that he honestly hadn’t believed existed until a month ago when he was ordered to work side by side with one of them.
    “It really doesn’t matter anymore what I believe about this group’s abilities,” he said, tearing his gazeaway from Anastasia with difficulty. “If Emily is so badly hurt that her very life is in the balance, she cannot break codes, let alone continue with our other plans. I’ll have to go back to working on my own.”
    He stifled a smile. Though he would not have asked for it under these circumstances, alone was what he wanted anyway. He didn’t want some woman under his feet, needing to be rescued at every unexpected turn of their case. Besides, this situation was personal. He wanted to investigate it by himself. And now it seemed he would be able to just that.
    Isley folded his arms and his eyes narrowed. “You need the talents these women possess.”
    “I—” Lucas began, but Isley cut him off.
    “Your organization has made no headway with this case for nearly a year. During the time you’ve bumbled around, more and more agents are being exposed and attacked.”
    Anastasia broke her glare away from Lucas and looked at Charlie. The difference in her expression was night and day. Where her stare simmered with repressed anger when she looked at Lucas, she was nothing but light and sweetness when it came to Isley. Both the irate passion and the trusting innocence were equally appealing.
    “Is that what Emily was investigating?” she asked.
    Isley nodded. “There have been an increasing number of attacks on agents both at home and abroad recently,”he explained. “We believe someone has uncovered their identities and is either selling them to the highest bidder or carrying out assassinations and attacks himself for profit. Emily and Mr. Tyler here were working together to find out who is exposing our agents and how they are being attacked.”
    Anastasia nodded. “Do you believe Emily’s identity was revealed? Is that why she was assaulted tonight?”
    Lucas’s head came up. He had never considered that a Lady Spy might be unmasked. Would anyone take their organization so seriously? But it made sense. Emily wouldn’t have gone through a bad neighborhood to reach their rendezvous point, and Isley had made no mention of a robbery or other motivation for her shooting. The attempt on her life could very well be related to her secret activities.
    If someone had discovered Emily’s involvement in the world of spies, that meant they were getting closer to exposing him . And if that happened, Lucas would be removed from this case and any others until the