The Spy Who Loves Me Read Free Page B

Aeronautical Engineering Labs, Unit 7 had gone on alert.
    A defense contractor, ZAEL was currently working on a prototype of Prometheus, a space-based weapon system that had been commissioned by the Unit. All very hush hush; Amber doubted if the president even knew about the satellite. For that matter, only a few highly placed Unit members had knowledge, and then only on a need-to-know basis.
    Amber was not one who needed to know—not everything, anyway. But the whisper was that the satellite controlled a laser with unheard of precision, so focused and accurate it could melt a dime on a sidewalk. That was only a rumor, of course. Amber had no way of knowing what the thing actually did, much less if it was finished. Still, she knew enough to do her job, and that was all that was necessary.
    The information she did have was sketchy. According to the dossier she’d reviewed before it had self-destructed, security had been compromised and the access code leaked. The operator who’d revealed the code had shot himself rather than undergo interrogation, and the Unit had no way of knowing with whom he’d been working.
    ZAEL had changed the access code immediately, of course, but one thing was clear—someone unauthorized knew about Prometheus…and wanted it for himself.
    So when Diana had appeared in L.A. and started dating a data processor at ZAEL, it had seemed prudent to put a tail on her. But so far, nothing remotely incriminating had turned up. For seven days, the woman had done aerobics, visited spas, and had an endless stream of manicures.
    â€œI don’t know, Brandon,” Amber said. “Mackenzie might be plotting the end of civilization as we know it, but his girlfriend just wants to look good for the final party. I’ve been watching the woman do nothing but primp and fluff and flirt for days.” She sighed. “I know I shouldn’t complain, but this assignment is a dead end.” Like any business, the prime assignments went to the best players. She could have shined in the Chechnya mission. This one, though…Amber feared this one was going to spiral into nothingness and she’d end up facing years of surveillance work before she could wrangle another primo job. Not a pleasant possibility.
    â€œMaybe that’s why you got sloppy in the hallway,” Brandon said, heading for the kitchen. “Too dull too keep you on your toes.” Blackie followed, probably hoping Brandon would accidentally dump an entire can of tuna on the floor.
    Amber frowned, considering the theory. The idea that she’d been sloppy because she’d been bored didn’t sit well at all. She loved her life—loved the rush of adrenaline she got just waking up in the morning. But she knew as well as the next agent that the excitement was countered by days of waiting and watching. That was the job, too. Part of both good and bad assignments. And she kicked herself for letting her professionalism slip, even if only for an instant.
    Even worse, she’d been sloppy in front of Phineus Teague. And the mysterious Mr. Teague was a living, breathing question mark. Losing her cool around him wasn’t smart.
    She’d first run across Finn when she’d been assigned to track down Albert Alcott and the diamonds he’d stolen. Gemstone quality stones, they were originally intended for use as bait in a smuggling sting operation. When the diamonds had been stolen from Unit 7’s undercover operative, that had been a serious setback. It had only gotten worse when Alcott had spirited them out of the country.
    Amber had been assigned to locate Alcott, and in doing so she realized she wasn’t the only one looking for him. A woman had hired a private investigator to find the man, and Finn had apparently come along for the ride.
    So while Finn didn’t know about Amber, she knew about him. And in her line of work, she didn’t tend to run across the same civilian twice. The