Free The Housewife Assassin's Hostage Hosting Tips (Housewife Assassin Series Book 9) by Josie Brown

implying, so I simply shrug. “What do you think?”
    “I don’t know. I guess if I were you, I’d feel…betrayed.” She looks closely at me.  
    Oh, I get it now.
    I wish I’d killed Tatyana when I had the chance.
    “Of course I feel betrayed,” I say angrily. “I also feel...” I’m hoping my pause gives her the impression that I’m at a loss for words, so that she’ll keep talking and shed some light on what the hell she means.
    “Pissed. I know .” She pats my arm. “Heck, who wouldn’t be?”
    I don’t think I’m too successful keeping the bitterness out of my voice as I say, “Sometimes our business makes for strange bedfellows, doesn’t it?”
    “You mean, he confessed about sleeping with her?” Emma’s eyes open wide. “Well, look at it this way. If it hadn’t been for her going after Carl, we might never have known about his role in the Quorum–”
    Wait…
    She went after Carl? How? When? Why?
    To cover up the fact that I don’t know where the hell Emma is going with this, I nod slowly.
    “–not to mention what she did to Jack.” Emma nods knowingly.
    I want to scream, Tell me, damn it! Just tell me…
    Instead, I take another gulp of my milk.  
    Emma stares at me, waiting for me to say something, so I mutter, “Well, if she leads us to her clients, we’ll have our payback.”
    Emma frowns. “But she did, yesterday in fact. That’s the beauty part.”
    “Oh!” My exclamation elicits a funny look from her. To cover my tracks, I add weakly, “I guess I missed that memo.”
    “Are you sure? I wrote it up myself. And I know Ryan had it distributed the moment the DOD confirmed it.” She heads to her computer.  
    “ You wrote it up? But…you’re on maternity leave!”
    “I’ve been working from home for the past two weeks now. But, of course you knew that…right?” She’s clicking through emails on her computer. I watch as she halts to scan one. “Wait…Donna, you’re not copied on any of these!” She stares up at me.
    Busted.
    I shrug. “I thought Arnie would have mentioned that I turned in my notice–on the day Tatyana pulled her disappearing act, in fact.”
    She nods slowly as she takes this in.  
    She knows I’ve played her.
    “I’m still on payroll,” I insist. “In fact, I’m now assigned to vetting the candidates for my replacement.”
    “But you don’t have clearance on this mission.” She’s not accusing me, she’s just stating a fact.
    “Well, to be honest…no.” I take a step closer. “You said it yourself, Emma. Tatyana is the key to everything that happened in my life since Carl walked out on me. And yet, Jack won’t clue me in!”
    “Had you not retired, you would have been part of the mission,” she points out.
    “Look, I didn’t even know about this Russian hussy until she waltzed in as Hardy Higginbotham’s widow–and put a bullet in me!” Emma winces at the anxiety in my voice.
    That only makes me all the more desperate as I add, “And now you tell me that she’s the key to everything that changed my life–that she has some hold over Jack–”
    “What I meant was…” She shakes her head sadly. “Look, Donna, it’s not my place to tell you. I could get fired! In fact, I’ve said too much already.”
    She’s right. We both know it.
    “I’m sorry I misled you, Emma. It’s just that Jack refuses to discuss her.” I wipe away a tear. “To be honest, even if I hadn’t turned in my notice, I don’t know if he’d have told me how she fits into the big picture.”
    She nods sympathetically. “I wish I could help you, Donna. Really, I do. But the rules–”
    In unison, we sniff the air. Something smells rotten. This is no figure of speech.
    In my arms, Nicky stretches, then cries.
    Emma rises to take the culprit from me. “Sorry about that! My guess is that he’s hungry, too.” She heads down the hall. “I’ll be gone for a good twenty minutes. Of course, I don’t need my computer in the nursery with me.”