Free Covert Operations by Sara Schoen

She’s probably dead if they haven’t been able to find—”
    “Destroy the file on her,” Demon commanded, interrupting me before I could follow that thought any further.
    “What? I can’t get rid of it,” I snapped, confused. “They would want to know why, and I don’t have an explanation for it. What does it matter if they’re looking for her? Who is she?”
    “They can’t know,” Demon muttered, pacing back and forth in distress. “They can’t know it was her. We made sure to cover everything. She should be impossible to find.”
    “Demon, who is she?”
    “Don’t worry about it,” he finally answered, after muttering about how he would have to fix someone’s cover story so André wouldn’t be able to find her. “I have another mission to finish before you see me again. I will try to have another meeting with you before Night Stripe is sent in. Don’t give away anything unless you have to, and when she comes, you’d better be ready to finish this because we have other missions to do. This one has taken more time than we thought it would, but until it’s over, keep your head low, and make sure André doesn’t start looking into you as well.” With that, he sped off and disappeared as he rounded the tree he had been hiding behind.
    I watched him leave, and silently prayed that whatever plan they had would work. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to hold my tongue with Camden dating my sister, and I didn’t want to find my breaking point. Hopefully, Night Stripe wouldn’t be as reckless as Demon made her sound. I was ready for a little down time, even if it was just a short period of time, and I was ready to figure out if Demon would hold up his end of the deal.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
     
     
    Camden wasn’t on the move a lot during the day anymore, which was a blessing and a curse. It meant I didn’t have to do much except stay with him, but on the other hand I was bored out of my mind because he had so much busy work from his father. Occasionally he would make a phone call, or tell me to go pick something up from another cartel member. The plus side of Camden having busy work: I got to relax in his office, taking short naps as long as no one else caught me. I had grown accustomed to not sleeping a full night since I’d joined the military. I didn’t usually need much rest, but I hadn’t slept well the last few days. This was nothing compared to waking up early for training. Knowing there was another agent in the warehouse made me more cautious than usual, and I was constantly overthinking every detail of my day.
    I didn’t want to see the other agent, or be seen around them, and I wanted to make sure we weren’t connected in case this mission went south. But, at the same time, I wanted to find out who it was. I wanted to meet them, figure out what they knew, and what it was like outside this mission. I had been cut off from everyone since I joined, and tried to keep my cover perfect. I just wanted to know someone I didn’t have to fake around. There had to be someone to talk to, especially once I finished this mission.
    I hoped it would wrap up quickly when Night Stripe arrived. If she was as skilled as Camo, this mission would be over in less than a few months. If she behaved and focused on the mission. Demon claimed she wouldn’t know who I was, but I would be able to figure out who she was. That worried me, because if she thought I was getting in her way, I would be in the crosshairs without realizing it. When I put myself in danger with the cartel, I knew anyone would pull a weapon on me. It was that simple. Maybe a few would torture for information or beat the crap out of me, but either way I knew their final solution was to kill me. With her, I wasn’t certain she’d kill me, or compromise my position so someone else would.
    I forced down a groan as I turned my attention back to Camden, who was busy on the phone talking to his father. They were