Free The Trap (Agent Dallas 3) by L. J. Sellers Page A

the inner circle needed. Abby seemed a little burnt-out and edgy, and Cree was a rich kid who’d never been incarcerated and could go back to his old life at any moment. And Aaron only had a few more months to live. They needed someone solid, with fresh ideas and staying power.
    He opened the door, saw Tara standing in the kitchen, and smiled. She was sweet to look at too. Classic beauty, with perfectly spaced pool-blue eyes, high defined cheekbones, and generous lips that begged to be kissed. He’d been mesmerized the first time he met her at the synchronized skydive and had been thrilled when she’d asked to join their after-adventure celebration. Cree and Abby had been charmed by her too, especially when Tara sympathized with their cause. Now she was here, in the inner circle, and Luke felt like all the shit that had happened to him had led to this point, to bring this incredible woman into his life.
    “Hey, Tara. I hope you’re cooking, because I’m hungry.”
    “You’re in luck. Breakfast is the one meal I never screw up.”
    Luke kicked off his biking shoes and downed a glass of water. He could feel Tara watching him. They had to be careful to hide their sexual chemistry until Abby had adjusted—or left the group, which he almost expected her to do. That would be too bad. Luke grabbed a kitchen towel and playfully snapped it toward Tara. “I’ll be back after I shower.”
    Abby walked into the kitchen. “Has anyone seen Treck? I think he’s been missing since last night.”
    Luke realized the dog hadn’t been underfoot in the kitchen as usual. “I haven’t. I’m sure he’ll turn up.”
    Abby gave him a blistering look as he passed her on the way out. Luke made up his mind. He would break off with her today. The inner circle’s goals were too important to compromise with in-fighting. Their next few missions were riskier than anything they’d done so far, and they needed to be a cohesive team. After those outings, they would probably back off for a while. They might eventually move to another part of the country to start up again. There were politicians everywhere to target, but those with the worst views on justice were concentrated in the south.
    Still, even from their current home base, they had conducted email campaigns with governors in several states, bombarding them with case histories of ruined lives and hacking into state websites to upload their own messages. They’d also uploaded and published lists of people who’d been declared innocent and released after years of incarceration. By scattering their efforts, they’d hoped to stay off the radar of the feds. But after the fundraiser sabotage they’d just conducted, the bureau was probably looking for them. The FBI had likely been monitoring JRN all along, and was now taking a closer look. Luke had stepped back from his role in the larger group years ago, frustrated by their lack of progress. He’d planned, recruited, and waited for a year after disappearing off their website, so he wouldn’t be a suspect when the inner circle launched its direct assaults. The main goal was to ignite so much national discussion that voters would start to care about the issue, which meant politicians had to be responsive. JRN was making progress—such as finally getting marijuana reclassification to come up for a vote—but no one expected it to pass. And people quickly forgot news stories about legislation, because they had no faith in it anymore. It was time for another direct assault.
    After breakfast, Luke took his laptop and some lined paper out to the porch. Being outside stimulated his thoughts and the words flowed better. But this post was easy, just a call to action in major cities across the country. Bringing out protestors was more than just a media-grabbing ploy. It also distracted police forces and kept the FBI focused on the people in the street. Meanwhile, they would hijack another fundraiser, then target Senator Pearlman later in the week.