Free Claimed by the Secret Agent by Lyn Stone

else. He liked being with her, period. She was an enigma, that was for sure. Unpredictable, fascinating and beautiful as quicksilver.
    And a bigger distraction than any he had experienced on a mission. Grant locked his fingers behind his head and concentrated on the entrance to the hotel.
     
    Marie was up early the next morning in spite of their late night on watch. She showered and dressed for another day of exploring the city. There seemed to be little else to do but kill time until they had a break in the case.
    She figured if Onders didn’t make a move soon, however, he’d be arrested and interrogated in hopes of discovering who had hired him.
    When she returned to the bedroom, Grant was already dressed and on the phone. Suddenly, he flipped it shut. “The commissioner. We’ve got a situation.”
    Without further explanation, he started getting his things together. Marie rushed to catch up, and they were soon ready to leave.
    He still hadn’t told her what was going on or where they were going, but she held her questions, giving him time to formulate a plan.
    At the moment he was frowning over a small tourist map.
    “Is Onders on the move?” she asked finally.
    “Another abduction, one of the clerks at the U.S. consulate at Museumplein. Never been there.”
    “Get the car,” Marie told him. “If we cut through from this street on Van Baerlestraat, it’s a straight shot.”
    He frowned a second, then his expression cleared. “Oh, the map’s in your head.”
    “Yep. The consulate’s near the Van Gogh Museum. Know where that is?”
    He nodded and they hurried downstairs. “When did he take her?” Marie asked.
    “Early this morning.”
    “On our watch?”
    “Maybe, but Onders didn’t come out that front door. That much I know. Maybe he didn’t do it.”
    Marie felt a burning in the pit of her stomach. She could almost taste whatever it was that had knocked her out when she had been taken, and she remembered the feeling of outrage when she woke up.
    Valet parking delivered Grant’s car to the entrance and they hopped in. Grant had automatically gone to the driver’s side even though she was the one who knew exactly how to get where they were going. Typical male, Marie thought with a huff, but didn’t waste time arguing.
    “We have to find her, Grant,” she said, then recalled those questions she’d never had a chance to ask. “How’d you locate me?”
    “Your locator chip. She doesn’t have one.”
    “I know it’s there, but to tell you the truth, I didn’t give a thought to depending on it. So, they knew where I was all the time? The Company, I mean? Why didn’t they—”
    “We were detailed to do it. It’s our case now.”
    “Well, can’t you…zone in on her or whatever you claim to do? If you have something she would have touched? You did it with Onders’s little list.”
    “Nope. Doesn’t work that way. She would have to be the one deciding where to go, or at least know where she was going.” He glanced over at her. “A believer now, are you?”
    “Not really, just desperate to try anything and everything. Aren’t you?”
    “Sure I am, and we do have an agent who’s an empath. He might be able to locate her if she knowswhere she is. That’s a big if, though. I’ll call as soon as we reach the consulate.”
    They were all a bunch of nuts at COMPASS, Marie thought, but she held on to the hope that she was wrong. Surely the government wouldn’t put so much faith and funds into a group of self-defined psychics if they hadn’t proved they could do something out of the ordinary.
    What if it were true? Grant was pretty convincing. Suppose the team did consist of empaths, mind readers and vibe seekers like him? Would she fit in? Her edge wouldn’t seem all that keen stacked against theirs, would it? She shook her head. Man, what a strange decision to have to make, based on criteria that was even stranger.

Chapter 8
    M arie and Grant reached the consulate in under six