Free Loving Night: Dream Catcher Series ~ Book 2 by Brynette L. Turner

curious
about the elevators. I figured that if I took her upstairs you might get a
clear enough photo of her to figure out who she is and what she really wants.”
He paused. “Do you want to know my impression of her?”
    “Go ahead.”
    “She’s either a really fresh cop or
she’s a spy from someone who’s very interested in knowing how the operation is
going to work. It took seeing her more than once, but I can definitely tell you
that she doesn’t carry herself the same as the other women.”
    Chaz turned to him with a frown on
his face. “In what way?”
    “She’s gritty but also a little
cocky. Miss Vanessa was adamant that the women seem refined. This one—her name
is Jolette—doesn’t fit that description, but no one seems to notice. It doesn’t
add up.”
    Chaz nodded his head. She probably
works for Paul Watkins, he thought. Still, Austin had given him the perfect
set-up to establish an escape plan for Vanessa.
    “I’m going to do some checking to
see whether there is other law enforcement involvement, not that I expect
anyone to tell me. If she is a cop, we can at least not leave her hanging if
she’s in over her head. I’ll let whoever I talk to know that she, or anyone
else who gets in trouble, should get to you and use the codeword Little Bo
Peep. Do whatever you can to either protect her or get her away.”
    “What about the mission?” Suspicion
laced the words.
    “You’re entrenched enough that you
should be able to get her out without being compromised.” He looked the officer
in the eyes. “If she comes to you, make sure she’s safe. Don’t involve Chris;
take care of it yourself.”
    “Sure.”
    Chaz broke eye contact and turned
back to the monitors. “Are we clear on the protocol for contacting me?”
    “Yeah. I’m to check in every three
days at location A. Other than that, I’m supposed to assume you’re watching me
on the cameras. If there is an emergency, you’ll text the word ‘go’ and I’m to
get to location B as soon as possible and bring Chris with me.”
    “And if you need to see me
urgently?”
    “I’ll text the word ‘yellow’ and
meet you at location B.”
    “Good. In that situation, if you
don’t show within 30 minutes, I’m sending the police in after you. Understood?”
Austin nodded. “Thanks. You’d better get back now.” Chaz still kept his back to
the officer. It was a power statement: Chaz was the one in charge and the
Kentucky State Police would report to him. Austin would do his job without
questions. Their next meeting would be less strained, but for now, Chaz was
going on instinct that said Austin Marks/Parker needed to have no doubt about
the team leader’s commitment to the mission.
    “That was intense.” Brian gave a
nervous chuckle and stared at the other FBI agent. He wasn’t sure what to make
of Special Agent Chaz Bryson or why he wasn’t using his real name with the
members of his team. It hadn’t taken the computer tech long to log into the
personnel records for the man he’d indefinitely be working under and discover
that Chaz Bryson doesn’t exist.
    “Is that a problem?”
    “Not at all.” Brian stood,
stretched, and walked to the refrigerator to grab a yogurt. It was nearly
midnight and his shift, as normal, had started at 9:00.
    “I’m headed up,” Chaz announced as
he turned towards the stairs. His personal phone chimed for a text message as
he reached the first step. He paused only slightly as he opened the message and
saw the word OFF coming from his wife. Actually, it didn’t surprise him.
    Now, he needed to figure out
whether her impression applied to Austin or the computer tech.
    While the loft area couldn’t be
seen from the first floor, it wasn’t totally private. A three-quarter wall was
left open at the top so that the person upstairs could communicate with others
in the suite if he chose to do so. Even though his voice would carry to the
lower level, the set-up still worked well for Chaz. He would