Free Spy Catcher: The J.J. McCall Novels (Books 1-3) (The FBI Espionage Series) by S.D. Skye

attention and wagging his hand to refuse her offer.
    “It’s Plotnikov...he was recalled to Moscow.” She returned the flask to the drawer. “He’s gone, probably dead by now if Golikov’s people had anything to do with it.”
    “You’re yankin’ my chain. I don’t even believe this shit!”
    “Believe it.” J.J. peered at him and then tilted her head toward the ceiling. “I just got word from Archie Bunker. He tried to pin the blame on me, said he should’ve assigned the case to Lana. No, no, please contain your astonishment.”
    “Lana? Get the fuck outta here! She couldn’t recruit a Mouseketeer into the Mickey Mouse club.”
    He took a seat beside J.J. and rubbed his hand against her back. Their eyes met for a moment, but she never held his glance for longer than a few seconds at a time. His glare pierced her, exposed her vulnerabilities in a way she’d prefer not to reveal to him...or any man for that matter.
    “Listen don’t let him get to you. He probably forgot to take his crazy pills today.”
    J.J. shrugged. “Well, looks like we’re all getting hooked up to the box unless we can find this damn mole. I’d half hoped the package from Karat might give us a clue as to his identity. But, right now, we got nothing’.”
    “I know. Let’s just hope we’re the last on the list to take the polygraph. It’ll buy us some time to figure out what happened to Karat and find the rat. And I gotta tell ya, I feel sorry for him when I do,” Tony threatened.
    “Maybe we can send him to Supermax to keep Hanssen company. He probably needs a new boyfriend right about now.”
    Tony smiled, happy to see her spirits lifted once again. “Thatta girl … anyway, let’s grab something to eat and we’ll go check the signal,” he said.
    “You eat. I’ll drink.”
    The fates bestowed upon her the boss from hell and the co-case agent from heaven and leaving one meant leaving both behind. If Sabinski had a fraction of Tony’s good nature, she might not be so willing to turn in her badge. “Sounds good but I gotta make a quick phone call first. You think Kevin Douglass from the Organized Crime-Drug Section still has the pink convertible Mini Coop they seized from the Bonanno raid— ” She winced, cut herself off a moment too late.
    Whatever discomfort Tony had, he shrugged it off. “Probably. I don’t think it’s been auctioned yet. Why you wanna know?”
    “Remember my promise to Jake?”
    Tony nodded and chuckled. “Remind me to light a candle for your soul at mass this Sunday. Yeah, make the call. I wish I could see his face.”
    “Hey, he asked for a convertible. A convertible it is.”
    •  •  •
    Thursday Evening…
    At the Hawk-n-Dove, J.J.’s favorite watering hole, Tony gulped the last of his lager as she drank him in. He was easy on her eyes as Sunday morning and hard on her feminine sensibilities. Tony’s glance lingered in her direction more times than she cared to admit, but she kept her mind locked on the task at hand. Usually. Besides, they were both relationship-challenged workaholics. Neither one had a personal history conducive to…humans. Hard to believe it’d only been a year. They meshed well inside the office and out.
    J.J. felt Tony’s eyes on her. He sat unnaturally still twirling his fingers as she shamelessly inhaled the last of her burger and fries. She loved that about him, the fact that he didn’t judge when she scarfed her food down. But she didn’t like his expression, the one that said a lecture was imminent.
    “We should talk about the white elephant in the room,” he said.
    “I prefer blue gorillas,” J.J. joked in an effort to lighten his tone.
    “Blue gorilla, white elephant. I don’t care. I’m just gonna say it,” Tony began, his voice laden with apprehension. “I’m a little worried about you. I mean, you say you’ve got everything under control but this shit has a way of sneaking up on ya. I gotta make sure you’re all right. You’re the