Read Exposed - A Thriller Novella (Chandler Series) by J.A. Konrath & Ann Voss Peterson for Free Online

training, and a whole lot of
fearing for my life. You ready to get out of here?”
    “How?”
    It was a good question.
    Process. Evaluate. Segregate. Then take
control of the situation.
    The sun shifted through the windows, the
pilot turning the craft around, heading back to the mansion. I
touched the wall between passengers and pilot, soundproofing
material backed with steel. A check for parachutes, weapons, or
anything else I might use came up empty.
    To get to the cockpit, I would have to climb
back out of the craft and access a separate door, a door that would
be locked. Not the best plan. But I couldn’t wait for the craft to
land. No doubt the pilot had used his radio to arrange for a
welcome party to greet me.
    And by greet I meant kill.
    I finished scanning the compartment, spotting
speakers but no cameras, and then I brought my attention back to
Julianne.
    My assignment was to get her out of this
mess, unharmed.
    I’d get her out. But the unharmed part
probably wasn’t going to happen.
    A dip in altitude and a glance out the window
told me we were approaching the mansion, the bay where it nestled
already in sight. I had to make my move soon, or I wouldn’t get to
make it at all.
    “You got shot,” she said, pointing an
unsteady hand at my shoulder.
    “Just a little bit.”
    I grabbed the bottom cushion of the seat
opposite me and pulled. The Velcro holding it in place made a
ripping sound, and it detached. I ripped another free then released
Julianne’s seat belt.
    “What are you doing?” Her words came out in a
slow ooze.
    I didn’t answer. After the sound of the
Velcro and her muttered question, no doubt the pilot was listening
over the intercom and would be wondering the same thing. I didn’t
have much time before he figured it out.
    My heart hammered hard enough to break a
rib.
    I grasped the door handle and shoved it open.
I moved quickly, not only hoping to catch the pilot off guard, but
Julianne, too. Even in her state, she would resist if given the
chance.
    Hell, I was resisting it myself.
    Holding the seat cushions by their built-in
straps, I pulled Julianne out of her seat and looped her left arm
around my shoulder and my right arm around her waist. I needed the
perfect moment. Low enough so the impact didn’t injure us, but not
so close to shore we hit bottom. Or worse, land.
    “What are you doing?” she repeated.
    When we descended to thirty feet, the beach
coming up fast, I made my move. Scooping in a deep breath, I held
Julianne tight against my body and jumped.
    She screamed all the way down.
     
    “ There will be times when you must work
with other operatives,” The Instructor said. “Rely on your
counterpart to put his mission first, always, and you do the same.
As long as you share the same goal, you don’t need to worry about
trust.”
     
    The water hit my feet first, slapping them
hard, the force shuddering up my legs and through my spine. Cold
enveloped my body and closed over my head. Moments after we
submerged, I lost Julianne.
    I was only under for a few seconds, just
enough time to stop my downward trajectory and fight my way to the
surface, but it felt like forever.
    It felt like I was going to die.
    I almost— almost —freaked out, but
peeking through the water, eyes stinging, I could see the sun
glinting off the waves above me, and my arms and legs scrambled
hard and fast, like I was crawling up out of a grave.
    When my head broke the surface, I gasped too
soon. Salt water filled my mouth, making me gag and cough. Above,
the helicopter blades continued to beat out their rhythm.
    Julianne’s blond head broke the surface just
two feet away. She stared with panicked eyes. Reaching out, she
clawed at me like a frightened kitten.
    I grabbed her hands and did my best to
control her, keeping us both afloat with a scissors kick. I knew
how to swim well enough, and once I got myself beyond the terror of
being plunged into water, I could do okay. But that didn’t make