Read How Spy I Am for Free Online

tried for a
poker face while I stared at Stemp.
    The silence
lengthened, and I cracked first. “I was told Kane is on vacation.
When did that happen?”
    “Kane has been on
active duty 24/7 for the past ten months. He was overdue for a
break, and he has a great deal of unused leave time banked.”
    “And…” The word came
out sounding almost like a growl.
    Stemp’s snakelike eyes
never flickered. “And he will be on leave until further
notice.”
    “ Involuntary leave.” This time, I didn’t try to conceal the growl.
    Stemp shrugged. “That
is none of your concern.”
    “Wrong,” I snapped.
“My team. My concern.”
    “Very well.” Stemp
appraised me for a moment before flicking his gaze at Richardson.
“You’re dismissed. You never saw Ms. Kelly.”
    Richardson withdrew,
and Stemp regarded me briefly before extending his hand across his
desk. “Your weapon, please.”
    “Why, are you afraid
I’ll shoot you?”
    Stemp’s expressionless
facade never wavered. “Let’s just say I’ve had reason to question
your emotional stability in the past.”
    I felt my face twist
into a snarl. “Yeah, well, I’m fresh out of husbands for you to
kill, so you’re probably pretty safe.”
    “Nevertheless.” He
curled his fingers in a ‘give’ gesture. “If you please.”
    I gritted my teeth and
slid my Glock out of its holster, fighting down a combination of
fury and fear. It must be bad if he was taking precautions like
this. Really, really bad.
    I laid the gun on the
desk, ignoring his outstretched hand. “Don’t touch it,” I barked
when he reached to pick it up.
    One corner of his
mouth twitched with what might have been the tiniest of smiles, and
he sat back in his chair, steepling his hands in front of him.
“You’re a quick study.”
    “Skip the
pleasantries. Tell me.”
    He eyed me for another
moment before he spoke. “Kane has been relieved of duty. He has
become personally involved with you, and his judgement is
unreliable. He will be reassigned to a different operation once I’m
convinced he’s fit for duty again.”
    As I gaped at him, he
slid a file folder across the desk. “Your car has been destroyed in
an accident, and you have been reported killed in the same
accident. You may select another car from the choices in this
folder, and you’ll be assigned your new cover identity by end of
day. You will be relocated to a safe house…”
    A tidal wave of shock
reduced the rest of his words to garbled static.

Chapter 5
    I sat stunned for a
couple of long seconds while the shards of my shattered life
tumbled and came to rest in silent chaos.
    “What…? You… you…” My
breathless stammer resolved itself just below a scream.
“ What ?”
    “I thought I had been
abundantly clear,” Stemp said. “Would you like me to repeat
myself?”
    “Wha…? No! Fuck ! You wrecked my car? You told everybody I died ?
You… you…”
    I locked my hands onto
the arms of the chair, willing myself not to snatch up my gun and
shoot him where he sat. My mind shrieked and gibbered.
    My beloved farm. My
friends. My car. My bookkeeping business. My identity. Everything I
loved, torn away and discarded with callous indifference.
    A wave of dizziness
reminded me breathing was not optional.
    An instant later, the
shock transmuted into blind rage. A fine red haze threatened to
obscure Stemp’s face, and a creaking from the vicinity of the chair
arms could have been the chair or the bones of my clenched
fingers.
    “You.” The word
rattled dryly in my throat like boulders fracturing in an
avalanche. I swallowed and tried again, achieving a sound slightly
more similar to a human voice. “You. Have made. A serious.
Mistake.”
    Stemp shrugged. “I did
what was necessary. What should have been done seven months ago.
You will be able to live and work in safety, and our operations
will be secure.”
    “Your operations will
be dead in the water,” I snarled. “I want my car back. I want my
life back. I want