Read In the Dark for Free Online Page A

prediction of reprisal. Between their training and hers, they ought to be able to keep one step ahead of the Individual.
    "I'd like to search Hannah's car."
    Luther's request recaptured her attention. He glanced over his shoulder as he relayed Valentino's reply. "He says they searched your car thoroughly and found nothing."
    Hannah cringed as she considered what a thorough search entailed. The car had been a gift from Uncle Caleb. "We ought to look anyway," she advised.
    "Permission to search the vehicle again, sir," Luther requested. "Yes, sir. She says she also has a copy at the office." He listened and looked back at her again. "Valentino says an undercover agent searched your office. They found the copy in the shredder."
    Hannah pulled a look of disappointment. She'd run that copy through the shredder herself just in case her office was searched. But no one could have found the information she'd taken great pains to conceal, only Valentino didn't need to know that. Keeping an ace in the hole was one of the basic tenets of the CIA.
    "I suppose that's it, sir," Luther concluded. Then, "Roger. Out." He put the phone away while backing them out of the parking lot. "We need to change your appearance first thing," he said, stepping on the gas.
    "I don't have any money," Hannah realized. "I had to leave my purse in the car." Oh, what a headache. Someone was probably maxing out her credit cards and she was helpless to stop them.
    "It's not a problem," Luther said.
    Westy glanced over his shoulder and gave her a long look of surprise. "You don't know who he is, do you?" he inquired with a peculiar smile.
    "What do you mean?" Hannah demanded. "Luther?"
    "Can it, Chief."
    With a shrug, Westy turned front. He crossed his arms over his chest and set his jaw.
    Hannah looked back and forth between the two men. She was certain she had missed something, but she'd be damned if she'd humble herself by asking. Apparently Luther was something more than a SEAL and an aviator. She'd keep her ears peeled until she discovered what.
    Neither man spoke again until they pulled into the multilevel parking garage at Tyson's Corner, one of Virginia's most prestigious indoor malls. Luther found a parking space close to a main entrance. He gave brief instructions to Westy, then escorted Hannah inside.
    The mall was practically empty on this weekday afternoon, with teenagers just beginning to drift in, their school day done. Luther and Hannah entered side by side, looking like a couple on a shopping spree while Westy shadowed them at a distance. Hannah lost sight of him immediately.
    She paused before the mall directory and located a cosmetics shop. "This way," she said to Luther, who stepped into place beside her. His expression appeared relaxed but his eyes scanned the area alertly, missing nothing.
    "You can leave this to me," Hannah assured him as they entered the shop. She approached the saleswoman setting up a makeup display in a glass cabinet. "Hi," she said, brightly, "my husband and I are going to a Halloween party next month..."
    The saleswoman expressed delight with Hannah's plan to disguise herself as "the other woman." She drew Hannah toward the rear of the store to try on wigs. Hannah glanced toward Luther, who'd found a chair by the exit and was pretending to read a magazine.
    After several false starts, Hannah found a winner. The ash-brown, shoulder-length wig transformed her from a redhead to a light brunette. It fell to her shoulders in soft, natural-looking layers.
    "Let's get rid of these freckles," the cosmetologist suggested, layering Hannah's face with foundation. She applied a heavy makeup around her eyes. Glancing in the mirror, Hannah hardly recognized herself.
    "What do you think?" she said, returning to Luther half an hour later.
    He stood up, slowly, his gaze critical as he took in her new look. "Very effective," he said.
    "This is just a start," she informed him. "I need glasses and a wardrobe."
    He crossed to the cashier's