Read Marked Masters for Free Online Page A

Nico."
    Right. And he knows that Max knows everyone
in the world would offer my perfect techno-wingman a job the minute
he decided he'd had enough of the Beacham Foundation. Which would
also be the day I had Max drawn and quartered. At some point, the
man had to learn to leave the fieldwork to the experts and just
give us the support we required.
    From the corner of my eye, I saw Jack wave a
set of car keys.
    "Gotta go, Cass, but a couple of final
things. First, I'm assuming Nico is still on the payroll."
    "Yes. Absolutely. And flouting every
screaming command Max made during the Skype session."
    "Good. Now for my second question. Have you
found out anything about the number Jack and I found in the
safe-deposit box in Orlando?" For security purposes, my team was
working alone on this new discovery. Jack was convinced there was a
mole in one or both of our organizations, though we hoped anything
on the Beacham side ended with Simon's defection. However, given
the possible scope of the heist based on intelligence learned so
far, we decided to keep everything at a minimalist level. Cassie
and Nico received regular updates and helped with research, but
even they would not know everything. We just couldn't take any
chances. We didn't want to risk tipping off a mole anywhere.
    Equally, I wasn't taking any chances with
Jack. Information I gained on my own would be parceled out on a
need-to-know basis too. Without asking him, I knew he would be
doing the same. We might be partners, but we weren't very good at
working as a functioning duo.
    "Sorry, but no. Nothing on Nico's end yet
either. At least, nothing he's made me aware of."
    I already knew Nico had come up with
nothing, at least if I believed Jack. Still, I wanted the
confirmation from Cassie since I didn't know why Jack seemed to be
running my source as if Nico was his own. It was one thing to share
my resources, another to abdicate all authority. I needed to figure
out what to do about the situation quickly, but it shouldn't go
through Cassie. I caught myself biting my lip. "Okay, we'll talk
later. Maybe we can conference on Skype this evening."
    "I'll get a message to Nico and see how his
schedule is running," Cassie said.
    Jack cut the distance between us with
several long strides, his patience obviously at an end. One more
question before he got too close. "Have you found any more missing
art on the bad USB drive? Anything else pointing to Florida, since
we've now been led here because of the bank box?"
    "Nothing yet." Cassie's image shook her
blonde, hot-pink-tipped hair and looked down like she was keying or
making a note while she talked. "But I have an idea on how to get
into some of the corrupted areas. I'll let you know if I find
anything interesting in the next few hours. I'm hopeful."
    "Great. I have to go. Talk to you soon." I
ended the call just as Jack entered my personal space.
    "Anything?" he asked.
    "Only that Max is out for blood over my
finances, but what else is new? Got the car?"
    He dangled the key ring tagged to a
steel-blue Mercedes 350 Cabriolet ragtop.
    "A convertible, Jack? Really?"
    Yet when I saw it a few minutes later, I had
to admit it was gorgeous. I didn't put up any fight when he opened
the top to the sun.
    "Dig around in your catchall of a purse and
fetch something to hold back your hair. The windblown look is
devastating on blondes of your age." He grinned, knowing full well
I recognized he was pushing my buttons. Successfully, as usual.
    He was also right about my bag. I still had
the lovely gold-on-white Hermes scarf Cassie lent me for camouflage
on a Chunnel ride. Though how something so expensive could make one
incognito in such a setting was unbelievable in the extreme.
    In the current situation, however, riding in
an expensive car, heading for an expensive part of Miami Beach, and
playing the part of an expensive playmate to Jack, the
coin-and-chain printed scarf was perfect. I slipped it over my hair
and tied it under my chin, Lauren