Do You Trust Me? Read Online Free Page B

steaming coffee in front of her. She sipped at it, her movements somewhat
awkward as she worked to keep the ice in place against her nose. The warmth of
the liquid coursing through her system at least settled her nerves.
    Sully watched her through
hooded eyes while she drank part of the hot liquid, giving her time to gather
herself before he pounced.
    “Okay, Rina, play
time’s over.” His voice had an edge of steel in it. “What were you doing at John’s
tonight?”
    In the bathroom she’d
pieced together the least implausible story she could come up with. “John
called me and asked me to meet him there.”
    Sully gave her a
wintry smile. “Try again. John would never break mission protocol that way. Not
after the great lengths we went to, hiding your relationship from the world.
And certainly not without asking my permission.”
    “But he did,” she
insisted. “He said it was very important, otherwise he’d never ask me.”
    “How did you get in?”
McCall asked from behind Sully’s chair, arms folded, watching her as if she were
a bug on a slide.
    “He gave me a key a
long time ago.” She spread her hands open, palms up. “In case of emergency, he
said.”
    Sully exchanged
glances with the two other men in the room. His face was carefully
expressionless, but anger and suspicion flickered in his eyes. “I can’t imagine
him doing anything like that. There’s no way you should even have known about
the townhouse.”
    “He’s my brother, for
God’s sake,” she cried, knotting her fists. “No one is more conscious of
national security than John is, but we only have each other. We had to make
some...difficult adjustments.”
    “McCall tells me you
lost your purse.” His tone was slightly accusing.
    “Yes, I’m sorry. But
when that man hit me...”
    Sully waved a hand at
her. “No matter. Can’t cry about it now. But in addition to everything else, they
now have your identity, and this puts you at great risk. Rina, I don’t want to
flex my muscle, but you have to tell me what John wanted.”
    “Tell me about his
mission first,” she demanded.
    “You know I can’t do
that.”
    She pressed the bag
of ice to her head and glared at him. “Then I have nothing else to say.”
    “Damn it,” McCall
exploded. “If you’re keeping something from us that could save John’s life or
keep the mission from being compromised—”
    “Save John’s life?”
Her heart tripped over itself. He’d sounded so badly wounded. Were his injuries
life-threatening?
    “That’s a good
possibility,” he ground out. “So quit playing games that are way over your head
and tell us what he wanted.”
    If he wanted you to
know, he’d have called one of you. Instead, he called me. He broke every rule
to call me because he’s been betrayed. It could be any one of you. I can’t tell
you. I can’t.
    “I’m not playing
games.” Irritated, she dropped the bag of ice onto the table. “And I really don’t
feel well. I’d like to get some rest, and then I want to go home.”
    Sully shook his head,
and McCall gave her a grim smile.
    She looked from one
to the other. “What? I can’t go home?”
    Sully leaned forward
and took one of her hands. Lines of anger still bracketed his mouth, but
apparently he was determined to handle this with kid gloves. “Rina, you’ve made
yourself a target for these people by doing what you did. Everything else
aside, I’m putting you in protective custody until this is finished. One way or
another.”
    Every muscle in her
body tightened. “What people? Who are they? Never mind. You can’t tell me,
right? But I have to go home. I have a life. Things to do. My writing. Book
signings. All my regular activities.”
    “Listen to me.” Sully’s
patience was wearing thin. “These people have your information from your driver’s
license. They know where you live. How simple do you think it will be for them
to come after you?” His hand tightened on hers. “And do you think for a