Uncovered (Dev and Lee Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

table,” he says.“Just help yourself if you’re hungry.”
    “Is that our lunch?” A lot of the stuff on the table looks good, but it’s mostly snack food: energy bars, fruit, cookies, juice, soft drinks. There is a stack of Strongwell beer cans at one end, artfully arranged into a pyramid that makes it obvious that nobody’s taken one yet.
    “Oh, no!” Charisse, standing next to us, laughs. “We’re taking you to DeLoup’s for lunch.”
    Clearly, the name is supposed to mean something to me, so I nod and say, “Thanks.”
    “They do this terrific goat cheese and toasted pepita salad,” Strike says.
    “Do they do burgers?” I say it partly to be funny, and Strike and Charisse both laugh, but they don’t actually answer the question.
    “All right,” Charisse says. “You two will be there.” She points to the stage. “We’ll call you when we’re ready for you, which should be in just a couple minutes.”
    “Can I make a phone call?” I ask.
    “Of course, but when they call for ‘quiet,’ you’ll have to turn the phone off, I’m afraid.” She smiles. “Otherwise it can cost us a lot of money in lost time.”
    “He has a boyfriend he needs to talk to all the time,” Strike says.
    Charisse’s smile doesn’t waver. “Oh, that’s sweet,” she says. “My boyfriend never calls me unless I call him first.”
    “What does he do?” Strike asks.
    “Excuse me.” I move off to the side to call Caroll. But it’s either too early or she’s busy, because I get her voicemail. I tell her I’m in town filming a commercial but that I’m leaving at the end of the day and wouldn’t probably have time to see her anyway unless she was on this same studio lot.
    Then I call Lee, and just listening to his voice makes me feel better. I don’t mention the meeting in Potomac; I just tell him what’s been happening with the commercial so far. Even though I warn him I’ll probably have to go any minute when they’re ready for filming, he’s the one who ends up having to leave to get to lunch with Hal. “Tell him hi for me,” I say, and look around as I hang up. Nobody seems to be any nearer ready for us than they were before. Strike is still chatting up Charisse, and when she walks off to tend to something else, I join him.
    “Hey,” I said, “she has a boyfriend, and I thought you weren’t interested in girls anyway.”
    “I’m interested in girls,” he says, “just not sex during the season.”
    He says that louder than I would have, but nobody even perks an ear nearby. I guess they hear weirder things like that in Crystal City all the time. “Anyway,” Strike goes on, “it’s always good to make people feel appreciated.”
    “I guess.” I fold my arms and stand watching the spectacle. I try to figure out what any one of the people running around is doing, but they seem to be tinkering with mechanisms, checking something, then tinkering again. None of the people standing over by the catering table seems particularly concerned or in a hurry either.
    Charisse reappears leading a busty female leopard with a light robe hanging open over a two-piece bikini, and a slender black wolf wearing a light robe over—well, I assume he’s wearing shorts, but the robe is cinched at the waist and I can’t really tell. “Hi, guys!” Charisse says. “This is Iva and Keith. They’re going to be in the commercial with you. Iva and Keith, I’m sure you know Lightning Strike and Devlin Miski.”
    “Sure.” The wolf shakes my paw, looking up at me. “Pleasure to meet you.”
    “You’re going to be putting your arms around them at the end of the commercial,” Charisse goes on, “so the director wants you to get used to some physical contact. Just put your arms around each other while you’re talking, then it’ll look more natural when we’re filming. Okay? Sound good? I have to go talk to the director, but I’ll be right back. Do you two need anything? Something to drink?”
    She looks at me