The Double Read online

  I pounded down the stairs, jumping the last few of each flight, pinballing off each corner, picking up bruises. But five flights still felt like it took an eternity. I found the hallway that led to the front of the building and sprinted down it. Crashed through a fire exit and—

  She was kneeling by the side of the pool, panting. Her hair hung down in wet ropes. Her mascara had run in long streaks and that ugly FBI suit hung shiny and heavy from her body, streaming water. She’d never looked more beautiful. I picked her up and crushed her against me, the chill water soaking my shirt and then the warmth of her body against mine. “I thought I—” The emotion choked off my words. “I thought I—”

  “I’m okay,” Hailey panted. “We’re both okay.”

  I looked down. Christina was lying on her back, unconscious. Her red dress was soaked through and askew, one breast almost exposed. But she was breathing. Hailey must have dragged her out of the pool. That’s so like her.

  Calahan ran up behind us. A few of the block’s residents had heard the splash and come out to investigate, but he waved his FBI badge at them and they gave us some space. “We’ve got to go,” he told us. “It’s eight minutes to one!”

  At that second, two black SUVs screeched to a stop in the middle of the street. Shit! Ralavich’s men. Christina had said they were coming. And now they’d seen us.

  The doors opened and men started to pour from the SUVs, all of them carrying guns. The residents screamed and ran back inside. We ran for cover, ducking down behind a row of parked cars. The men opened fire as they advanced and Hailey cried out in fear as the car windows shattered, pebbles of safety glass showering our heads. I pulled her tighter against my chest to protect her and looked furiously around. Calahan’s car wasn’t far away. We could maybe make it if we ran, but—

  All of us looked at Christina. She lay unconscious, out in the open by the swimming pool. If we ran back and tried to carry her, we’d be easy targets. And we had to go: the assassination was minutes away. Shit! We all looked at each other, torn.

  “We need her to testify!” said Calahan. “She’s our proof!” He took two running steps towards her—

  I growled and dived on him, knocking him to the ground. A bullet that would have taken his head off whistled over our heads. He scowled at me...then reluctantly nodded his thanks.

  “Leave her,” said Hailey.

  Calahan stared at her. “What? She needs to go to jail!”

  Hailey glared at the unconscious Christina. “Let Ralavich’s men take her. Let him punish her. It’ll be worse than anything a judge can hand out.”

  I blinked at her. Part of me agreed, but…. “When did you get so heartless?” I asked.

  “When she tried to kill my man,” Hailey said with feeling, and clutched me close.

  Ralavich’s men were almost on us. “We don’t have a choice,” said Calahan. “Go!”

  And we ran, keeping low until we reached Calahan’s car. As we pulled away, one last shot shattered our rear window. Then we were roaring down the street. The last thing I saw in the rear view mirror was Ralavich’s men pulling Christina to her feet. I almost felt sorry for her.

  Then I faced the front and put my arm around Hailey, drawing her protectively against me. She was safe, but she was still going to jail—we were all going to jail—unless we stopped the assassination. Without Christina’s testimony, we had no proof I’d been framed. If an FBI chief died, there’d be no hope of anyone listening to our side of the story. And Hailey would lose a colleague... a friend.

  We had to save Carrie. We had to save the woman who’d spent her whole career trying to bring me down.

  “How long?” I asked, my voice tight.

  “Five minutes,” said Calahan.

  64

  Konstantin

  THE CAR screeched to a stop in front of the FBI building and the three of us leapt out. As we reached the glass doors, I cursed. Extra guards were on duty in the lobby. As we burst in, three of them moved to block our path, young and inexperienced, hands twitching nervously towards their guns.

  “Get out of the way!” screamed Calahan.

  The nearest guard shook his head. “We’ve got orders to take all three of you into custody.”

  “We don’t have time for this!” Calahan started forward. “You’ve got to get word to Carrie. Tell her—”

  The guard put his hand on his gun. “Agent Calahan, remain where you are!”

  Calahan stopped and cursed, raising his hands. He looked over his shoulder at me. Then I saw him glance at Hailey and when he looked at me again, our eyes locked. He sighed and the rivalry between us faded away. “Tenth floor,” he murmured, too low for the guards to hear. “Office at the end of the hall. I can give you a few seconds.”

  I nodded and readied myself. “Stay here,” I told Hailey.

  Her eyes went wide. “No—”

  “I’m not letting you get hurt.” I squeezed her tight, then pushed her gently behind me. And then I gave Calahan the nod.

  “They’re going to send me to Alaska with Kate for this,” he muttered. And then he roared and charged forward, arms stretched wide. As the guards drew their guns, he slammed into them full force, taking all three to the floor. They were up and on him in seconds, but by then I’d already sprinted past them and was heading for the stairwell.

  “Stop!” yelled a voice behind me. Then a gunshot and my suit jacket tugged as a bullet sliced through the flapping fabric, missing me by an inch. I heaved open the stairwell door and ran.

  Ten floors, up this time instead of down. I went up them three at a time, heart pounding, muscles screaming. I had no idea how much time was left and I couldn’t stop to check. By the eighth floor, my hamstrings and calves were screaming. Nine and I was staggering, sweat slicking my brow. Ten—

  I stumbled out into the hallway. Carrie’s door was dead ahead, what felt like a mile away. I growled and forced my legs into a run. As I neared the door, I could hear a clock chiming—

  I burst through the door, almost taking it off its hinges. And there she was: Carrie. The woman who’d pursued me since the day I’d set foot in New York. The woman who’d sent so many of my men to jail. Her eyes widened as she’d recognized me: him, here, in my office?!

  “Get down!” I yelled, but I didn’t wait for her to comply. I slammed into her, carrying us both towards the floor—

  There was the sound of breaking glass. A tight little hole appeared in the huge window, the glass frosting white around it. Something sliced into my arm.

  And then we were sprawling on the carpet behind her desk, me half on top of her. She stared at me. Then she looked up at the fresh bullet hole on the wall, right behind where she’d been standing.

  Credit to her, she didn’t waste time arguing or asking questions. She slapped her hand over my injured arm, pressing to stop the bleeding. With her other hand, she heaved on the cord of her desk phone until it tumbled off the desk and fell down to her. Then she started yelling orders into it, telling her people to surround the building across the street.

  It was almost five minutes before Calahan and Hailey arrived, accompanied by a small army of FBI agents. Calahan had a black eye and was limping a little, but he was grinning. “It’s okay,” he told us, offering me his hand. “Look.”

  I took his hand and heaved myself to my feet, then helped Carrie up. Through the window, we could see the sniper on the rooftop of the building across the street. He had his hands up, and armed FBI agents were advancing towards him.

  Carrie looked at Calahan, then at Hailey, then at me. She crossed her arms. “Okay,” she said. “I’m listening.”

  I gave a long sigh of relief and sat down heavily on the edge of her desk. Hailey ran over and threw herself against me and I wrapped her in my arms.

  Everything was going to be okay.

  65

  Hailey

  CONSCIOUSNESS returned slowly. It was the cold that hit me first. I was lying on something hard and freezing and I could feel
wind blowing across my body: was I outdoors? And the wind was chilling me more than it should, as if my skin was wet.

  Then a smell that seared my nostrils and made me cough. Chlorine.

  I opened my eyes and tried to focus, blinking away water. A towering slab of white rose above me. I heard shouts that sounded familiar, then a car start up and roar away, but I was too dazed to put it together. I stared up at the building.

  A balcony. I fell from a balcony.

  A man in a black suit stepped into my vision. Then another and another, surrounding me, all of them holding guns. “Get up,” one of them commanded, but I just lay there, still stunned. His accent was heavy, Russian. These are Ralavich’s men. But where were Konstantin and Calahan? I remembered the car I’d heard roar away. But… I fought the rising panic. Come on, they wouldn’t just leave me…

  One of the men reached for me. I shrank back against the concrete. Do they know I’m FBI? Should I tell them or would that make things worse? I glanced down at my suit, wondering whether to pull out my badge—

  My suit wasn’t there. In its place was a soaked red dress. I froze. Why am I wearing Christina’s clothes?

  The man grabbed my shoulder and hauled me to my feet. The top of the dress flopped down: the zipper at the back hadn’t been fastened. I scrambled to fix it as they dragged me towards an SUV, not liking the way they were leering at me. “Wait, where are you—” I began.

  They pushed me into the back seat and climbed in after me, trapping me between two of them. “We’re taking you to Ralavich,” one of them said. He shook his head, then gave me a cruel grin: better you than me. “You messed up. He’s not happy.”

  Oh God. Oh Jesus, no... They thought I was Christina! I must have been knocked out, when we hit the water, and she’d quickly switched clothes with me. Which meant... shit! She must have run off with Konstantin and Calahan. She was being me... and she’d left me for Ralavich to find. “Wait,” I told the men, my voice tight with fear. “Wait. I’m—”

  And stopped. What was I going to say? I’m not Christina, I just look exactly like her? Even if they believed me, once they found out I was an FBI agent, they might just kill me.

  I couldn’t tell them.

  The SUV started up and we roared off.

  The horrifying reality of it set in. I was trapped living Christina’s life. And the only person who could save me, the only other person in the world who knew we’d switched places... she was probably cuddling up to Konstantin right now.

  66

  Konstantin

  “AND THEN I ran in here,” I told Carrie. “And you know the rest.”

  I was still sitting on Carrie’s desk, with Hailey pressed tight against my side, her arm around my waist. I’d just given Carrie the short version of everything that had happened. She’d stayed standing throughout my entire speech and with me sitting, that put us eye-to-eye. We stared at each other, her face emotionless and unreadable. I knew she didn’t want to let me go. This was the closest she’d ever got to putting me behind bars.

  She could have claimed she didn’t believe me, pinned the assassination attempt on me just to see me go down. But she was that rare thing: an honest cop.

  “It isn’t over between us,” she warned me.

  “I don’t doubt it,” I told her.

  “I’m putting a hold on your passport. Don’t try and leave the country... and you’ll give us any help we ask for in tracking down Ralavich.”

  I nodded.

  She stared at me for another long second. Then: “Fine. You’re free to go.” She turned to Hailey. “And as for you…” She looked between the two of us, her expression troubled. I could see how much she cared for Hailey... but an active FBI agent dating a known criminal? That couldn’t be allowed.

  “I’ll make it easy for you,” said Hailey. And she pulled out her badge and handed it to Carrie. “I quit.”

  I glanced across at her. You’re sure?

  She nodded and pressed even tighter against me. I stood up, wincing a little at the pain in my arm. The sniper’s bullet had sliced a line across my triceps, not deep but painful. An FBI medic had put a dressing on it but had warned me to avoid moving it. I had no problem with that. The most strenuous thing I intended to do was hug Hailey. At least, until we got back to the mansion. Then I was going to fuck her all night long.

  In the elevator, I hit the button for the first floor. As we descended, I stood staring at the button below it, the one for the basement. They’d told me that Grigory was down there, in an interrogation room. When I was arrested, he’d panicked, knowing his betrayal might come out, and he’d made a run for Russia. The FBI had stopped him at the airport and when he’d heard that the assassination had failed and that his beloved Christina was gone, taken off by Ralavich, he’d broken and confessed everything, which helped to prove our story.

  He’d betrayed me. Slept with Christina. Plotted to kill me. But...part of me wanted to forgive him. Not now. The wounds were too fresh. But one day. Before Hailey, I wouldn’t have understood, but now….

  I looked across at her. Grigory had been in love. And love can make you do stupid things.

  We reached the first floor and strode out through the lobby. This time, the guards stepped back and gave us a respectful nod. Calahan had run off to lead the search for Ralavich: a pity, because I would have liked to say goodbye. I was slowly growing to like the man.

  Outside, one of my guards was holding open the rear door of the Mercedes. Hailey and I climbed into the back seat and we sped off towards the mansion. As the adrenaline slowly left me, I realized how exhausted I was. I need a vacation.

  The idea would have seemed unthinkable a month ago, but now…. I’d never taken a real vacation, just business trips to Italy or London: endless meetings in darkened bars and hotel rooms while Christina shopped for clothes. Now, with Ralavich on the run, his plans foiled, maybe I could just...stop for a week or two.

  I looked across at Hailey and smiled. The future was bright.

  I reached out, took her hand and squeezed it. I was still getting used to doing that. It felt good.

  But Hailey didn’t react the way I expected. Instead of just squeezing back, she swung a leg across me, straddling me, being careful not to jar my injured arm. I blinked at her, smiling uncertainly. As her pubis ground against mine, I could feel myself getting hard. But this wasn’t like her, she wasn’t usually so confident.

  She leaned forward and her breasts pressed against me through her wet blouse. I realized I could feel her nipples through the thin fabric. She’s not wearing a bra?

  Hailey leaned forward and took my earlobe between her teeth, biting gently. “Just sit back and relax,” she breathed. “I’ll do all the work.” She rolled her hips and I groaned in pleasure—where had she learned to do that? I didn’t care, it felt amazing.

  I had a sudden vision of her falling from the balcony. I shuddered, then pulled her even tighter against me. “I thought I’d lost you,” I muttered.

  Her lips brushed my ear and I felt her grin. “It’s alright,” she said. “You have me back, now. Forever.”

  And she kissed me.

  67

  Hailey

  THE SUV headed west out of New York, speeding me away from the FBI, from my friends, from everything I knew. Ahead, storm clouds were gathering, blocking out the sun.

  As we neared our destination, the men, who’d been chatting and joking with each other in Russian, gradually fell silent and began to glance at one another uneasily. Whatever was waiting for us, it scared the hell out of them.

  Christina’s wet dress had soaked every last bit of warmth out of me. I sat there numb and quiet, my head filling up with all the stories I’d heard about Ralavich from my friend Kate, who’d narrowly escaped him herself. Truly sickening stuff. Murder. Human trafficking. And of course his notorious “rape clubs.” I was so scared, I wanted to throw up.

  This monster believed I worked for him. And if Konstantin and Calahan had been succes
sful, if they’d stopped the assassination, he’d blame me. My punishment wouldn’t be death, not from what I’d heard. It would be much worse than that.

  I started to panic-breathe. One of the men glanced round at the sound, meeting my eyes...and then just looked away, a trace of guilt in his eyes. As if he’d seen this a thousand times before. I felt my heart rate accelerating out of control. No rescue was coming, no rescue was possible because no one knew I was missing. I could disappear into Ralavich’s nightmare world for years, decades, before he got tired of me and killed me.

  And meanwhile, Christina would walk away scot-free and enjoy a life with Konstantin. Accepting his love, his new affection, and grinning behind his back, gloating at what she’d done. The thought of them together made me want to throw up.

  We turned off the highway and I got a glimpse of fences and aircraft, then we stopped at a barrier. Oh God, we’re here. Some sort of private airfield, way out of the city where Ralavich could fly in and out unobserved. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt sweat trickle down between my shoulder blades. A guard waved us through and then the SUV pulled up beside a big, gleaming white jet. A set of metal stairs had been positioned outside, leading up to the open door. I knew who was inside. Oh God, oh God.....

  As Ralavich’s men hustled me out, I lost it completely. My legs turned to rubber and I started shaking my head. “No,” I told them as they towed me forward, one on each arm. “No!”

  But they ignored me. Two of them pushed me over to the steps and then up them. Overhead, there was a roll of thunder and the rain began to fall, heavy drops that soon became a torrent. By the time they’d forced me to the top of the steps and in through the door, my half-dry hair was soaked again and water was running down my face, half-blinding me. I blinked and blinked again—