Covert Assignment Read online

  Covert Assignment

  By

  Missy Marciassa

  Copyright © 2013 T. Washington & Associates, LLC

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Art by Cormar Covers

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  About the Author & Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  “Have you seen them yet?”

  Elle didn’t even get a chance to say hello as Marni pulled her through the doorway into their apartment, suitcase and all. She shook her head as Marni engulfed her in the big hug she always gave when they were apart for more than a day or so. The hug was a little extra tight, even for Marni, but Elle hugged her back. After ten days at her mother’s house, she felt like she could breathe again. It was good to be home.

  “Sit down,” Marni said, pulling her over to their futon. She sat down herself, pulling Elle down beside her. “You haven’t checked the internet or anything?”

  Elle shook her head. “My cell’s dead. What’s up?” She didn’t mention how she used up a significant amount of her battery. While waiting out her two hour flight delay, she locked herself in a bathroom stall to take a picture of her breasts to send to Adam. She wanted to spice things up a bit and figured a sext was a good way to start after nearly two weeks apart. Since she didn’t have much to work with, however, it had taken some effort, pushing her girls up to plump them up a bit and then working on the picture with some picture apps before sending it to him. Marni would never let her hear the end of it if she told her.

  Marni’s eyes were wide with a sadness that dimmed Elle’s smile. “Elle.” Marni took her hand. “You know I’m here for you. For whatever you need. If you need a contract killer, I have a cousin: he can hook us up.”

  Elle blinked, again fighting the urge to laugh. Marni was nothing if not dramatic. She really should’ve been a theater major. “Good to know. Why the hell would I need a contract killer?”

  Marni picked up her tablet off the coffee table. She pulled something up on the screen and handed it to Elle. Elle found herself blinking again, seeing pictures: they looked like porn. There was a topless woman sitting astride a guy’s lap. The guy’s face was buried in her ginormous breasts that had to have been fake. Another picture was taken from the side with the guy’s lips clearly… enjoying the breasts. In the next picture his head was bowed low as the topless woman kneeled before him with her head planted in his lap. The guy’s jeans and boxers were pushed down around his ankles.

  And then there was the picture of the woman- now naked- on all fours, back arched like a dog in heat. The guy clutched her hips as he rode her from behind. Same white t-shirt but his pants and boxers were gone. The guy’s face was clearly visible. Even with his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth hanging open, he was recognizable. It was Adam.

  Her Adam.

  When Elle was a teenager, her mother insisted she learn how to dive, despite Elle’s dislike of the water. On one of her early attempts, she belly flopped, slamming into the surface of the water. The impact snatched the air out of her lungs, and for a moment, she hadn’t felt anything. She envisioned her body cracking into pieces like a cartoon character crashing into concrete. Then a burning sensation spread through her body as she sank into the cold water, trying to move before she drowned.

  Staring at those pictures, Elle felt as if she’d just experienced the belly flop of her life, trying to make sense of them as she struggled to breathe.

  The whore was Bella Brown. She and Adam had been assigned to work on a project together for one of their classes. Adam was always complaining about how dumb she was and how he was pretty much doing the work for both of them so his grade point average wouldn’t take a hit. Before they left for winter break Adam had been whining about how he couldn’t believe he was stuck with her in a two-semester course.

  Elle sucked in a deep breath, trying to get air back into her lungs. She became aware of Marni’s hand stroking the side of her arm and forced herself to look away from the pictures, into her best friend’s wide eyes. Sympathy practically poured out of them, which she normally hated to be on the receiving end of, but she couldn’t feel anything at the moment.

  “Those are screen caps,” Marni said. “The bitch has already taken the pics down.” She gave Elle’s arm a squeeze before adding, “They went up this afternoon. It looks like they were taken last night.”

  Elle swallowed hard. She’d texted Adam last night with her travel times but hadn’t heard back. Maybe the pictures were photoshopped? No, Bella was too damn dumb to photoshop this well. She looked down at the tablet again, but Marni took it out of her hands and laid it face down on the coffee table.

  “There’s no need for you to torture yourself,” Marni said. She took both of Elle’s hands in hers again. “I called Tina. She should be here any minute: she left home a few hours ago. We can handle this. We’ll go over, bust his kneecaps, burn his place down- whatever you want.”

  Whatever she wanted. Elle was still struggling to breathe, get enough oxygen to her brain so it would start functioning again. She stood up. “I need to charge my phone,” she said and fumbled around for her phone charger, which was in her suitcase. She went to her bedroom, pulling the suitcase behind her. Her bed was all made up just as she had left it before vacation so she wouldn’t have to deal with it after a day of traveling. That morning Elle had looked forward to the idea of sleeping in her own bed. With Adam. With an Adam who was raring to go after getting an unexpected sext. She guessed a picture of her breasts didn’t do much for him compared to the ones he’d enjoyed the night before.

  Marni came to the doorway as Elle plugged her phone in. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Elle didn’t even know how to answer that, so she just started unpacking. If she didn’t unpack that night, she’d be living out of her suitcase for the week since classes started tomorrow.

  Marni, who usually was ready to ask anything and everything, sounded hesitant as she asked, “How were the holidays?”

  Elle surprised herself with a harsh bark of laughter. She pulled her shirts out of the suitcase and refolded them. “I slept in one of the guest rooms.”

  Marni’s eyes widened. “The guest room?”

  Elle nodded as she put her shirts in the dresser drawer. “Mom said Lindsay and Jessica were about to kill each other in their room, and it wasn’t like either one could share with Steven.”

  “But they have- what- three guest bedrooms?”

  Elle dealt with her sweaters next. “Robert wants them to have guest rooms available for company.”

  Marni rolled her eyes. “So you’re ‘company.’ That’s some bullshit right there.”

  Elle just managed to smother another harsh chuckle. “Same bullshit, different day.” It had been a long ten days at her mother’s house. Elle f
orced a smile, however, for her friend’s sake as she took out her pants. It wasn’t even worth getting upset over. This was the last holiday she had to spend there. As usual, Marni- who was not typically at a loss for words- didn’t quite know what to say when Elle talked about her family.

  After an awkward pause, Marni asked, “What about your things?”

  “Boxed up in the attic.” Elle took out her toiletries and zipped up her now-empty suitcase. The night she had arrived at her mother’s house, Elle had gone up to the attic to look at the boxes. Her mother, her mother’s husband, and the kids had gone to a holiday party. There wasn’t enough room in their brand new compact SUV for Elle, so she stayed behind. In the attic, Elle untaped one of the boxes to find her things thrown in: no wrapping and in no apparent order. Her mother always had sucked at organization. Elle had taped the box back up; she’d have to go through them all when she got her own place after graduation.

  Marni followed Elle as she set up her toiletries in their bathroom. “My mom made me go through my old things, too,” she said and then laughed. “She promised to get a sleeper sofa in Dad’s new den.”

  Elle laughed with her. It wasn’t so bad, really. They were in their last semester of college, about to go out into the real world and become true adults. Who wanted to be the loser who moved back home? A lot of people did- the economy sucked, after all- but it wasn’t what anyone wanted. It was a time to celebrate being free of professors and papers and exams, to live in a hip apartment. Elle had been looking forward to this time since she was a kid, but she was also beginning to appreciate that an adult lifestyle had to be paid for. Still, she was up for the challenge.

  “Did you see your Dad and… her?” Marni looked even more hesitant to ask that question.

  Elle rolled her eyes. “They spent the holidays at the she-demon’s parents’ place in Colorado before going skiing in Vail.”

  “So you didn’t even see your father?” This shocked even Marni. Elle had to admit it was a new development, but she didn’t know why she was surprised. Her parents married young, had her, divorced about five minutes later, and then met and married new people and had more children with them. Elle was a leftover who didn’t quite fit in either of her parents’ plans, and it was a fact she learned to accept before even going to college.

  “Same bullshit, different day,” Elle said again. She forced a smile at Marni’s horrified expression. “Next year, I’m going on a cruise for the holidays.” She had thought it might be her and Adam since his parents liked to spend it at his older brother’s house and Adam preferred his nieces and nephews in small doses, but she might be sailing solo regardless now.

  Elle realized she was completely unpacked. Now what? She had planned to call Adam once she was unpacked, but her phone was charging, and Elle couldn’t imagine calling him even if the phone was fully charged. She had to think about what she wanted to say to him. What could she say to him? Well, she could start by telling him she hoped he burned in hell for eternity with daily flare ups that singed his balls and dick on the hour, every hour, but that would make her sound like a vengeful bitch. He wasn’t going to reduce her to some pathetic scorned woman.

  The buzzer sounded.

  “That’s Tina,” Marni said, hurrying over to buzz their friend up. Tina lived in her own place but was the third of their trio. The three had lived together in the same dorm suite their freshman year and stayed close. Tina was much more “zen,” however, and sensitive to the energy in her environment, so having her own space was essential.

  Elle braced herself. Neither Marni nor Tina was going to let this thing with Adam slide, and she didn’t know what to say. Or do. She didn’t even know how she felt, but she followed her friend into the living room.

  Marni had the door open and called out to Tina, “She hasn’t agreed to put out a hit on the asshat yet.”

  Tina didn’t even acknowledge Marni’s comment as she hurried in and gave Elle a hug. Elle hugged her back, relieved she didn’t have to talk. Tina held her close, as if she was transmitting soothing vibes through touch. Elle wasn’t really into concepts like “energy” and “vibes,” but she felt herself relaxing into her friend’s hug anyway.

  After a bit, Tina pulled back and looked right into her eyes. Elle couldn’t look back, so she pulled away even further. “I’m thinking rat poison,” Elle quipped. “Much cheaper than putting out a hit.”

  Tina didn’t even crack a smile. “Have you talked to him yet?”

  Elle shook her head as Marni asked, “What the hell is there to talk about?”

  Tina said, “They’ve been dating for over two years. At the very least, they need to talk.”

  “What could he say?” Marni asked.

  Tina opened her mouth to respond, paused, and finally said, “I don’t know. But it’s the right thing to do.”

  On one hand, Elle knew Tina was right. On the other hand, she shared Marni’s question. What the hell could Adam say to make this okay? She asked Tina, “Have you seen them?”

  Tina winced. “Yeah, I have. I… I’m so sorry, Elle. I can’t believe Adam would do this.”

  “He was obviously thinking with the wrong head,” Marni said as she pulled open the kitchen drawer that held their stash of takeout menus. “Maybe if we just cut that shit off he’ll behave.”

  Tina scowled at Marni before focusing on Elle. “Has he called you?”

  Elle shrugged. “I drained my battery sitting around in the airport. My cell’s charging.”

  Marni asked, “Want a pizza with everything?”

  “Everything? Heart attack on a plate?” Tina said. She was the health nut who kept preaching about how you had to treat your body like your temple and so on. Elle and Marni humored her, but they didn’t actually take her dietary advice.

  “Yes.” Marni nodded, solemn. “At times like this, you splurge. It’s too damn cold for ice cream.”

  When it became silent, Elle realized both were looking at her. She hadn’t eaten much all day, but she wasn’t feeling all that hungry. Turning down pizza, however, would send up too many red flags. “Yeah, everything sounds good.”

  ***

  Between the three of them, the pizza didn’t last long. The bottle of cheap red wine Marni insisted on opening didn’t last long, either.

  “Fuck him,” Marni declared, brandishing her empty wine glass. “No- don’t fuck him. It’s time you graduated to a thruster. Someone who will have you humming ‘Sexy Bitch’ afterwards.”

  Tina giggled. “I always have the ‘West Side Story’ song ‘I’m So Pretty’ in my heads afterwards.” She blushed with the admission as Marni and Elle cracked up.

  “You would,” Marni managed to get out between laughs.

  Elle couldn’t stop smiling from her buzz. “Damn straight. But the thumping was improving.” She swallowed more wine. “I was hoping we could start… experimenting a little more.”

  Tina grinned. “Getting tired of relying on electronic backup?”

  Marni crowed, “No one gets tired of the bunnies!”

  “True,” Elle agreed. “But I thought we could still expand our repertoire.” Elle swallowed the last of her wine. “With each other.” She didn’t mention her sext. She may have worked hard to plump up her girls, but no amount of strategic maneuvering would make her a match for Bella’s (surely surgically enhanced) breasts. What had Adam thought when he got it? She shut off her phone right after sending the text, partly because she was getting the “low battery” signal but also because she hadn’t known how he would react. He could be a little puritanical when it came to sex. Well, he was puritanical with her.

  There was a moment of silence: neither Tina nor Marni was grinning any more. Elle tried to force a smile, but it didn’t quite work. Tina grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. Marni picked up the bottle of wine to pour her another glass, but it was empty. “Nah, it’s time you found a guy who doesn’t need instruction. And who doesn’t make you want to turn off the lights when he strips down,”
Marni said.

  Elle winced at the memory. Once she had been watching Adam undress before he came to bed. He was pretty skinny. She had been looking forward to some action, but when she saw the concave side of his butt, she turned out the lights as he climbed into bed. She acted like she was just nervous about him seeing her naked, but really it was because the visual just wasn’t working. Yet she’d accepted it, accepted him, and thought he had done the same with her. Apparently not, though.

  “No guy’s a romance sex god,” Tina said, rolling her eyes.

  “That’s true,” Elle agreed. However, she had been looking forward to some maturation as they graduated college and became full-fledged adults. He was smart. He could figure it out, even if he never would be the sex god of a romance novel. Right now, Adam lacked coordination. Stamina. Control. And… enthusiasm. At least, Elle thought he wasn’t as enthusiastic as the stereotypical horn dog guy. He’d always seemed disinterested in doing much beyond the typical missionary stuff. Things were obviously different with Bella for him to be humping her like a damn dog.

  “But you can find a guy who’s competent,” Marni insisted. “They’re out there. Tomorrow, we’re going to go out, get you shit-faced, and get you laid!”

  Elle groaned as Tina said, “No, we’re not. Not until she decides what to do about Adam. Technically, you two haven’t broken up yet.”

  “That technicality didn’t bother him when he was humping that whore,” Marni countered.

  There was some more back and forth, but Elle found it hard to follow. Were they broken up? Did they need to have an official talk? It wasn’t like they were married and had kids. Dammit, this was not how her last semester in college was supposed to go down. They had a plan. They were both going to graduate school: she was going to a joint JD/MBA program while he was going to get a doctorate in computer science. Since it typically took at least five years to get a PhD, Elle planned to enjoy some time as an independent adult while he finished his program. Once he was done, they were going to get married and enjoy a few years of married life before starting a family in their early thirties. If she squinted hard enough, she could actually see those plans disappearing like the wisps of a dream upon awakening. Damn him.