Covert Interview Read online

  Covert Interview

  By

  Missy Marciassa

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  Cover Art by Cormar Covers

  Copyright © 2013 T. Washington & Associates, LLC

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  About the Author & Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Michael Kagan was a man who pretty much got anything he wanted. There wasn’t much that surprised him, so something different was always welcome. He had one of his regular ladies from Madam Bouchard’s well-trained, and extremely discreet, cadre of escorts waiting in a suite upstairs, but having a drink with little Elle Paquet was too much of a temptation to pass up. As soon as he saw her walking alone through the hotel lobby after saying good-bye to her father, he knew an opportunity was dropping right into his lap, so he didn’t let go of her hand, despite her gentle attempts to pull away. Instead, he pulled her closer, letting his other hand rest on the small of her back, as he guided her into the lounge.

  Her father wasn’t happy about the flirtation between them, but that didn’t matter to Kagan. He’d deflowered plenty of Daddy’s little girls in his day, to the point where it was more dull than amusing, but there was something about Elle that caught his eye. She did not have the polished beauty of the women Kagan typically associated with, but she had a natural beauty that even her rather plain manner of dress couldn’t hide. She seemed intelligent, yet there was a warmth to her that made her disarming. She wasn’t a practiced flirt, but she didn’t shrink from him, something else that was intriguing.

  The dim light provided just enough of a glow to keep people from bumping into things as they lounged in plush chairs or huddled together in booths hidden behind curtains. The clink of glasses and murmur of voices mingled with the music from the pianist playing in a corner. Kagan, as he was called, was no stranger to the nightlife in DC or just about any other city around the world. Business and pleasure mixed everywhere once the sun set. Kagan had wrapped up his business in DC and was about to fly out to Hong Kong tomorrow, but he hadn’t accomplished what he needed to in DC.

  Kagan couldn’t ignore the fact that ever since he’d caught her playing around on her father’s computer in the South of France, more and more of his arms shipments and financial transactions had been intercepted by the CIA and Interpol. Her father said she was some kind of high-tech librarian at the Library of Congress, and Kagan didn’t know how someone like that could be connected to his intercepted shipments, but he hadn’t built an international empire worth millions by ignoring his gut, and his gut told him she was involved. Somehow. The only difference from no interceptions to increasing numbers was his run-in with her.

  “The bar’s crowded: let’s get comfortable in one of the booths,” he told her, guiding her to one of the booths before she had a chance to respond. She seemed a bit resistant, but he didn’t let that stop him from pushing her along. Her walk was a little unsteady on those heels, but the slight awkwardness didn’t detract from those shapely legs in the slightest. Wouldn’t expect to see any unsteadiness in a trained CIA operative: since she was an American who had never spent much time abroad, according to her father, it was unlikely she worked for Interpol, but it could be a ruse.

  Kagan enjoyed watching her plump ass slide onto the velvet-covered booth before he slid in right behind her. Mixing business with pleasure was definitely the way to go. Drink menus were already on the table. The booth had a curtain, but he wouldn’t pull it yet: let her get a little comfortable. She was nearly perched on the edge of the bench.

  “What’s your poison?” Kagan asked as a server approached. It didn’t matter what she ordered. He had a relationship with several of the bartenders: they were paid a few hundred dollars and given a few vials of rohypnol. When he came in and sat down at a booth with a lady, they were to make her drink to his specifications. He’d already seen that one of his guys was on duty tonight. Kagan didn’t need for Elle to have any memory of tonight and not just because of her father.

  “Poison?” Elle arched an eyebrow as she looked over the drink menu. “Do you have evil intentions, Kagan?” Her smile suggested she was up for some evil. He suspected she had no idea what kinds of things he did with women if she truly was the freshly-minted college grad she portrayed herself to be. It would be fun to educate her.

  “There are many bad boys out in the world,” Kagan said, “but The Big Bad Wolf truly is a more apt description of me.” At least he was being honest.

  Was there a hint of trepidation in her eyes? He reached out and covered one of her hands with his. “Such big eyes you have, Ms. Paquet.” It was time to encourage her rebellious side, the side that reminded her she wasn’t Daddy’s little girl anymore. “Ready for play with a little bite?”

  Kagan saw the fire light up in her eyes at his challenge. Very sexy. Yes, she would be fun.

  “How bad of a bite are we talking?” Elle shifted, which brought her slightly closer to him on the bench. Kagan stroked her hand. She hadn’t pulled away, always a good sign. “As bad as you want.”

  Elle glanced at the server who was waiting silently. “I’ll take a white Russian.”

  “Vodka,” Kagan said.

  He slipped away with a nod and a “Coming right up.”

  “You surprise me, Ms. Paquet.” Wouldn’t want her to forget she was a big girl now, so he called her by her last name. “I wouldn’t think you were the type to date bad boys.”

  “What would be my type?” Elle asked, still leaning close. The scent of her perfume was like an aphrodisiac; Kagan looked forward to getting even closer to her, which he would do in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, he appreciated the short hemline of her dress.

  The server returned with the drinks before he could answer, setting down the frothy white Russian as well as the vodka. Yeah, his guy was good: the bartender knew better than to keep them waiting.

  Elle took a sip of her drink. He wasn’t worried about her becoming suspicious; he’d used roofies plenty of times, so he knew they had absolutely no taste, but even if there was a taste, it would be disguised in all the stuff in that drink. Women and their sugary alcoholic beverages: they made it so much easier for men to get them compliant.

  Since he’d given the bartender a vial in liquid form, he didn’t even have to worry about the time it would take a tablet to dissolve. Besides, if she was a trained operative, she would know better than to finish the drink, although even a little of the liquid roofie was pretty potent and should at least loosen her tongue a little when she let
down her guard.

  “Is it to your liking?” Kagan asked, nodding at her drink. “Or could you tell from that baby sip?” It took about thirty minutes for the drug’s full effect to kick in, and while Kagan was many things, patient wasn’t one of them.

  Elle took a deep swallow. “Perfect,” she said with a smile.

  “First time drinking a white Russian?”

  Elle laughed a surprisingly deep, throaty laugh. “Not at all.” She drank more. She was already halfway through the drink. She may not be an operative after all, the way she was downing that drink, which meant he could drop his business for pleasure even faster.

  “My father said he’s in town because of some troubles with your companies. I hope it’s not too bad.”

  Interesting comment. A little too bold and out there for someone with training, but her curiosity might mean something. “Nothing we can’t get cleared up. It’s probably a matter of taking care of some incompetent employees.”

  He tugged on the curtain to the booth. He saw her eyes follow his movements, so he didn’t pull it all the way closed. Yet. Since he paid a premium for this booth, the wait staff knew to discreetly get his attention before entering.

  She seemed to almost gulp down a big swallow of her drink; he was surprised she didn’t choke. “A staff shake-up will make things better, huh?”

  Kagan leaned back on the bench, letting one arm rest across the top, above her head as he scooted just a bit closer. “Sometimes being a boss feels almost like being an exterminator. You have to identify the rats and go to work.”

  He let his arm drop down around her shoulders, just in time to feel the slight shudder. Why would she care if he had to fire some people?

  “I- I’m in the middle of a ninety day probationary period. I guess they want to make sure I can do the work.”

  “Your father told me how smart you are.” Kagan let his fingers stroke her shoulder. He needed to let her do the talking.

  Elle drank some more of her drink. “Do- do you have a probationary period for your employees?”

  “I have a rigorous selection process beforehand.” In his line of work, there was no time for a probationary period, not with the work he had them doing.

  Elle nodded. It looked like she was trying to focus her eyes. He couldn’t resist letting his fingers glide up her shoulder so he could touch the soft skin of her throat, which made her pulse jump. No operative would be nervous this fast.

  “Does- does my father help you with the hiring?”

  Kagan smiled. Like Daddy knew a damn thing about his business. “I personally handle the hiring of all my people.” He pulled her in closer. “Your eyes are wide again.” She seemed to shrink away from him slightly, but with his arm around her, there was no room for her to move away.

  “All the better to see you with,” Elle said after a moment. Her smile looked a little forced, and she nearly finished her drink with the next deep swallow, but she didn’t shrink further away from him. Standing her ground. He admired the spunk. He’d enjoy seeing if he could tame her or not, if he got the chance to see her again after tonight.

  “Are you enjoying the Library of Congress?”

  “Library of Congress?” Elle blinked. He could see the top of her breasts swell as she inhaled. Was her pulse increasing again?

  “Where you work?” Kagan prompted. Maybe something wasn’t right: she shouldn’t be that confused. Not yet.

  “Oh, yes!” Elle pulled away and reached for her white Russian on the table, draining it. “I- I spend so little time there, it’s like I don’t work there. At the Library of Congress.”

  Kagan kept his arm around her waist, now stroking her side with that hand. He didn’t have long to wait, and while he did, he could get her to talk. “Where are you spending your time?”

  “I’m the liaison for the Virginia university library system,” she said. Her ramrod straight posture was definitely softening. “So I spend most of my time moving between them.”

  Kagan eased her back up against him as he spoke. “Why is someone from the Library of Congress working with the Virginia university library system?” It sounded like bullshit to him, but he was interested in what she had to say.

  “A lot of-” She paused as he pulled her closer while his hand inched up, away from her waist, “a lot of major research is done within universities, so it’s important the libraries be- be top notch for those scholars.” Kagan wanted to touch her breasts, but he was nothing if not controlled. It would be too much, too soon, for the moment, so he began to stroke her upper back as he pulled her even closer to him.

  “What do you do?” He hoped enough of the roofie might be in her system to cause a slip.

  Elle seemed to think about this for a moment. Her thinking wasn’t useful to him. While he continued to stroke her back with one hand, he let his other hand settle on her upper thigh. “Uh- I am responsible for making sure the Virginia libraries are- are technologically advanced and have access to- to appropriate Library of Congress documents.”

  Kagan ran the tip of his tongue around the outside of her earlobe before speaking next. “The Big Bad Wolf detects something’s not quite right.”

  Elle stiffened somewhat in his arms. “Kagan- what time is it? I don’t want to make you late for your appointment.” Were her words becoming slurred? It was about time.

  “Why is the Library of Congress worried about Virginia’s libraries?” Kagan tightened his hold on her with one hand while his other hand slid up her skirt.

  “Kagan-” Elle put her hand on his, squeezing his hand to get him to stop, but he didn’t even slow down. “The Library- Congress has this program with all of the libraries- in all fifty states…” her eyelids drooped, and her head lowered, so her forehead was resting on his shoulder.

  Kagan could feel her body relaxing further even as he made a mental note to check out this story about the Library of Congress. No one could survive long in his business without being able to detect lies, and he detected a big one here, yet no trained operative would behave the way she was, like finishing a mixed drink, unless the CIA was getting awfully damn lax. Maybe she was telling the truth?

  “Kagan, stop-” She was starting to sweat. Kagan actually had fun when women put up a fight. The roofie wouldn’t allow her to put up too much of one, which was unfortunate, but he couldn’t have her remembering this and cry to Daddy, or whoever she worked for, so this was the way it had to be. Tomorrow she probably wouldn’t even remember coming back to this booth with him: she might remember meeting him at the bar, but that was probably about it.

  “Stop?” Kagan slipped his hand between her thighs, pushing her legs apart while his hand on her back slid lower to grasp her plump ass as he lifted her up to straddle his lap. He pushed that little bag of hers to the floor. She tried to push him away, but he easily pulled her closer. She was putty in his hands now. “The fun is just beginning.” Both of his hands were now up under her dress, squeezing her ass as he felt the silk of her panties. It was unusual for him to be with a woman who didn’t wear a thong or no panties at all. How sweet.

  “No… Kagan…” Elle managed. Now her face was shiny with sweat as she struggled to lift her eyelids. Kagan enjoyed the sight of her breasts heaving under her dress.

  “I told you you were playing with the Big Bad Wolf.” His hands slid further up under her dress, gliding over her warm skin…

  Chapter Two

  75 Days Earlier

  As Elle left her hotel room in Langley, Virginia, she was struck by how fast everything could change. At this time last week, Elle would have been leaving her college apartment in Michigan with her roommate, Marni, and they would have been going to the coffee shop for their morning coffee and bagel. She would’ve been wearing the college uniform of jeans and a t-shirt and carrying her backpack.

  Today Elle was wearing a suit that somehow managed to resemble something a concert musician would wear. The plain white button-down top and black jacket had looked fine when she bought t
hem separately, but together, they didn’t quite work. She had some more shopping to do. At least this wasn’t an interview: her interviewing days were over. Elle was heading to the main headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency for her first day as one of their analysts. She had time to get a cup of coffee first, however. Not everything had to change.

  The same coffee chain that Elle and Marni frequented in Michigan was in Virginia. Although it was exciting to be starting her “adult life,” as Elle thought of it, seeing something familiar was a bit of a relief. Yet it was weird when Elle stepped inside the coffee shop.

  The décor was virtually identical to the store in Michigan, and the menu was the same, but that was where the similarities ended. No one was wearing jeans here, and there wasn’t a textbook in sight. Everyone was wearing suits in neutral colors and carrying briefcases or totes or laptop cases. Some people read ereaders while others read newspapers, but there wasn’t a bulky textbook in sight.

  Elle gripped the handle of her own tote (which held her laptop) and made her way to the counter to place her order. While her future had been up in the air, Elle had gotten into the habit of saving money by ordering plain coffee. Yet she had a job now; she could pay a few extra dollars for her caramel macchiato.

  As Elle waited for her order, and then spent some time stirring the whipped cream and caramel into the hot coffee so it would dissolve, she was struck about how weird it was not to have anyone to talk to as she performed her morning ritual. Normally she and Marni would be talking about something… anything. People in here were talking, but most of them were talking on their cell phones or into ear pieces. Or they were like her: fixing their coffee before heading out the door.

  Once Elle had her coffee the way she liked it, she fit a plastic cap on top and left. She had driven her new car from Michigan to Virginia with Preston. He may be a fling, but he still did boyfriend-type things, like help her scramble to pack up her apartment and then accompany her on a nine hour drive, even doing most of the driving.