Luckily, I don’t have far to go and I land between the precarious piles of Post-Its in near-silence. If someone were in the apartment, they’d probably come to check. Two quick heartbeats later, I let myself breathe again. No one’s home, and watching the door to make sure that doesn’t change is Elliott’s job. “Status?” I request.
“All clear. Yours?”
“I’m in.” Fourteen minutes until I need to leave. I can do that. I reverse my diagonal trick to replace the vent, pocket my twine, then hop to the floor.
Our meticulous preparations give me an odd sense of déjà vu, but I’ve only “been here” in the safety of our office. Over the last week, we’ve lived this case: taking telephoto pictures of the apartment, finding someone in these guys’ circles to get us closer to them, fabricating the bug. I’m here to place it so we can collect the intelligence to identify and target them. Until now, Lashkar-e-Omar has operated strictly within Pakistan, but if they’re expanding overseas, this cell has got to be the cream of their criminal crop.
“Hey,” Elliott launches a conversation. “How’s it going?”
“Um, fine?”
“Oh, hold on—”
Is he talking to me, or is he on the phone? “Keep the line clear, would you, Ellie?” The last word is out before I can stop it, and I mentally kick myself. Elliott isn’t a complete novice, and I’m not a complete idiot, using his name over comms. But Ellie’s not a play on “Elliott.” It’s short for “Elephant,” his you-wouldn’t-say-that-to-his-face nickname around the office after our last few missions, and some particularly inelegant missteps.
He doesn’t react to my gaffe. “Yeah, sorry, FOX.” A soft click tells me he’s switched off his mic. We’re in the middle of an op; if he’s making phone calls, there’s only one person he should dial right now. Our boss. And if he’s not calling Will, I’m waiting for the elephant’s other foot to fall.
But I don’t have time to sit around. I turn back to the desk. I’d love to put the bug in the smoke detector — we’ve got one you can wire into the nine-volt and even if they change the battery, they wouldn’t notice it — but that’s not for this time. The coolest equipment on the planet to back us up, and tonight we’re stuck with the good old cliché, the phone.
Yes, they have a landline, one of those gray numbers from the nineties. I lift the receiver just enough to disengage the hook switch. Dial tone. Nice.
I borrow a piece of tape from the dispenser on the desk — double sided? In some ways this is closer to an Office Depot than a dissident den — and place the tape over the hook switch. The dial tone would be a little distracting, but the off-the-hook signal is designed to get someone’s attention. Exactly what I don’t want.
My thin-bladed screwdriver is perfect to pry apart the receiver. If these guys were dumb enough to plan over the phone, we’d probably already have the intel we need to get to them, but this bug is designed to pick up the chatter whether the phone is being used or not.
I grab the bug and some pliers from my left belt pack. The plastic coating comes off the wires easily enough, and after half a dozen twists, the bug’s installed. This design looks like just another black wire in the phone. It’s my second favorite. I cover up the wire joins with electrical tape and tap the undetectable microphone.
Elliott’s supposed to tell me he’s getting the signal, but his end is so quiet I can hear the interference from my tapping. I snap the phone back together. “Still all clear?”
He doesn’t answer.
“HAM?” I try the short version of his code name, HAMMER.
“Just a sec.”
He should know the answer right off. I don’t like this. I put the phone back into place.
Elliott swears. “They’re in the building! Get out now!”
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Three great adventures, three Whitney Award Finalists.
I, Spy —To save her secrets and her country, CIA operative Talia Reynolds must sacrifice the man she loves.
Spy for a Spy — Talia’s new boss is her ex-boyfriend. And that’s just the beginning of her problems.
Tomorrow We Spy — Talia’s first mission with her husband could be their last.
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My family is my greatest support. My husband, Ryan, does so much for us so that I can write, and my children, Hayden, Rebecca, Rachel and Hazel, are all so understanding. They aren’t quite old enough to read my books yet, but they are my biggest fans, and I love each of them. (I love you!)
My parents, Ben and Diana Franklin, and my sisters, Jaime, Brooke and Jasmine, have always supported and helped me with my writing. They were my first editors and my first audience and so much more. (I love you!)
As always, my critique partners, Julie Coulter Bellon and Emily Gray Clawson provided invaluable feedback and encouragement. This is actually the last book I wrote in the Spy Another Day series/prequels, and they’ve been there with me since the first draft of the first book, cheering me on and putting me on the right track when I fell off. I especially appreciate Emily’s encouragement to tell Danny’s story here, too — even if it made the project more than twice as long as I was anticipating! Thank you! (Yep, I love you too!)
My trusted beta readers helped to knock the last few rough edges off this book in record time: thank you so much for your time and feedback, Ranee´ S. Clark, Heather Baird and Sarah Anderson. (That’s right, more love!)
Once again, I want to thank Jason Hanson of Escape & Evasion and formerly of the CIA for answering my questions and for an awesome experience in his Spy Escape & Evasion course, which taught me more than any Q&A session could.
Finally, as always, my heartfelt thanks go to you, my reader. Your words of encouragement help me to focus and persevere no matter how difficult it seems (or how much a project rebels!). Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure and making my stories come to life. I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as I have!
Thank you!
PHOTO BY JAREN WILKEY
An award-winning author, Jordan McCollum can’t resist a story where good defeats evil and true love conquers all. In her day job, she coerces people to do things they don’t want to, elicits information and generally manipulates the people she loves most—she’s a mom.
Jordan holds a degree in American Studies and Linguistics from Brigham Young University. When she catches a spare minute, her hobbies include reading, knitting and music. She lives with her husband and four children in Utah.
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Spy Another Day Prequel Box Set: Spy Noon, Mr. Nice Spy, and Spy by Night in one volume (Spy Another Day Prequels clean romantic suspense trilogy) Page 42