Covert Affairs Read online

  Covert Affairs

  by A. C. Grey

  C overt Affairs

  Copyright: A.C. Grey and Gable Books

  Published: February 1, 2013

  ISBN: 978-0-9885250-2-3

  Publisher: Gable Books

  The right of A.C. Grey to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the relevant international copyright laws. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

  Chapter One

  Meg Murphy let out an impatient sigh. She was not used to waiting. Not used to sitting and biding her time. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She was far too used to waiting. Sometimes her job demanded waiting, and lots of it. But it didn't mean she had to like it. Patience was not a virtue she had. Not by a long shot. She craved action. It was one of the reasons she'd been drawn to her profession. Why she'd become a spy. The thrill, the adventure, the adrenaline. And her job was why she was supposedly in Antarra, which was, as far as she could tell, the hottest, dustiest, most boring place on Earth.

  As she sat at the bar at the only luxury hotel in this god-forsaken country, Meg couldn't help but curse her bosses. They'd sent her to this hell hole. Okay, maybe that was a stretch. She was in a luxurious, marble and gold accented air-conditioned piece of heaven. Complete with a casino, a nightclub, and three restaurants. However, outside those front doors, it wasn't pretty. And she had nothing to do but wait for further instructions. Wait. With nothing to do but kill time. While this hotel offered lots to do, Meg was fed up. She could only drink so many cocktails. Lounge by the pool so long. Only play so many hands of blackjack. She was done relaxing. Still, she'd forgive Antarra for being a poor excuse of a country, so long as she got some real action. And soon.

  Meg smirked as a woman walked by. A very gorgeous, dark-haired woman with legs for days, outfitted in the shortest of shorts. Speaking of action . . . Meg thought to herself.

  The woman smiled briefly at the hotel clerk, her smile illuminating the most adorable dimples on her cheeks. Her smile lit up the room. Meg felt a flush creep across the entirety of her body. Had the air-conditioning in this place just failed? Meg quickly realized that the sudden heat had come from an entirely internal source. The woman gave a whole new meaning to the word hottie. Meg unconsciously fanned herself with a nearby cocktail menu.

  As quickly as she'd appeared, the bombshell was gone, disappearing into the nearby elevator. Meg attempted to shrug off the rush of attraction. This was no time for a fling. And trying to pick up anyone, let alone a woman, in a place like this would be unadvisable. Possibly even dangerous. Unable to shake the woman and those legs from her mind, Meg downed the last of her drink and headed back to her room. She needed a distraction and sitting idly with no company but her own thoughts was not a way to do it. Maybe there was something on TV. She wasn't much for TV, but she'd take any distraction she could get at the moment.

  * * * * *

  Meg sighed as she paced back and forth across her hotel suite. Yes, it was nice. All soft pillows and marble and glitz. There was even a Jacuzzi, but no amount of pampering and amenities could fix her problem. She was bored. Usually, she knew her assignment going in. There was no waiting for briefings. None of this, sit and bide your time crap. She felt like a caged rat. Yes, a very well fed, well taken care of rat, but caged nonetheless. There were only so many re-runs of Law and Order that one could take. She had been holed up at this stupid hotel for damn near a week and she was dying. Frustrated and needing a change of scenery, Meg slipped on a skimpy red bikini and headed to the roof deck pool. If nothing else, maybe she could work off some excess energy swimming some laps.

  As Meg dove into the crystal clear water, her body cutting a smooth path like a knife, she couldn't help but feel some relief. The cool water spreading over her skin, her body gliding as her strokes sliced through the water helped wash away some of the tension. Ever since she'd been a little girl, growing up in California, she'd loved swimming. The feel of her body surrounded by water, the gentle tension of the liquid against her body as she swam. She often swam to clear her head, a habit she'd picked up years ago and had yet to give up. As Meg swam lap after lap, she could feel the anger, the tension, the impatience melting away.

  After swimming for about half an hour, Meg decided to wrap things up. A few more laps and she'd be spent. As she turned her head to the side to take a breath, an unexpected flash of color came into view out of the corner of her eye. Obviously she had company. She hadn't seen exactly who, her vision blurred by the combination of water and her movement across the pool. Even so, Meg somehow knew who she'd see once she'd finished her lap. Those legs. And the very gorgeous, very sexy brunette that belonged to those legs. Meg couldn't help but hope that the woman had the good taste to show off that body in a revealing bathing suit.

  As Meg stopped at the wall, finishing her final lap, she smiled to herself. She wasn't disappointed. It was indeed her mystery crush. And she was wearing a barely there light blue string bikini. Meg looked at her with approval, for probably just a bit longer than was appropriate, but she didn't care. That body and that bikini made her feel reckless. The woman smiled awkwardly at Meg as she slowly waded into the cool water.

  Deciding that she needed to tone things down, Meg exited the pool and dried off. She laid back on the nearest lounge chair with a book, intent on at least pretending to catch some sun. She slipped on her sunglasses, partially to shield her eyes from the bright sun, but more importantly, to shield them from the giant raven-haired distraction in the pool. What the object of her attraction didn't know wouldn't hurt her, Meg mused. She attempted to read, but her eyes kept drifting over the top of the book towards the pool. The woman wasn't really swimming – obviously just there to cool off for a bit, which was fine with Meg. The less time that body spent underwater, the better. And if Meg wasn't mistaken, the woman was surreptitiously eyeing her up as well. Of course, Meg surmised, it had been a while since she'd gotten any action. Of any sort, sexual or otherwise. So her under-sexed, overly bored mind could just be playing tricks on her.

  Meg's mouth suddenly ran dry. The woman pulled herself out of the pool, and as she did, her perfect breasts heaved. Every inch of her flawless skin glistened with moisture. Rivulets of water slowly ran from her soaked hair down between those perfect, perfect breasts. Catching herself gawking, Meg slowly closed her wide-open mouth, forced herself to breathe, and tried to train her eyes back on her book. Judging by the knowing, sly smile on the woman's face, dimples and all, Meg had been caught. However embarrassed she might be, Meg wasn't really sorry. After watching the show as the woman toweled off, including a rather perfect view of her ass as she bent over to dry her legs, Meg rose to leave. Suddenly, the cooling waters of the pool had no effect on her. She needed an ice cold shower. And fast.

  * * * * *

  No matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did, Meg could not get the woman out of her head. She'd tried everything. A cold shower (or three). TV. A movie. Reading. Even a little self-help . . . Nothing cooled her down. Meg's encrypted cell phone suddenly rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. It could only mean one thing. Her assignment. She'd never been so thankful for a phone call in her entire life.

  "Hello?" she said.

  "This is Jean Val Jean," the man on the line said.

  "What do you have for me?" Meg asked, completing her half of the secret code exchange, designed to ensure they were not talking to imposters.

  "A loaf of bread," the man responded.

  "Great. Hey, Tom. What have you
got for me?" Meg asked her boss, Tom McManus.

  "Eager, Murphy. Very eager. I like that in an agent," McManus responded, a slight hint of humor in his tone.

  "Yeah, well, you know. I've been sitting here. For a week. Just itching to go after some bad guys.”

  McManus chuckled. "Fair enough. Let me give you the overview. The details have been emailed to you at your encrypted account. Locations, names, dates, photos, and the like. The usual. And I don't have to remind you to be careful not to let any of that information end up in the wrong hands. This mission is too important to fail."

  Meg nodded. "Understood.”

  McManus continued. "Late last month, we sent an elite squad of Navy Seals into Antarra. Their mission was to get inside a compound located about 15 miles from where you're currently located. We suspect this compound, which is disguised as an exclusive recreational club for Antarra's elite, is actually the headquarters of a terrorist group, Morvada. Morvada means 'freedom' in Antarran. Members of this organization are known to desire a new world order, in which their own personal belief system will be imposed on everyone. And they're known to be willing to use any means necessary to gain control.”

  "So what happened to the Seal team?" Meg asked.

  "Their mission was an almost complete failure. Three of the men died. Two made it out alive. Barely. And one, a Lieutenant Eric Jakes, was captured. Of course, Morvada and the Antarran government are in no hurry to announce that such a raid even occurred. And we're in a tight spot as well. If the United States government were to disclose what had happened we could blow the entire operation. We need you to try and infiltrate the compound and see what exactly is going on inside that compound. And you need to use any means necessary to do so. If you have the opportunity to free Jakes, all the better. But, this is first and foremost and intelligence mission. This may be a matter of not just United States national security, but of global security. We're counting on you, Murphy, and we'll give you whatever support you need.”

  "Understood, sir,” Meg responded.

  "And Murphy?" McManus said.

  "Yes?"

  "Don't fuck this up.”

  "I won't sir.”

  Meg smiled to herself as she hung up. She was jazzed. This was what she lived for. Living life dangerously. Saving lives. Saving the world. And she was damn good at it.

  * * * * *

  Deciding to have one last celebratory drink before getting down to business, Meg headed down to the bar. Perching herself on the stool at the end of the bar, she smiled to Lola the bartender, whom she'd befriended over the past week. She ordered her usual cocktail, a vodka tonic, and surveyed the place. Her heart stopped in her chest as her eyes landed on a very familiar, very welcome sight. The woman who had haunted her dreams, as well as her daydreams, sat across the room. She was wearing a very low-cut top and was nursing her drink. Noticing Meg, she offered her a shy smile, her blue eyes piercing. The woman refused to break the eye contact, which made Meg very uncomfortable in the best sort of way. She was relieved when Lola arrived with her drink, glad to have any excuse to look away for a moment, to regain her composure.

  Unable to keep her eyes off the raven-haired beauty for long, Meg slowly returned her gaze across the bar. She absent-mindedly began to chew on the plastic swizzle stick in her drink, as she made eyes at the mystery woman. Meg couldn't help but wonder what a woman like that was doing stuck in a place like this. Not exactly the type that would go unnoticed. And she, Meg, certainly had noticed. The last remaining bits of air were sucked from her lungs as the woman teasingly licked her lips, a small, perfect tongue sweeping across that luscious mouth.

  Meg was brought out of her reverie by the voice of Lola. "Why don't you two just get it on already?” Lola, whispered, a smirk on her face.

  "What? I have no idea what you're talking about,” Meg said, playing dumb.

  "You and Cutie over there. You've been doing nothing but making sex eyes at each other since you got here. And I saw the way you checked her out the other day. So, stop staring like some sex-starved vulture and go talk to her.”

  "I don't know . . .” Meg began. "I'm not even sure she's into me. Or women for that matter.”

  Lola looked at Meg with sympathetic eyes. "Hun. Trust me. I'm a bartender. It's my job to know these things. Cutie over there. She wants in your pants. So go make it happen. Or if not, please, for the love of God, stop ogling her. It's painful to watch.”

  Meg chewed her bottom lip nervously as she pondered what Lola had just said. Maybe she did have a point. The woman had been sending Meg some pretty strong signals. Or so she thought. And she could use one last good fling before she began her mission tomorrow. But then again, maybe the signs weren't that strong. Maybe she was just desperate.

  Chapter Two

  Meg wavered. What to do . . . Should she approach the woman? Her heart and certain other body parts were screaming yes. Begging yes. But her head was telling her other things. There was no guarantee that she'd get what she wanted, namely, a little fun before her mission. She might get rejected flat out and she liked going into a new operation with a clear head and with confidence high. With her rockstar mojo intact. Not that her confidence was defined solely by the number of her conquests, but it certainly was a factor. And rejection wouldn't add anything to the equation. But then again, she was Meg Murphy. And she knew she was hot.

  Rejection didn't happen that often. At least, not the kind she cared about. Deep down, Meg knew that she avoided close personal relationships precisely to avoid the kind of rejection that really hurt. If she bounced from bed to bed, it was hard to get attached, and therefore hard to get hurt. Plus, in her line of work, attachments were a liability. A serious liability. The last few true relationships she'd tried had ended horribly. Not a mistake she was eager to repeat any time soon.

  Meg shook her thoughts of rejection out of her head. No need to worry about that. It wasn't like she was thinking of settling down with the woman. Just a little good, innocent fun. Okay, maybe not so innocent. Plus, judging by the smiles and heated stares they'd been exchanging, Meg didn't think rejection was a real possibility. The woman clearly wanted Meg as much as Meg wanted her. Either that, or she had a serious staring problem.

  Even so, Meg was hesitant to make a move. She had to admit, as eager as she was to get to know the mystery woman, she also loved to play the game. Right now, she was thinking that it might be fun to play hard to get. To make the raven-haired beauty work for it. Just a bit. Yes. That could be fun. After all, the woman and those eyes. That body. Those legs. That smile. Well, she'd been unconsciously teasing Meg for too long. Maybe it was time to turn the tables.

  Meg smirked to herself, before taking a sip from her drink. She slowly raised her eyes to meet the bright blue ones across the bar. She let a flirtatious smile slip across her lips as she stared back at the woman. Meg readjusted her posture, leaning over the bar just a bit, making sure her best assets were on full display. Her smile widened as she saw the woman swallow hard, saw just a small, almost imperceptible hitch in her breathing, presumably in reaction to Meg's newly revealed cleavage. God did she love this game.

  Meg continued to toy with her prey for a few minutes. Licking her lips. Tossing her hair. Batting her eyelashes. Flashing her cleavage. Finally, deciding it was time to put the next part of her plan into action, Meg removed her gaze from the woman. Stopped paying any attention to her whatsoever. Meg studied her drink, chatted with Lola, pretended to read a menu. She smiled as she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. It hadn't taken long, maybe a minute, for the brunette bombshell to make her way over to Meg. Meg turned and gazed at the woman, for the first time, taking a moment to fully and openly rake the woman's body with her eyes. Rather than responding to the tap, Meg simply raised a bemused eyebrow, waiting for the woman to speak.

  "Hey,” she said softly in a voice that was both sweet and sexy at the same time.

  "Hey,” Meg responded, a
smirk still firmly implanted on her face.

  "May I join you?" the woman asked.

  "Certainly,” Meg said, gesturing to the seat next to hers.

  "So we seem to be seeing a lot of each other,” the woman began.

  Meg smiled to herself. She'd love to see a lot more of this hottie and her gorgeous body. "So it seems,” Meg responded coyly. "So what brings you to Antarra? No offense, but you don't exactly look like a native.” Meg leaned across the bar, grabbing a napkin she didn’t really need, making sure her breasts slightly grazed the woman's arm.

  "I'm . . . uh . . . just taking some time off from work. Traveling the world. That sort of thing.”

  Meg noted the woman's hesitation, but shrugged it off. Whether her stutter had been caused by a real hesitation or simply because of Meg's touch was anyone's guess. Meg smiled again to herself, loving the reaction she was getting.

  "And what brings you here?” the woman asked after taking a big gulp of the drink Lola had just set in front of her.

  "Work,” Meg said. "I can't say this place is a favorite of mine. It's so hot. All the time. Wouldn't you agree?"