Stephenie Meyer - The Chemist

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In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life.
She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.
Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.
When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.
Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.
In this tautly plotted novel, Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialized skill set. And she shows once again why she's one of the world's bestselling authors.

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“No,” a hard – but somehow still velvety – voice announced from behind them.

Alex whirled. The apartment stretched back the other way, too, wrapping around the front door and the hallway beyond. On one side was a huge white kitchen; on the other a dining room with seating for ten, with more window-walls framing each. Leaning against the marble kitchen island was the most exquisite human being Alex had ever seen in real life.

The woman looked exactly like the facetious description Alex had conjured up to describe Kevin’s improbable mental image of the Oleander. She had honey-blond hair, thick and long, that stood out from her head in full waves like a Disney cartoon’s. Sapphire-blue doe eyes, full red lips turned up at the corners, and a straight, narrow nose, all set with flawless symmetry in an oval face with prominent cheekbones. Swan neck over elegant collarbones. Of course, the generous hourglass figure with a tiny waist and legs that seemed longer than Alex’s entire body. The woman was wearing only a short, black kimono and an irritated expression.

“It’s temporary,” Kevin said in a conciliatory voice. “Obviously, I’ll pay you the same for each of them. Three times what we originally agreed on.”

The surreally perfect woman raised one eyebrow and looked pointedly at Einstein. His tail was wagging furiously. He stared up at the blonde with the proverbial puppy-dog eyes.

“Four times,” Kevin promised. He dropped the bags he was carrying. “You like dogs.”

“Kate?” Daniel asked suddenly, surprised recognition saturating his tone.

The woman’s face dimpled into a toothpaste-commercial-quality smile.

“Hi, Danny,” she purred. “I almost didn’t know you with all that scruff. Well, that does make me feel better. You left a nasty welt on my ego, but at least you didn’t forget me.”

“It’s, er, nice to see you again,” Daniel stammered, flummoxed by her greeting.

The blonde’s eyes cut to Kevin. “Okay, he can stay.”

“It’s just a few nights,” Kevin said. “I need the little one, too.”

“You know I don’t like women in my space,” she said in a flat voice, flicking her eyes to Alex, then back to Kevin.

“Oh, that’s okay, Ollie’s not a real girl,” Kevin assured her.

Daniel dropped his bags and took half a step forward before Alex hooked the back of his shirt with her one free finger.

“Not now,” she muttered.

Kate – or whatever her real name was – shrugged gracefully away from the island and glided toward them. She looked down her nose at Alex; easy to do, as she was a good six inches taller.

“So what happened to your face? Your boyfriend tune you up?”

Daniel stiffened. Alex wasn’t sure what this was – maybe some kind of territorial thing? It was only a guess; Alex didn’t have a lot of experience with other women. In the distant past, she’d suffered through a couple of immature roommates, liked a few other lady science geeks, and made small talk with the rare female underling who didn’t flee her presence. Mostly she’d worked with men, and she didn’t know all the rules for double-X-chromosome interactions. At a loss, she went with the truth, though she probably should have waited to see what Kevin had told the woman.

“Um, no, it was a Mafia assassin.” Alex worked her jaw, feeling the bandage pull against her skin. “Oh, and the older stuff was just Kevin trying to kill me.”

“If I’d actually been trying to kill you, you’d be dead,” Kevin grumbled.

Alex rolled her eyes.

“What, you want to go another round?” Kevin demanded. “Anytime, sweetheart.”

“The next time I put you down,” Alex promised, “it will be permanently.”

Kevin laughed – not derisively, like she expected, but with genuine delight. “See what I mean, Val?”

The woman looked like she was trying not to smile. “Okay, you’ve piqued my interest. But I have only the one extra room.”

“Ollie’s good at roughing it.”

“Whatever,” the woman said. Apparently it was an agreement. “Get all that mess out of my living room.”

She skimmed close by Daniel as she passed them. Without a backward glance, she headed upstairs. The kimono was very short, and both brothers watched her climb with partially open mouths.

“You turned her down?” Alex muttered under her breath.

Kevin heard her and laughed again. “Let’s move this stuff before she kicks us all out.”

***

The extra bedroom was bigger than Alex’s entire DC apartment had been. And it wasn’t as if she’d been living in a dive; her place was what real estate agents described as a luxury apartment. This place, though, was several degrees beyond mere luxury. Kevin had seemed on the level when he said the woman was a hooker, but Alex hadn’t had any idea that profession could pay so well.

Kevin stacked the duffels against one wall.

“Ollie, you’ve still got that cot, right? There’s a huge walk-in closet off the bathroom. Check it out and see if it will work for you. You could set up on one of those couches out there, but it might be best to keep you out of Val’s line of sight as much as possible.”

“Of course Alex will sleep in the bed,” Daniel said.

Kevin’s eyebrows pulled together skeptically. “Really? You’re going to get all chivalrous about Ollie?”

“It’s like you never even met our mother.”

“Relax,” Alex said as Kevin bridled. “We’ll work it out.”

“Fine,” Kevin said.

“Should I have been more careful with my words out there?” Alex asked Kevin. “You said she’s not trustworthy.”

Kevin shook his head. “No, you’re fine. Val might kick us all onto the street when she’s tired of us, but she won’t sell us out. I’ve bought her time and her discretion. What happens with Val stays with Val. She has a reputation to protect.”

“Okay,” Alex agreed, though she wasn’t sure she entirely understood Val’s policies.

He moved to the door, then paused with his hand on the knob. “There’s plenty of food in the fridge if you’re hungry, or we can order something in.”

“Thanks,” Alex said. “I’ll sort my stuff out first.”

“Yes,” Daniel said. “Let us get situated.”

Kevin hesitated one more second, then stepped back into the room. “Uh, Danny, I just wanted to say… it’s good to see you. I’m glad you’re safe.”

Like before, as he was leaving the ranch, Kevin looked like he wouldn’t be opposed to a hug. Daniel stood awkwardly, his body language full of ambivalence.

“Yes, well, thanks to Alex,” Daniel said. “And I’m glad you’re not dead like she thought you were.”

Kevin barked a laugh. “Yeah, me, too. And thanks again, poison woman. I owe you one.”

He exited on another laugh, leaving the door cracked behind him.

Daniel gave Alex a long stare, then went to the door and quietly shut it all the way. He turned back to her, and there was clearly an argument about to begin. She shook her head and motioned him to follow her farther into the guest suite.

For a second, the bathroom made her forget why she’d come this way. A swimming pool-size tub was set into the floor, surrounded by marble and a faintly blue tile wall that shimmered like a pale sea. A showerhead the diameter of a truck tire was suspended from the ceiling over it.

“What is this place?” Alex gasped.

Daniel shut the door behind them. “Kate – or rather Val – is apparently quite successful.”

“Do you think she’s really a prostitute, or was that just Kevin trying to make the story better?”

“I didn’t come in here to talk about Val.”

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