Heather Woodhaven - Undercover Twin

“By all accounts, it seems that was the case. The raid of the drug trafficking group Adam took down accounted for all members. The only one missing was a man scheduled for initiation tonight. Low risk as he’s not on the network yet, but he might’ve seen what went down and pegged Adam as the traitor. My guess is he’ll be the shooter Kendra took down.”

“You said referrals to the Masked Network could only happen by high-ranking members of criminal enterprises on the network, right? So when you arrested the drug group, what about the phones?”

Lee grinned. Audrey caught on so fast, he was certain this would be easy. “The FBI used a sonic device so no one could utter those words to erase the phones. They were all confiscated. The arrests aren’t public knowledge, but that’s part of the time crunch. We can’t keep it a secret forever, but if we get evidence and a facial identification of the CEO, those phones can be used as leverage to get them to talk and take the whole network down.”

“You want me to be a spy, don’t you?” Her words were loud, clipped and, despite being in the consultation room, two heads from opposite directions leaned from their chairs to look at Lee and Audrey.

Audrey cleared her throat. “Because playing I Spy feels childish, even if it does pass the time.” She stood and paced before she whispered. “Think they bought it?”

Lee hung his head. “Probably.” She was a quick thinker, albeit a little unbelievable in her delivery. “Though we are actually special agents. Not spies.”

She shrugged. “Semantics. Look up the synonyms for spy, and I’m sure undercover special agent is somewhere on the list.” She sat down next to him, so close he could smell the vanilla and rose-scented fabric softener from her clothes. “What exactly does taking her place involve?” she asked, this time in hushed tones.

“We have a very well-developed cover in place. Essentially we turn dirty money into clean—”

“Laundering money.” She blew out a long breath. “You’re asking me to pretend to be a criminal?”

“Kendra’s cover is known to be very good at what she does. It’s not as if you would have to do anything. If anyone asks, you want to offer services to some criminal enterprises higher up on the food chain, but staying under the radar requires a little help from Masked. I’m the right-hand man and an excellent lawyer and visionary so I should be able to do all the talking. We go in and shake some hands, get on the network and get out with the evidence. I’ll ensure your safety before the team goes in and takes down the CEO.”

“A fact-finding mission.” She crossed her legs and leaned back. “So I would play the part of a smart, ambitious criminal with an equally immoral husband?” She placed a finger on her chin and shook her head. “I’m not sure. I once had a nightmare that I made a mistake on my tax deductions. I woke up in a panic and ended up in the hospital.”

He reared back. “Why? A heart attack?”

“No. Ulcer.” She sighed. “Well, I thought I had an ulcer. Turned out my bedtime snack of jalapeño poppers coupled with Google searches at three in the morning weren’t a good idea. What I’m saying is that this is going to be a stretch for me. But I’ve also lived my life feeling like there was a giant puzzle piece missing, and finding Kendra...” She clasped her hands together and shook her head. “I’m desperate for the day when we can get to know each other without danger over either of our heads so I’ll do it. But I have conditions.”

Well, of course she did because nothing was going to be easy today. “Come on. We’ll get a quick blood draw and DNA swab for the Bureau on our way out.”

“For the Bureau?”

“They’ll want definitive proof whether you’re twins or not. In my view, it’s extraneous. But that way you and Kendra will have no doubts.”

If Audrey took Kendra’s place, she’d definitely be in danger, but at least he could be in control of keeping her safe. If she didn’t go through with the mission, he couldn’t foresee the threat ever going away. This was their only chance.

Audrey had a twin sister, a spy, who was pretend-married to a gorgeous, intelligent and compassionate man. She replayed the thought in her mind, hoping it would help her accept the reality faster. She twisted the tassels hanging from her purse zipper as tight as they could go as she rode the hotel elevator with Lee.

On a normal day it would be a lot to handle, but the news she needed to take Kendra’s place in an undercover mission rattled her. A few terse sentences, without knowing Kendra was shot, probably didn’t give the most accurate impression of a person. How was Audrey supposed to impersonate a sister she didn’t know, while pretending to be a white-collar criminal?

The elevators opened and she stiffened. Lee expected her to try on Kendra’s clothes—she hoped they fit—and practice mastering the persona of the cover, but all Audrey wanted to do was to go to bed. At one in the morning, her eyes struggled to stay open. Yet, one of the conditions she’d given Lee involved going over every detail of the operation several times before she made her final decision.

She’d read spies were trained in the art of manipulation, so she wondered if Lee could see right through her attempts to act confident and bold. The truth was she’d already decided she’d do whatever it took to keep her sister safe, but she wanted leverage to make sure she got enough details to feel properly equipped for the mission. Success came from the details in her line of work.

Lee pointed to the room at the far end of the hall. He pulled out a key card and opened the door. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”

She’d been up since seven in the morning, Eastern Time, which was 4:00 a.m. Pacific Time. That meant she’d been awake—ugh. Math after being awake over twenty-one hours didn’t come naturally. “You have your own room, right? Not just like separate beds?”

Lee nodded.

She exhaled, relieved. It was odd to think if they hadn’t met on campus, they would’ve met at the hotel since Kendra had already checked in under Audrey’s name and upgraded her reservation. All she wanted was her favorite yoga pants, T-shirt and a pair of fuzzy socks. Kendra probably only packed pajamas made with fashion in mind. The only thing Audrey had was the purse wrapped across her torso. Her luggage was who knew where as the airline still hadn’t called to let her know it had been found, and the rest of her apartment belongings would take their sweet time in a moving truck scheduled to arrive in Pasadena after three weeks.

Lee turned to walk back down the hallway when he stopped at the very next door. He slipped a card into the lock while sporting a broad grin. She flashed a sheepish smile and waved as she closed the door behind her.

She kicked her shoes off at the closet. Her feet stung after being in flats without arch support all day long, but the plush carpet underneath her toes relaxed her. She took two steps before a man’s silhouette appeared. She gasped and jumped back as Lee’s face came into view.

“Don’t worry. I’m just closing the connecting doors.” Lee shrugged. “It doesn’t seem like you are up for hearing how we usually do things, so how about I explain everything tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Exhaustion made it hard to utter more than a word. She closed the additional door on her side behind him and flipped the dead bolt. A suitcase rested on a luggage rack.

Audrey took a deep breath. It felt like snooping without permission, but desperate times... She lifted the top to reveal two very different wardrobes. On the right, sophisticated outfits, many in black, were neatly folded. On the left, a jumble of unfolded activewear, hoodies and T-shirts beckoned. She’d never been so thankful for someone else’s wardrobe.