Undercover Twin

The car sat waiting just as he’d expected. The officer stationed at the front entrance took a step forward, keeping watch, as Lee hustled Audrey to the passenger side of the vehicle.

A man in a navy ski mask rounded the corner, pointing a gun straight at Audrey.

FOUR (#u9dc933ba-dec5-5ebb-ba17-9a4d5b4e9703)

Audrey jumped, arms flailing upward as a scream escaped. In her peripheral, the cop dropped to a modified lunge, weapon pointed. A shot sounded. She tensed as Lee yanked open the passenger door with his right hand and gently pushed her so she dropped below the line of the window. He yelled, but Audrey wasn’t sure what he’d said.

The smell of leather conditioning and car wax assaulted her senses as she came nose to nose with the electronic seat lever. She clenched her jaw, trying to control the involuntary quaking of her limbs. Shouts and shuffling feet approached, but Audrey didn’t dare look up. She closed her eyes, praying for the second time in twenty-four hours.

A professor once told her she was too verbose and yet the only word that could come to mind was help. And finally, Keep Lee safe...and heal Kendra. She exhaled and breathed deeply, counting to five. Her knees pressed into the concrete, guaranteeing that the white linen pants wouldn’t pass muster at a resort later.

“Audrey.” Lee said her name so softly she almost didn’t hear him. “Audrey,” he said again.

She looked up, not allowing herself the luxury of enjoying the way he said her name, drawing out the last syllable just a split second longer than most. Lee reached his hand out and helped her to a standing position.

He glanced at her hand before a quick once-over from head to toe. “Let’s get you inside for a minute. Are you okay? No injuries?”

“I’m fine.” Although, not really. Her heart pounded so fast and furiously that she still had to think through her breaths. Inhale for two seconds now, breathe out for two seconds. Hopefully, it would come naturally again, soon. “Did they catch him? Did the bullet hit someone?”

Lee led her inside the lobby. “The police took over. I’m sure they’ll catch him.”

An officer approached. Lee led Audrey to a nearby chair next to the complimentary coffee carafe. “Can you wait here a second while I talk to them?”

“Of course.”

Lee and the officer stepped just far enough away that Audrey couldn’t hear them. The deep breaths began to irritate her throat.

“Do you want a water?” A woman in her late twenties, with long dark hair, approached. She held out the bottle, glistening with condensation.

Audrey nodded and accepted, eagerly taking off the cap and gulping a few swallows. The cold soothed her throat. Lee returned, the cop at his elbow.

“Let’s try this again. Shall we?” Lee reached for her hand, and Audrey let him lead her outside, this time with the cop directly on her left as Lee took the right. Once inside the car, with the door closed and the seat belt on, she breathed a sigh of relief. Although, she didn’t know why. Last night shots were fired near her. Today shots were fired at her. Who was to say tomorrow wouldn’t bring the same thing on the fact-finding mission they were about to do? What made her think she could ever take her sister’s place?

Lee sat in the driver’s seat and shook his head. “What a morning.” He glanced at her. “Sure you’re okay?”

“No.”

He blinked and hesitated.

She exhaled, her heart rate finally slowing slightly. “Was that man trying to kill me? Is he related to those shooters last night?”

Lee’s eyes softened. “I have confirmation there was only one shooter last night on the campus, and Kendra really did take him out, despite having been shot herself. As far as today’s shooter, I don’t have all the facts. What I do know is the guy was nervous in a way I wouldn’t expect for a hitman.”

“Why?”

The Lexus purred with the slightest touch of a button, and Lee glided the car toward the highway. “He didn’t look like he knew how to use a gun. His hand shook, and he didn’t come close to hitting you before he took off running.”

“Probably because he saw he was outnumbered.”

“Maybe, but either way, the police are on it. We have our orders to continue the operation as planned.” Lee tilted his head side to side as he slowed to a stop at a light. “I think this would be a good time to ask if you have any enemies.”

She pulled her chin back until she hit the headrest. “Me?”

“Doing my due diligence before we walk into an operation. Your preliminary background check was clear.”

She felt her mouth gape open. “You already ran a check on me?”

“Of course. Any colleagues indicate they’re jealous of your work? Do you have any potential for blackmail?”

It’d probably seem childish if she rolled her eyes, but if there were a contest for most boring, goody-goody, she’d be a finalist. “No, nothing like that. My parents are both in academia. It seemed like a natural progression for me, as well. I’ve been focused on my future career since high school. I didn’t want anything to jeopardize it.” She stared out the window. “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”

“There’s nothing crazy about this. It’s brave and you’re serving your country.” He hesitated. “Maybe it goes without saying, but you can’t tell anyone about any of this.”

She figured as much. The silence would be worth it, though, if it gave her the chance to get to know her sister without looking over their shoulders for an assassin. She’d always had a sense that she didn’t really know who she was. Maybe the feeling was common for adopted children, but she’d never been able to shake it.

He nodded forward. “We’re about to make a quick stop at the bus station.”

She gripped her purse. After this, there’d be no changing her mind, no turning back. Her identity would be Mrs. Kimmet, lawyer and white-collar criminal. “Just so you know, I’m keeping my phone.”

He shook his head. “Not a good idea.”

She’d spent thirty minutes preparing her phone this morning, making the necessary changes so she could have access to the outside world, safely. “I’ve changed my name to Andrea Kimmet in the settings, and I’ve blocked all my personal contacts so no one will be able to reach me. In fact, I sent out a mass email this morning—”

“You did what?” His face flushed as he glanced between her and the road, his eyes wide.

Honestly, it was as if he hadn’t heard her when she explained she had a doctorate...and was about to work at Caltech. She may not be spy material, but she could be trusted not to do anything foolish. “There’s no need to get upset. The email explained that my conference at Stanford is turning out to be more of an intensive—in the academic world that means it’s going to be very vigorous—so they won’t be surprised if I don’t check my phone for a week. Plus, I’ve removed my email accounts from the phone. No way to blow our covers.”

He pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow. “So if you aren’t calling anyone, why do you want it with you?”

“The browser. I’m trying to make sure I know everything there is to know about money laundering. You’re not the only one worried I might blow my cover. If someone asks me something I don’t know, maybe I can excuse myself to the restroom and look it up quickly.” Besides, while Lee was getting ready for the day, she’d read a fascinating article that one in eighty births were twins, so separated-at-birth adoptions weren’t so uncommon. There were so many studies on twins she still wanted to read.

Besides, she needed to keep her mind occupied. Every time she let her thoughts drift, even for a split second, her brain replayed the sensation of the dead man’s blood drenching her shirt and the shock of seeing her mirror image shot.

Lee sighed deeply, shaking her out of her mental spiral. “It’s my job to keep you safe, and I can’t do that if you take your own phone. I do, however, have a few burner phones. As long as you don’t call anyone, you can use the browser within certain parameters.”

“Thank you. You should also know I’m not willing to give up my identification at the bus stop until I’m satisfied with the details of the plan.”

His eyes widened as he gave her a side glance. “You’ll be with me the whole time. Just follow my lead. What exactly do you need to know?”

“First of all, where are we going?”

“The Aislado Club.” The Spanish accent rolled off his tongue.

“Aislado means...isolated, doesn’t it?” Her forehead wrinkled.

“Or excluded.” He leaned back in his seat and placed one hand on the top of the steering wheel. “But yes, that’s a pretty literal translation of the name. Do you speak Spanish?”

“Un petit.” She nodded, sporting a smile that disappeared as he barked a laugh, an expression that made his eyes sparkle. She replayed her answer in her head. “Oh, that’s French, isn’t it? So, I guess no.” She shrugged. The romantic languages, much like a romantic life, didn’t come easily to her. “I tried to study both and understand a fair amount, but I always get them mixed up when I try to speak them. Where is The Aislado Club? Somewhere remote, I imagine.”