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"And you’ve been sober every day since"
He nodded, his fingers closing around hers He turned to face her full-on for the first ti about his sister His brown eyes darkened with intensity "But I can’t do it, Stella I can’t have children I won’t" His voice rang with conviction "I knoould never be abusive, but dalect can do? I can’t risk a fa she could She wrapped her ar his hair until he stopped shaking She loved hi in that ood-bye was only a fore Didn’t want a fas that meant so much to her
She understood now When he left Africa, he would be leaving her for good…
Stella traced circles on the pane overlooking the Mogadishu International Airport, the past and present wrapping around her as tightly as the wrap Jose had bought her a o in Kenya, the weekend they’d broken up
After he told her about his nephew’s tragic accident, they’d gone through the ether They’d even made love They’d alu silly and inconsequential She couldn’t even remember exactly what now, other than it had to do with directions and getting lost for fiveout hurtful words as if that would soain, right back in the sa even fewer answers than before
Her cell phone vibrated on the bedside table
She reached behind her quickly, not wanting the sound to wake Jose Only nuent Ss tangling in the trailing fabric as she made her way to the bathroom
"Yes?"
"We need you to report back, now," Mr Sht through her This man never lost his cool Never "Sutton Harper co cell…"
"What? Repeat that, please?" Shock iced through her--and surprise She’d been trained to look for signs and Sutton had seey from a jail cell for years to coh He bled out before anyone noticed"
An injury like that would kill in about five rappled with the need to make sense…
"Carson, we’ll deal with the ramification of that later There’s more Top priority and the primary reason for my call? The list is on the move We have less than twelve hours to stop the transfer and find those responsible so this kind of leak doesn’t happen again I repeat…"
"Got it I’ to assu into place
They had a lead--and twelve hours to stop the exposure of Aents across Africa and the Middle East Twelve hours to catch those responsible in the act so every agent wasn’t coence network decades in the --a network that had soht aside as she slid back into the hotel roo to decide whether to wake Jose or leave hie of the bed, his phone at his ear and frootten the sarave; vu swelled over Annie in waves, as potently and vaguely nauseating as the scent of jet fuel in the back of the cargo craft She’d ridden in countlessher days as a field operative, slipping in and out of countries Once she’d gone undercover, people hadn’t suspected theaid worker
At least not at first
Even now that her new identity had been ripped froht of herself as Annie, felt like Annie For fourteen years, she’d lived as Annie Johnson, a ed teacher who poured her energies into her work and her orphaned students Severing all ties to Melanie Carson had been the only way for her to survive The only way to keep her sanity after her world exploded Now, somehow, her real identity had been exposed Her life could be in danger Her family’s lives could be in jeopardy because of her, even after all she’d sacrificed to keep thehtmare had come true
And the only person she could count on was thenext to her, a man who’d apparently lied to her every day for the past year
Sah her lashes, she checked on hiht of that horribleon her the whole time The way she’d done in her former life as an operative She’d understood the truth of his ht have in her shoes since she’d lived it often enough That hadn’t made it hurt any less But Saence authorities had contacted her and verified his story
This CV-22 aircraft packed with US troops erased any lingering doubts Red lights tracked overhead with a hazy glow over people and gear The nighth everyone around her seemed at ease when her world had been turned upside down Soldiers slept and listened to music and zoned out with eReaders Apparently they were on their way to an American base in Somalia where she would be protected until they decided where to relocate her Starting all over again at fifty-eight? Saying good-bye to another , filling the cavernous hold until noises from others faded away
Hea bolder persona than before, his shoulders broader, his strong chin tipped up rather than tucked down "I understand that you are angry with ht and her voice steady
"I lied to you for a year"
Daht he had But at least he’d been on the side of a friendly governns that he orking undercover? The children could have been in danger and she was losing her touch
Yet, she wasn’t going to give hi her wince "You had a job to do Believein the line of duty"
Although she’d sure as hell never kissed anyone while undercover Did he think he was soyptian Jah I aent of your level--or rather, your previous level" He sounded so believable, so earnest "I a for o where I’h different intelligence agencies to protect assets Very simple"