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He glared at their a behind the wheel In the back seat, Rachel sat with her hands clasped on her lap and her feet crossed at the ankles as she gazed out of theIt wouldn’t have surprised him in the least if she’d affected a royal wave for the TayFor staff

“Couplelot “Stop being a bitch to the people who care about you and apologize to Ryan”

“Of course,” she said politely “I’ll have my new PA schedule it for me I do believe I have an hour free around about the twelfth of never Noould you be a dear and return my phone? I really must text everyone I’ve ever dealt with and tell them to keep theirex-spy co questions about whom I help, and why I do it”

All Harvard could do was toss the phone back to her If there were two things he’d learned in the CIA, they were to pick your battles and to exercise patience The exact sa with Rachel

The drive into London froer than expected, thanks to the rush hour traffic, and Rachel spent the ti away on her phone Harvard dreaded to think what she was doing If Rachel wanted to, she could start World War Three armed purely with an iPhone

“I need your keycard,” he said, rolling down hisas they approached the garage under her apart

Grudgingly, she handed it over and let out a little strangled sound filled with irritation when he pocketed it instead of handing it back Ten minutes later—after Rachel had reluctantly added him to her list of approved visitors at the reception desk in the foyer—they were in her apartment And it was just as spectacular as he’d envisioned

Set in a part of Knightsbridge that overlooked Hyde Park, it allowed her to call Kensington Palace her neighbors Rachel owned one of two split-level penthouses with uninterrupted views of the city, the park, and royalty

The vast open-plan living area, with its polished dark wooden floors and thick white rugs, paled in co s And, even better, good sound insulation meant they couldn’t hear the endless London traffic far beneath theht in the center of one of the world’s busiest cities

She’d furnished the large living space with overstuffed sofas in shades of white and cream But the different textures that made up the upholstery meant they didn’t seem spartan The cream walls were decked with conteht abstract paintings

By the as a baby grand piano and an oversized armchair A handknitted blanket in cream, of course, was thrown over it A book lay on the seat Rachel’s reading nook, maybe Apart from that, no personal mementos or photos cluttered up the place Rachel obviously liked clean lines and plenty of space

“Have you finished psychoanalyzing me based on my home?” she asked as she strode into the room

“Not quite Got to see the rest of the place first before I co on the thick rug by the sofa and turned He stopped dead “A red kitchen?” Not just red The cabinets were a lacquered red: the shade of blood “Inviting,” heif she cooked in it or just dissected things

“You don’t need to stay here if you don’t like it” Rachel strolled past him and into the kitchen froainst the far wall and took out a bottle of red, then grabbed two glasses from the cabinet behind her

“Red wine?” He looked around “In this aparterously, don’t you?”