“I know you have to take this job,” she said. “Lonnie will eventually come after you, and the sooner he’s back behind bars or dead, the better. But be more careful this time. Maddy and I can’t afford to lose you.”

“I can take care of myself,” he replied.

“Tell that to the two bullets they cut out of you.”

“They weren’t the first.”

Tears fell down Angie’s cheeks.

Jake wiped the tears away. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. We’ll find Lonnie and either kill him or put him in prison again, and this time he won’t get out. I’ll be safe. You and Maddy will be safe. I promise.”

“Okay,” Angie said, forcing a smile. “But I’m still worried. Not just about Lonnie but about Christine.”

“You have nothing to worry about. During my last stint at Langley, I barely saw her. She was at three meetings the entire time I was there, and we barely spoke. It’s not like I’ll be working in the field with her.”

“It could be different this time,” Angie replied, “and working closely with her could rekindle your feelings toward her.”

“You know I love you more than — ” Harrison halted, regretting his poorly chosen words. When they had discussed Christine before, he had insisted he no longer had feelings for her.

Angie felt the heat rise in her neck and face. “You said there was nothing left between you. But you still love her, don’t you?”

Harrison tried to salvage what he could. “Chris is nothing more than a friend now. The only woman I love and care about is you.”

She poked her finger into his chest. “I know that deep in your heart, there will always be a special place for that woman.”

Harrison pulled Angie close and kissed her, then held her for a while, caressing her back.

Then he slid his hands down and grabbed her butt. “And I know that deep inside you, there will always be a special place for me.”

Angie rolled her eyes. “You have a one-track mind. And don’t change the subject!”

“Interested?” Harrison asked.

She eyed his wet shirt and the specks of dirt clinging to his skin. “You’re filthy.”

“I’m jumping into the shower. Care to join me?”

“Maybe,” Angie said, reaching behind and pulling Harrison’s hands from her butt. “But you’ll have to catch me first.”

She bolted from the foyer. Harrison started after her, catching her as she reached the stairs. He snagged a foot, tripping her onto the steps. She turned onto her back, screaming in mock fear as Harrison dragged her toward him.

15

LANGLEY, VIRGINIA

Dark clouds rolling in from the west were accompanied by a brisk morning wind as Jake Harrison’s car stopped at the main entrance to the George Bush Center for Intelligence. One of the armed security guards verified he was on the day’s visitor list, then waved his car through. After pulling into the parking garage, Harrison entered the lobby of the CIA headquarters and took the elevator to the seventh floor. After informing the director’s secretary he had arrived, he was asked to wait in a conference room down the hall.

Three others soon arrived: CIA Director Christine O’Connor, Deputy Director Monroe Bryant, and Deputy Director for Operations PJ Rolow.

“Welcome back, Jake,” Christine said as she took her seat at the head of the table.

Bryant and Rolow likewise welcomed him back to the agency. The conference room door opened again, and two women entered. The first was Deputy Director for Analysis Tracey McFarland, carrying two manila folders. The second was an attractive six-foot-tall Middle Eastern woman with straight black hair falling across her shoulders, wearing a formfitting shirt and short skirt emphasizing her long, lean legs. Harrison’s eyes narrowed when he spotted his former partner.

Khalila had been one of two agents assigned to assist him during his first stint in the CIA, with Khalila accompanying him whenever leads to the whereabouts of Lonnie Mixell took him to the Middle East. According to Rolow, Khalila’s contacts in the region and linguistic skills were the best the agency had to offer.

McFarland greeted Harrison after taking her seat, but Khalila said nothing after settling into her chair. She folded her arms across her chest, projecting a why-am-I-here attitude, much like she’d done the first time they met. Harrison also wondered why she was here, considering he had decided he would never work with her again if he had anything to say about it. Then he remembered he hadn’t voiced his concerns to anyone, instead making a pact with Khalila after she had almost put a bullet into him.

Months ago in Sochi, it had taken Harrison a moment to realize that Khalila had her pistol aimed at him and not the perpetrator they had run down. He recalled the indecision in her eyes as she debated whether to kill him — her own partner! It was then that he realized there was something critical about Khalila that she and Rolow were hiding, something they didn’t want discovered. He had learned too much during their trip to Syria, where it had become apparent that she had a special status in the Arab world.