Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
And that, I agreed with.
“But please, do call.”
“You’re going to be the first one I make,” I promised him and hung up.
Alone with my thoughts again, my mind drifted back to the conversation I’d had with Aaron Sutter that had led to the last forty-eight hours without sleep.
THREE
A FEW DAYS EARLIER, PARIS
Unlike Torus Intercession’s warm offices in Oak Park, Chicago, the work space for the Paris branch was quite different, purposely so, taking up the entire top floor of a 404-foot, twenty-six-story skyscraper. I loved the twenty-eight-foot ceilings and the raw concrete and glass and steel that to others appeared Spartan. I liked the feel of the place. It felt serious, and that was what needed to be projected. The building was in the La Défense area outside Paris, which I’d picked so that my business would blend in. Just another company among thousands.
I was on the phone with my friend Mikhail Aronov, who was thanking me for helping with his asset exchange earlier in the week. His cover as a Russian attaché had been in jeopardy, and I’d made certain it wouldn’t be blown. And yes, it was ridiculous. Everybody who mattered knew he was in intelligence, but keeping up the charade was important to his bosses back in Russia. If the pretense was working and it looked good on paper, that was the story they were peddling. I was glad I’d been able to give him an assist, as I could always count on him to come through for me. Back in the day, he’d gotten a number of my people out of life-and-death situations and had put himself in the line of fire. I would always be there for him if at all possible. And this time, we hadn’t even been forced to lie. He’d gotten the green light from the CIA to ask for my help, and since the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation knew me, they’d given the go-ahead as well.
“Thank you again, my friend. And Talia thanks you as well and wants to cook for you the next time you are in DC.”
“I’ll take her up on that,” I promised. “Give my best to your family, including your mother-in-law.”
His noise of disgust made me smile. “Fine,” he said like he was pained. “Take care, my friend, da skorava.”
Once I hung up, I was sitting there, staring out the double stack of windows that framed a fantastic view of the skyline when Hasana Shepherd, one of my two assistants, buzzed me.
I got up and walked to my office door, opened it, and looked out at her. “Yes?”
Her sigh was long. “Why didn’t you answer me on the intercom?”
I grinned at her. “Because I wanted to see your beautiful face.”
She absently rubbed her extended belly, seven months pregnant with her second child. “No. No you did not. You got up because you don’t know how to use the new phone system.”
“Lies,” I assured her. “My watch told me I needed to stand up, so I’m standing up.”
Her expression made it clear she wasn’t fooled for an instant. “This is because Owen’s not here to make you a cheat sheet.”
“I—what?”
“You don’t like to learn new technology because, and I quote, ‘it’s just gonna change in six months, so why should I get used to it,’” she finished, doing a horrible impression of my voice.
“That doesn’t even sound like me,” I informed her.
“Uh-huh. My impersonation skills should not be your takeaway.”
I scowled at her.
“You don’t like to learn new technology.”
“That’s a gross oversimplification of the facts.”
“God, I miss Owen,” she whined.
I did too, and his radio silence was eating away at me, a constant worry at the back of my brain. It wasn’t doing anything for my heart either. I missed his smile, his laugh, the way his brows scrunched up when he was looking at me like I was driving him nuts, and really, simply the sound of his voice. I was so much better, nicer, calmer when he was around.
“What do you want?” I snapped at her.
“Aaron Sutter’s on the line. So I’m going to do you a favor and forward it to your cell so I don’t have you fumbling around with the phone on your desk while he tries to talk to you!”
“I could fire you,” I said flatly.
“And how would you train someone new to use the phone system?”
When she finished, her voice rising, she accentuated each word with a tip of her head that, because it was shaved, somehow made her irritation more noticeable. The fact that she was right about the phones didn’t help anything.
“Fine,” I grumbled, turning and walking back into my office, grabbing my cell off my desk when it rang. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” I tried not to growl.
“Can we meet?” Sutter asked quickly, not exchanging pleasantries.