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She and Salim had probably exchanged a dozen emails before they had sex.
This thing with Chris had taken a different path. These were their first messages to each other. She wanted desperately to see him. Touch him. Explain to him why she…didn’t want to see him.
Not until this was fixed.
He’d risked his life to save her in Jordan. Now he’d barely dodged being blown up and hadn’t dodged being drugged. Not to mention that if she were extradited, he would fall under suspicion with the FBI and military.
She would remain in this hotel room alone and wouldn’t offer explanation. He’d hit the roof at the idea she was protecting him.
He’d talk her out of it.
She couldn’t allow that.
No. She had to focus on the real problem of how to draw out Rafiq now that Freya had confirmed he was in the US. And drawing out Rafiq was something Chris would definitely try to talk her out of.
Rafiq was here. For her.
And she figured she knew why.
As long as Chris stayed far away, he wouldn’t get caught in the cross fire again.
She picked up the replica of a glass ingot she’d purchased at Historie right before the store closed. She’d entered the store on impulse, wearing Chris’s knit cap and her wool scarf over half her face. She’d wanted to see the shelves and the display cases that held the higher-end goodies. She’d been startled to see they had glass ingots.
It was cheap glass, not a true replica in that it wasn’t modeled on any actual artifact. A pretty if somewhat odd paperweight. Smaller than the one she’d broken in Jordan and a lighter shade of blue.
Forty bucks later, she had a glass ingot similar to the one that saved her life, but took another’s.
She wasn’t sure if she’d bought a talisman or curse, but it would forever be the last item she’d ever purchase from Historie.
The Gardners were rich enough to get away with everything.
Pay import fees and fines.
Return the artifacts.
It didn’t even have the sting of a slap on the wrist.
The State Department might have backed off for now, but unless she exposed what the Gardners were doing, it wouldn’t take long for them to close the investigation again and extradite her to face trial for a crime she definitely and absolutely had committed.
Extradition didn’t scare her so much as the knowledge that she wouldn’t remain in Jordanian custody for long. No way would Rafiq not come after her on his home turf. She’d end up back in the desert with a trowel. Only this time, there would be no subdermal tracker to signal for rescue.
No Chris to swoop in and save her.
No. She needed to deal with this here, on American soil.
Even if it meant walking directly into the spring-loaded bear trap.
Chris and Rand faced Petty Officer Third Class Bryce Albrecht across the interrogation room table. The traitorous pup had regained his confidence in the hour he’d waited to be questioned, but that wouldn’t last.
He could scream about being illegally detained all he wanted, but his phone had offered up a wealth of info that meant the young SEAL was looking at so much worse than dishonorable discharge.
Freya and Ian watched from the other side of the glass. Everyone agreed the two SEALs from Albrecht’s team would be the most intimidating, given that he’d broken a sacred oath. Both Chris and Rand had earpieces so Freya and Ian could offer guidance when needed.
This worked well for Chris. He wasn’t the expert in this sort of thing, and the two people on the other side of the glass had devoted their adult lives to espionage and foreign intelligence.
Rand started the questioning. “So how long have you been in bed with Rafiq?”
Albrecht made a show of looking at his wrist that was sans wristwatch. All electronics had been removed from his body. They’d done everything but a cavity search.
