“The deputy director asked me to stay on as an analyst again.”
“Are you considering it?”
“No. Not even when the director resigns.” The director had been the one who’d recruited Patrick Hill—who, they’d learned in the last weeks, had been a CIA informant, which was how his dealings with foreign terrorists and arms dealers had been noted but not investigated over the years. To save face for harboring—and possibly even creating—the biggest US traitor in CIA history, the director had sought a public explanation that exonerated Hill while throwing Ian under a bus.
They’d also learned that when Hill’s previous handler retired, Zack—who remained at large—had been tapped as his replacement. Zack was far more astute than his predecessor and caught on to Hill’s activities. Instead of turning him in, however, Zack had demanded a cut. So Hill put Zack to work, ensuring the CIA case officer was in too deep to betray him.
Fortunately, the FBI was more interested in the truth than covering for the CIA director, and it was only a matter of time before the director would be forced to step down and Zack would be found and prosecuted.
Hill had survived the helicopter crash and was in custody awaiting trial. Todd had undergone multiple surgeries to repair the damage from the gunshot wound. He was expected to recover and would likely receive a reduced sentence in exchange for testifying against Hill.
“I’m going to tell Keith I’ll take the deputy director’s offer,” Ian continued, “unless Raptor offers me a signing bonus and lets me delay my start date until November.”
“Negotiating is a game to you, isn’t it?”
He pressed their clasped hands into the small of her back and swung her around to face him. His lips were an inch from hers as he murmured, “Yep.” Then he kissed her, holding nothing back even though they were in front of CIA headquarters in the middle of the day.
“Rent a room, Boyd,” a man said as he walked past.
Cressida and Ian broke apart in laughter. “Do you know him?” she asked.
Ian glanced at the man’s back as he strode toward the entrance. “Nope.” Then he kissed her nose and said, “And it’s not just because I like yanking Keith’s chain. With your job at NHHC delayed until late October, I was thinking we should enjoy the time off together. Maybe go visit your mother.”
“Or try to find yours?” she asked softly. It was a suggestion, not a push.
“Not yet, Cress. But someday, yeah.”
“Okay.” They resumed walking. “I got a call while you were inside. Erica is throwing a going away party for Undine, since she’s leaving for the underwater excavation in the Strait of Juan de Fuca next week.”
“A dinner party?”
“Yes. I said we’d be there. But if you aren’t comfortable, I can go alone. I know it’ll be weird, with Keith being your boss and all. And Erica will be mine when I start at NHHC.”
“No. It’s not that. It’s just…I’ve never been to a dinner party before. I mean, as Ian. John went to many, but he always had an agenda, information he wanted, or a person he wanted to recruit.”
“Well, if it’s more fun for you, we could pretend the party is a covert op…”
He laughed again, and again she felt a warm buzz. “No. I like having friends and don’t want to mess that up.”
They reached their car, and instead of unlocking the doors, Ian pressed her against the side of the vehicle and kissed her, slow, long, and deep, then he said against her lips, “But you know what I like even more than having friends?”
“What?” she whispered, staring into his intent warm gray eyes.
“That when I’m with you, I know I’ve found home.”
Thank you for reading COVERT EVIDENCE, I hope you enjoyed Ian and Cressida’s Middle Eastern journey. The Evidence series continues in COLD EVIDENCE. The only thing Navy underwater archaeologist Undine Gray fears more than facing former SEAL Luke Sevick is never scuba diving again. But when a dive on a Cold War-era US Navy submarine ends with an accidental explosion, she’s terrified of going into the deep, forcing her to beg the most experienced diver she knows to take her back to the bottom of the cold Salish Sea.
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If you like steamy military thrillers, check out my Flashpoint Series. In TINDERBOX, Dr. Morgan Adler has made the archaeological find of a lifetime, which puts her in the crosshairs of a warlord eager to claim Morgan and the fossils. Green Beret Pax Blanchard is assigned to protect the scientist in the scorching desert heat, but can he keep his hands off her when the sun goes down?
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Author’s Note
In the late nineties, my husband worked for the underwater archaeology branch of Naval History and Heritage Command (then called the Naval Historical Center) at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, DC. While he was there, he was asked by one of the historians to help move an old armored file cabinet, which had been classified as top secret sometime after World War II. The keys to the cabinet had long since been lost, and no one knew what was inside, nor did anyone really care beyond idle speculation, as the contents were likely to be so outdated as to be irrelevant to today’s US Navy. The cabinet was merely a nuisance as it got in the staff’s way and was moved from cubicle to cubicle over the years.
To the best of my knowledge, the file cabinet remains locked and forgotten at NHHC; this story is simply my speculation at what treasures could be inside.
Also, while it is true that T. E. Lawrence excavated at Carchemish on the Turkish/Syrian border in 1911 and again in 1914, and he also worked on an expedition on the Sinai Peninsula in 1914 as a cover for British Intelligence, to the best of my knowledge he never conducted archaeological survey or excavation along the border near the Turkish city of Cizre. His role in this story is completely fictional.
Thank you for reading, DANGEROUS TO LOVE! We hope you’ve found your next favorite Romantic Suspense author within this set. Feel free to tell us what you think by leaving a review.
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or use of this work in any part is forbidden without express written permission by the author.
Cold & Deadly © Toni Anderson
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Watch Me © Cindy Roussos
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Coming Home © Meli Raine
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Covert Evidence © Rachel Grant
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ENDGAME is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
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COMING HOME
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BLINDSIDED
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HARD TARGET
Copyright © 2019 by Pamela Clare
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