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“Stern.Timothy Stern.”
“My plane’s on its way to Oregon.I’ll be in California by nightfall, but I need that data.”
“You want help from the task force too?”
“No, I want you to keep those guys out of our way for now.Let them carry on with whatever it is they’re doing.Better to have them bumbling around in daylight while we work in the shadows.”
“You don’t have a high opinion of them.”
“Dude, they work for the government.”
“Iwork for the government.”
“Well, we can’t all be perfect.Slug’s team can take over later.”
To clean up the mess, because I had no doubt this was gonna get untidy.Russian diplomats, a weapon that cooked people, fools like Moscow and his incompetent sidekick as muscle… If only Bradley hadn’t gone to that bloody craft store.
James merely sighed for the millionth time.“Stay safe, Linny.”
“Can’t make any promises.”
I hung up before he could protest or pull me off the job or roll me in bubble wrap.James got weirdly overprotective sometimes, despite knowing full well that I could look after myself.
So, California… Who did I have?Who did I want?Who did I need?Black was there already, thank fuck, and he’d stick around for a few extra days.Alex might come in useful, and when Bradley heard we were going to Malibu, he’d be first on the jet.If Hallie wanted to join us, it would be good experience for her, and I could pair her up with a more seasoned investigator from the LA office.Ana would help out, but the one person I really wanted was Darya.She was sneaky, tough, and well-trained, plus her memory for faces was uncanny.The problem?She didn’t much like me.
But she did seem to have a weird affection for Alex.
Alexei.
Alexei and Darya… What were the chances?
He hadn’t dated seriously since his divorce, nobody that lasted longer than a couple of months anyway.And who could blame him?His ex-wife was such a pain in the arse that I figured she’d put him off relationships for life.But Darya wasn’t a needy little airhead like Colette.No, she was smart and independent and dammit, she lived in fuckingOregon.I didn’t want to lose Alex from my team.
But what if I could gain Nine?
I tapped out a message.
Me: Next stop: Huntington Beach.What would it take for Darya to join us?
Then I headed for the Peninsula to wait for Ana.