Page 9 of Spymaster

He was also a bit too handsome. He had strong, masculine features, but she couldn’t get over the intensity of his deep blue eyes.

It was shallow of her, she knew, but this wasn’t the kind of man who toiled away at a place like SACT. She’d be willing to bet her career on it.

Also bothering her was that in the short time since they had met, not only had he smuggled a weapon into a foreign country, violated the chain of command, killed one of the operation’s targets, and stolen evidence, but he was holding out on her. There was something he wasn’t telling her. She was certain of it.

Her face must have given away her thoughts because Harvath looked at her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “You’re not here because I was right in connecting the previous attacks to a larger picture.”

“I’m not?”

“No. You’re here because the United States now has skin in this game. Those other attacks weren’t personal. But once this terror group decided to blow up caves full of American military equipment, suddenly it’sgame onand here you are.”

He liked her instincts. They were on the money. But there was still a lot she didn’t know. “Trust me,” he offered. “You and I are both on the same side.”

“Really? And what side is that?”

“We both want this group stopped.”

Pointing at the stack of cell phones, she stated, “I think you and I have very different ideas about how best to do that.”

“Right now? Maybe. But let me ask you something. Do you want to win?”

“What?”

“You heard me,” he said. “Do you want to win? It’s a simple question.”

What was with this guy?“Of course I do,” she replied. “I didn’t come here to lose.”

“Good. If we’re going to win, though, we have to get creative together.”

“We?I don’t even know who you work for, or why I got stuck with you.”

“I’m the guy who’s going to help you win.”

She looked at him. “Help me how? By stealing evidence? Killing suspects?”

“Monika, the enemy we’re facing doesn’t follow a rulebook. If we want to win, we have to do the same.”

“Something tells me the Norwegians might not see it your way.”

Harvath glanced at Pedersen. “Am I going to have any problems with Norway?”

Pedersen extended his hand and made the sign of the cross. “You’re absolved.”

Jasinski stared at both of them. “Somebody needs to explain to me what the hell is going on.”

“What’s going on is us getting one step ahead.”

“One step ahead of who? Everyone from that cabin is dead.”

Harvath set his glass down. “I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the people behind them. The people who ultimately planned and coordinated the attacks that killed a NATO diplomat in Portugal, another in Spain, and a third in Greece.”

“Are you talking about some sort of leadership structure?”

Slowly, he nodded.

“Do you know who they are?” she asked. “Or even where they are?”