Page 29 of Vortex (FBI Thriller 25)

“Yeah, good times. I remember we were sitting behind this mud wall when you told me about the lawyer you nearly married until you realized he bored you brainless, and it was after that you joined the CIA.”

Andi laughed. “Let’s say I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, so I let him cancel the wedding.”

“How did you manage that?”

Andi laughed again. “I went joyriding on his teenage brother’s motorcycle, nearly killed myself, and came out laughing, and he was well and truly shocked, called me crazy. My mom told me he married a paralegal. He has two kids and lives in the New Jersey burbs.”

Olivia chuckled. It felt good, but it lasted only until Andi threw a bucket of cold water. “Listen, Olivia, we have to consider someone at Langley could have been involved in the attempt on your life, maybe Mr. Grace, maybe Mr. Lodner, maybe someone we don’t even know. And we have to face up to it, Mike could be dead. The possibilities are so endless, I’m nearly ready to believe Putin’s turned Christian.”

Olivia said without hesitation, “No. I’d know if Mike were dead.” She believed her words, but Olivia wished she could take them back. It was too raw, too personal.

Andi said matter-of-factly, “I know you and Mike have been involved the past several years. When the RPG hit close to you, you were slammed back against a boulder, unconscious, maybe dead, and Mike went nuts, cursed a blue streak. He was a wild man, throwing rocks off you, pulling you over his shoulder and running back toward the plateau. It was insane, the gunfire, the RPGs landing around us. He yelled to us to carry out Hashem. And we did.” She paused a moment. “I think that was the closest either of us has come to getting blown up. We were lucky, Olivia. We could all have been killed. Yeah, I’d say Mike really cares about you, as much as you care about him.”

Mike already knows I’m crazy.The thought brought a fleeting smile, and then Olivia thought of what Mike had done and swallowed hard. “Thanks for telling me that, Andi. I still think we can find him, and so does Agent Savich. Check with me every day, and whenever you like, I’ll clear your joining us here at the safe house. Please come if you don’t feel safe where you are.”

“Sure I will, but as I said, I’m well hidden. And unless Mr. Grace orders me to come in, I’d rather be out here than in a safe house. I have some sources and plan to use them. Hey, don’t worry, I’m CIA, I know how to take care of myself.”

Olivia tapped end on her cell, saw it was nearly eleven o’clock. Too late to call Dillon Savich. She snuggled against Helmut, pressing her face against his soft fur.