one who first approached her. We were in a bar. In Marseilles. She was drinking with a couple of friends. And Shrum bought them a round. We all got drunk and traded war stories…”
“And the rest is history.”
“No. It wasn’t that easy, believe me. But perseverance won the day. I wore her down and, in the end, I prevailed. Truth was, I don’t think I ever really realized how lucky I was. Or how easily it could all be ripped away. If I had, I would have handled things differently.”
“I think most people would say the same. We’re just not programmed to be introspective like that. Life is best lived in the moment. And besides, it’s hard to believe that tomorrow is anything but inevitable. Especially when we’re young.”
“Well, considering you’re not exactly over the hill yet, I’m going to take that as incredibly insightful.”
“I’m not as young as I look,” she smiled, but there was a hint of sadness. “Or maybe it’s just that I feel a lot older than I am.”
“This job will do that to you.” Avery nodded, surprised at the camaraderie he felt in the moment.
“So what happened, to Evangeline, I mean?” she asked, her eyes telegraphing apology. “I’m assuming you never saw a body or there wouldn’t be any question that the photograph was faked.”
“You’re right. There was nothing left to see.” His finger moved automatically to the smooth gold of Evangeline’s ring. “She was killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq. The vehicle, and everyone inside it, was destroyed.”
“But you’re sure she was there?”
“Yeah.” Pain stabbed through him, the memory bitter. “There were witnesses. People who knew she was in the Humvee. But it was chaotic. An ambush. So anything was possible.”
“But they found her ring.” Her eyes moved again to the gold band, her voice hesitant, as if she knew that he was trying to tiptoe through the memory.
“In the rubble. Yes.” He lifted his gaze, pulling free from the past. “When I got it, I still didn’t accept it as truth. But after digging around, interviewing folks on the ground, I finally had to accept that Evangeline was gone.”
“So if you were working with Shrum, you were already CIA?”
“Yeah, but still wet behind the ears.”
“And Evangeline? You said you first met in a bar?”
He nodded, smiling despite the pain of the memory, seeing her dark eyes and curling hair. “She was a reporter. And the meeting was totally by accident, but it turned out she was working on an investigation that crossed with an op we were running. So we agreed to pool our resources.”
“Shrum too?”
Avery’s mood darkened as he thought about the man he’d once considered his friend. “We were like the Three Musketeers in those days. Until Evangeline and I became an item.”
“I take it Shrum didn’t approve?”
“More like he wished it were him instead of me. Evangeline drew men like flies to honey. And Martin was no exception. Hell, I wasn’t any different. I just happened to take home the prize.”
“And that didn’t sit well with Shrum?”
“He dealt with it. But things were never the same between us after that.”
“So how did Evangeline end up in Iraq? I know you were stationed in Eastern Europe.”
“She pulled some strings to get embedded with the troops. It was before the days when that kind of thing was routine. I didn’t even know she’d gone until they notified me about her death.”
“So you were married, but you weren’t living together?” Sydney was frowning now, clearly trying to put the pieces together.
“No, we shared an apartment. When we could. But we both had active careers, to say the least, and we were often pulled in opposite directions. It was just part of who we were.” He sighed. “Evangeline was really good at what she did. She was a reporter in her soul. Born to be in the middle of the action, telling people the cold, hard truth. I admired that about her. But it made her
“And the rest is history.”
“No. It wasn’t that easy, believe me. But perseverance won the day. I wore her down and, in the end, I prevailed. Truth was, I don’t think I ever really realized how lucky I was. Or how easily it could all be ripped away. If I had, I would have handled things differently.”
“I think most people would say the same. We’re just not programmed to be introspective like that. Life is best lived in the moment. And besides, it’s hard to believe that tomorrow is anything but inevitable. Especially when we’re young.”
“Well, considering you’re not exactly over the hill yet, I’m going to take that as incredibly insightful.”
“I’m not as young as I look,” she smiled, but there was a hint of sadness. “Or maybe it’s just that I feel a lot older than I am.”
“This job will do that to you.” Avery nodded, surprised at the camaraderie he felt in the moment.
“So what happened, to Evangeline, I mean?” she asked, her eyes telegraphing apology. “I’m assuming you never saw a body or there wouldn’t be any question that the photograph was faked.”
“You’re right. There was nothing left to see.” His finger moved automatically to the smooth gold of Evangeline’s ring. “She was killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq. The vehicle, and everyone inside it, was destroyed.”
“But you’re sure she was there?”
“Yeah.” Pain stabbed through him, the memory bitter. “There were witnesses. People who knew she was in the Humvee. But it was chaotic. An ambush. So anything was possible.”
“But they found her ring.” Her eyes moved again to the gold band, her voice hesitant, as if she knew that he was trying to tiptoe through the memory.
“In the rubble. Yes.” He lifted his gaze, pulling free from the past. “When I got it, I still didn’t accept it as truth. But after digging around, interviewing folks on the ground, I finally had to accept that Evangeline was gone.”
“So if you were working with Shrum, you were already CIA?”
“Yeah, but still wet behind the ears.”
“And Evangeline? You said you first met in a bar?”
He nodded, smiling despite the pain of the memory, seeing her dark eyes and curling hair. “She was a reporter. And the meeting was totally by accident, but it turned out she was working on an investigation that crossed with an op we were running. So we agreed to pool our resources.”
“Shrum too?”
Avery’s mood darkened as he thought about the man he’d once considered his friend. “We were like the Three Musketeers in those days. Until Evangeline and I became an item.”
“I take it Shrum didn’t approve?”
“More like he wished it were him instead of me. Evangeline drew men like flies to honey. And Martin was no exception. Hell, I wasn’t any different. I just happened to take home the prize.”
“And that didn’t sit well with Shrum?”
“He dealt with it. But things were never the same between us after that.”
“So how did Evangeline end up in Iraq? I know you were stationed in Eastern Europe.”
“She pulled some strings to get embedded with the troops. It was before the days when that kind of thing was routine. I didn’t even know she’d gone until they notified me about her death.”
“So you were married, but you weren’t living together?” Sydney was frowning now, clearly trying to put the pieces together.
“No, we shared an apartment. When we could. But we both had active careers, to say the least, and we were often pulled in opposite directions. It was just part of who we were.” He sighed. “Evangeline was really good at what she did. She was a reporter in her soul. Born to be in the middle of the action, telling people the cold, hard truth. I admired that about her. But it made her
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