woods.
“You’re right.” She moved a step in his direction. The tension roiling through him was audible in his words as well as his ragged respiration. He’d long ago lost patience. Now panic had begun to set in. He wanted to be angry, Olivia sensed, but his concern for her kept his emotions bogged down in escalating anxiety. She was lucky he’d come this far with her.
“You’ve been extremely flexible about this whole thing, Jeffrey, and I appreciate it immensely. You’ve made what I have to do a lot easier so far. At this point, though, there are additional risks involved in what I’m about to do. It would probably be in your best interest to stay here, clear of any fallout.”
“Wait a minute…” He reached for her, his movement barely visible in the sparse moonlight filtering down through the dense canopy of trees. “What is it you’re going to do, Olivia? You’ve been far too vague about your plans. I don’t understand any of this. I’ve told you repeatedly that not going to the authorities is a mistake.” His fingers closed around her arms and he pulled her closer. “I can see that this situation has you terrified, but reacting rashly won’t solve the problem. There are laws to protect the innocent. Those same laws prosecute those who threaten us.” A breath of frustration and worry heaved out of him. “We’re out here in the dark, traipsing through the woods. What could you possibly hope to gain by doing this?”
She was reasonably certain he wouldn’t want to know the truth. But giving him some fraction of the truth might keep him following her orders. He’d left the hotel in Memphis without much of a fuss. Had remained amicable during the long drive that followed. She couldn’t call him unreasonable at this point. They’d left the SUV hidden in the bushes well off the road and started their trek through the woods about an hour ago, and even faced with that strange request he hadn’t complained much.
How could she expect any more of him?
She couldn’t.
“About fifteen minutes west of our current position there’s a farm,” she explained. “The owner of that farm is the man I need to see.” Director Hamilton had always spent his weekends at his farm a couple of hours outside Arlington. It was where he decompressed and contemplated the many decisions he had to make during the workweek at the Agency. He would be here tonight, there wasn’t a doubt in Olivia’s mind. But security would be there, as well. Bypassing them wouldn’t be a problem for her, but Jeffrey was a different matter.
She’d been waiting for the right moment to break the news to him. He would stay back and she would move on, do what she had to do, then return for him. It was the best course of action.
“You expect me to stay here while you go have your meeting? Alone? Olivia, have you lost your mind? Why didn’t we just drive to this farm? Surely there’s access from the main road. I’m not letting you do this alone.”
A new kind of determination had edged into his voice.
Maybe she had lost her mind. But she didn’t really have any better ideas at the moment. And she couldn’t let him get in the way…too much was at stake, including his life.
“I need the element of surprise on my side, Jeffrey. That’s all I can tell you. I’ll be fine. I’ve done this before.”
“When have you done this before?” Exasperation overtook some of the determination. “This is”
She fisted her fingers into his shirtfront. “Jeffrey, you have to trust me. I swear I know what I’m doing. If you don’t let me get this done…” She licked her lips, tried to think of some rational reason he might accept. “I’ll be in very serious trouble. Please trust me on this.”
Another lungful of frustration burst from him. “I swear this is my final compromise. I’ll wait here, but you’d better hurry back. If this situation isn’t resolved after this, we’re going to the authorities. No
“You’re right.” She moved a step in his direction. The tension roiling through him was audible in his words as well as his ragged respiration. He’d long ago lost patience. Now panic had begun to set in. He wanted to be angry, Olivia sensed, but his concern for her kept his emotions bogged down in escalating anxiety. She was lucky he’d come this far with her.
“You’ve been extremely flexible about this whole thing, Jeffrey, and I appreciate it immensely. You’ve made what I have to do a lot easier so far. At this point, though, there are additional risks involved in what I’m about to do. It would probably be in your best interest to stay here, clear of any fallout.”
“Wait a minute…” He reached for her, his movement barely visible in the sparse moonlight filtering down through the dense canopy of trees. “What is it you’re going to do, Olivia? You’ve been far too vague about your plans. I don’t understand any of this. I’ve told you repeatedly that not going to the authorities is a mistake.” His fingers closed around her arms and he pulled her closer. “I can see that this situation has you terrified, but reacting rashly won’t solve the problem. There are laws to protect the innocent. Those same laws prosecute those who threaten us.” A breath of frustration and worry heaved out of him. “We’re out here in the dark, traipsing through the woods. What could you possibly hope to gain by doing this?”
She was reasonably certain he wouldn’t want to know the truth. But giving him some fraction of the truth might keep him following her orders. He’d left the hotel in Memphis without much of a fuss. Had remained amicable during the long drive that followed. She couldn’t call him unreasonable at this point. They’d left the SUV hidden in the bushes well off the road and started their trek through the woods about an hour ago, and even faced with that strange request he hadn’t complained much.
How could she expect any more of him?
She couldn’t.
“About fifteen minutes west of our current position there’s a farm,” she explained. “The owner of that farm is the man I need to see.” Director Hamilton had always spent his weekends at his farm a couple of hours outside Arlington. It was where he decompressed and contemplated the many decisions he had to make during the workweek at the Agency. He would be here tonight, there wasn’t a doubt in Olivia’s mind. But security would be there, as well. Bypassing them wouldn’t be a problem for her, but Jeffrey was a different matter.
She’d been waiting for the right moment to break the news to him. He would stay back and she would move on, do what she had to do, then return for him. It was the best course of action.
“You expect me to stay here while you go have your meeting? Alone? Olivia, have you lost your mind? Why didn’t we just drive to this farm? Surely there’s access from the main road. I’m not letting you do this alone.”
A new kind of determination had edged into his voice.
Maybe she had lost her mind. But she didn’t really have any better ideas at the moment. And she couldn’t let him get in the way…too much was at stake, including his life.
“I need the element of surprise on my side, Jeffrey. That’s all I can tell you. I’ll be fine. I’ve done this before.”
“When have you done this before?” Exasperation overtook some of the determination. “This is”
She fisted her fingers into his shirtfront. “Jeffrey, you have to trust me. I swear I know what I’m doing. If you don’t let me get this done…” She licked her lips, tried to think of some rational reason he might accept. “I’ll be in very serious trouble. Please trust me on this.”
Another lungful of frustration burst from him. “I swear this is my final compromise. I’ll wait here, but you’d better hurry back. If this situation isn’t resolved after this, we’re going to the authorities. No
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