"Of course I do," she said. "She knows about us. She knows classified information. It's my job to make sure our existence stays classified. I'm not going to let a nobody mortician from Nowhere, Texas, fuck that up. Think like the agent you used to be instead of the lovesick puppy you've become."
"I can do both, thanks. I've got five years, eleven months, and twenty-two days left on my contract," he said. "Tess is mine, and I love her. She knows the risks. But I'll ask her to be my wife if she'll have me."
"Damn," Dante said. "We really thought you were just following orders. Who knew you'd really fallen for her."
"I'd be pretty piss poor at my job if I couldn't make you all think what I wanted you to think. But I'll not lie to Tess. Not about anything."
Eve smiled again. He'd never seen her lose her temper. She was always cool under pressure. And when she didn't get her way, she thought of different ways to get what she wanted. She wasn't a woman who liked to hear the word "no."
"Five years, eleven months, and twenty-two days is a long time," she said. "A lot can happen. A lot can change."
"That's true for any life," he said. "There are some people who know how to fight. How to stick when things are hard. And how to use the bad things in life to grow and become better." He thought of Tess and all she'd been through in her life. "Tess is that kind of person. If she'll have me, she'll be here for the long haul. I will always be better with her than I am without."
Eve uncrossed her legs and got to her feet. "It's your life," she said. "You know the rules. If you don't mind putting her life on the line, then by all means, marry her. You'll have to convince her to stay, of course. I think she's seriously considering the job offer I made to send her to D.C."
"Believe me," he said. "Tess is smart enough to see through you." At least he prayed to God she was. Eve was a masterful liar and manipulator.
"We'll see," she said. "Now, enough of this. I listened in on surveillance, but give me a full status update."
"According to Levkin," Axel said, "the Detroit Lions truck departed two days ago as an insurance policy, and it's headed to Philadelphia. That's where they're playing the opening game of the season. We've got him waiting for you in one of the holding rooms. We thought you might want to question him yourself."
"I do, thank you," she said.
"It's too late to stop the truck now," Elias said. "It's already confirmed as arriving at Lincoln Financial Field. Men dressed as advanced game day staff were there to greet the truck and unload it. They have credentials that are only issued every week by the league. Egorov and his men have everything they need to make their mission a success."
"When will you head to Philadelphia?"
"We leave in twelve hours," Deacon said.
"I'll have what you need from Levkin by the time you arrive," she said, walking toward the door that led to the containment rooms.
Deacon turned and headed toward his rooms, trying to keep out the emotion that wanted to spill to the surface. He'd spent thirty-six years of his life able to control his emotions. He couldn't let that change now. Not when so much was at stake.
"Don't let her fuck with your head," Elias said, coming up behind him. "You do what you have to do. We don't get chances like the one you've been given with Tess every day." Elias slapped him on the back and then said, "I'm heading home for a few hours' sleep."
Deacon nodded and hurried the rest of the way to his rooms before anyone else could give him advice. He only knew one thing. Tess had left. He needed to find her. He needed to know she was safe and whether or not she still loved him. She'd told him she did just hours before. He had to believe she hadn't changed her mind.
TESS HADN'T BEEN good company.
Miller had known immediately something was wrong when she'd shown up pale-faced and white-knuckled, bearing the bag of chocolate cookies and coffee. But she hadn't pressured her for answers after Tess had told her everything was fine.
They'd watched movies until the sky turned dark gray with the first inkling of daylight, Tess all the while checking her watch over and over again, wondering when Deacon would be back home. If he'd make it back home.
Then she'd given Miller a hug and driven the three blocks back to the funeral home. It had been tempting to climb the stairs to the third floor and sleep in her own room, no matter the mess that was inside. But she wasn't a coward. And she knew the longer she waited and wondered, the worse it would be.