Page 154 of The Lazarus Protocol

He stopped beside the car and turned to her. A French police car whizzed by on the main street, siren and lights going. Steph could hear birds, and a couple talking as they headed for the hospital.

“Are you taking the job?” he asked.

“You mean, going back to my old life?”

Adam hesitated. “It would be different. This time they can do right by you, and the team will always come to back you up if you need it.”

Steph leaned her hips back against the side of his car. Adam took a step closer to her, closing the gap between them. She said, “I told them I was busy.”

His eyes flared. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, Winston is going to teach me how to make crème brûlée.”

Adam grinned, sliding his hands around her waist. She slid hers up to lace her fingers behind his neck. He lowered his lips to hers. “I love crème brûlée.”

Steph laughed, and he caught her lips with his.

Turning her world upside down again.

FIFTY-THREE

Undisclosed Location, West Virginia

Two days later

Noah pulled up to the guard shack, but it wasn’t his buddy on duty this time. It was a dour-looking guy with gray hair and zero sense of humor. Kind of like my passenger. Ice had been different since the team got back from the Philippines and hadn’t done much but give the highlights of how he’d infiltrated a CIA safehouse to gain access to their server and find the team.

“Building three.” The guard handed their IDs back.

Ice had his head bent to his phone.

“You’ll lose signal in a second,” Noah said. “I was talking to Caleb last time when I got here, and the call dropped at that bend.”

Ice locked his phone and turned it over on his knee.

“You good?”

“Sure. Secret government facilities don’t make me nervous at all.”

Noah said, “No one is going to throw you in a cell. This is a meeting. You can tell, ’cause we’re in button-down shirts and ties.”

Ice didn’t laugh.

“They’ll offer us bad coffee, and we’ll pretend it’s good. We’ll make small talk we don’t care about and eventually get to the point. You’ll be back at the airport before lunch.”

“Great.” Ice shifted in the seat.

“You really have nothing to be nervous about.”

“Sure.” Ice retrieved a lockbox from the back seat, then put his phone and a tablet from his backpack inside. “Just protecting my assets.”

Noah pulled up outside building 3 and found Dr. Emanuela Peraya waiting for them. She wore low heels, a navy-blue dress, and a matching blazer. When she spotted them, she waved Noah to a space.

“Good morning.” Noah pocketed his keys, and the three of them gathered on the sidewalk. He smoothed down his tie. “Should we go through security?”

The doctor shook her head. “Let’s take a walk.” She motioned to the green area east of the buildings, and a path where a young woman in athletic gear walked a tiny dog. Her gaze drifted to Noah’s associate. “Mr. Ice.”

Noah glanced between them. “You guys know each other?”