Дэвид Балдаччи - King and Maxwell

He climbed into the Land Cruiser where Michelle was waiting.

She said, “How did it go?”

“As well as could be expected.”

She put the car in gear.

“You going to see her again?”

He glanced across at her. “I told her we’d rehab together. My hand, her body.”

“You think that’s wise?”

His brow creased. “Why wouldn’t it be? She has nobody right now. She shouldn’t be alone.”

“Don’t you think you might be giving her false hope?”

“False hope of what?”

“Of you two getting back together.”

“Michelle, that is not going to happen.”

“Does she know that?”

“Well, if you mean did I tell her there is no chance in hell we were reconciling, no I didn’t. I thought the timing might be bad what with her husband just being blown up,” he added in a harsh tone.

Michelle drove out of the parking lot. “Just saying is all. You might be setting her up for a greater hurt down the road.”

“Is this female-speak that I’m somehow not understanding?”

“I thought it was pretty clear, actually.”

“Okay, then let me be clear. Do you feel threatened by Dana?”

“Not unless she’s going to join our firm as a partner.”

“So just business then?”

She looked at him. “What else?”

“Fine. Then I can tell you unequivocally that she will never be joining King and Maxwell.”

He looked away and thus didn’t see Michelle bite her lip and inwardly groan.

“Look, I’m sorry, Sean. I didn’t mean it like that. The words got jumbled up coming out of my stupid mouth.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Hey, I don’t deserve–”

She stopped when she saw him turn and smile at her.

“Jealously is good for a relationship, business or otherwise,” he said.

“You’re a shit, you really are.”

“I’ll admit on the record that I am occasionally a shit.”

“I’d punch you except you’re injured.”

“You’ve hit me before when I’ve been injured.”

“Yeah, but you’re older now. I don’t want to do permanent damage.”

He reached over and gripped her hand. “Do you know what I wished for when I was sitting next to your hospital bed waiting for you to wake up?”

Her gaze grew serious. “What?”

“That I would be the first person you’d see when you did wake up.”

“And you were,” she said, her voice suddenly cracking.

“Yeah, I was,” he said.

“So your wish was answered.”

“My wish was answered as soon as you opened your eyes.”

“If we keep this up you’re going to see me cry for the first time in your life.”

“Not the first time.”

She looked at him for a long moment. “I know.”

Sean’s phone rang. It was Edgar.

“Better take it,” said Michelle. She turned away and wiped her eyes clear.

“Hello, Edgar.” Sean listened. “Yeah, right, but… Well, I know that, only… Okay, I guess you didn’t understand that it was only a– Hello?”

He put down the phone, looking disturbed.

“What is it?” Michelle asked. “Please don’t tell me the Pentagon came and arrested Edgar.”

“No, they didn’t.”

“Then what?”

“He accepted our job offer.”

“What?” she exclaimed.

“Correction, to be precise he said he’s ‘accepting the job offer from Ms. Maxwell .’ ”

“That wasn’t a job offer. That was a joke. You know that.”

“Well, apparently he doesn’t. He already gave Peter Bunting and the U.S. government his notice and he’ll be at our office tomorrow to start work. Predictably, they were not happy with his decision since he’s like the best intelligence analyst on the planet. And they will definitely not be happy with us. I think I see tax audits, congressional investigations, and random FBI wiretaps for the rest of our lives.”

“Oh my God,” Michelle said hopelessly.

“Yeah,” said Sean, with a long sigh.

To Michelle for always telling me how it really is.

To Mitch Hoffman for keeping me on my creative toes.

To Michael Pietsch, Jamie Raab, Lindsey Rose, Sonya Cheuse, Emi Battaglia, Tom Maciag, Martha Otis, Karen Torres, Anthony Goff, Bob Castillo, Michele McGonigle, Kallie Shimek, and everyone at Grand Central Publishing for doing your job so well. And special thanks to David Young; your reach extends across the pond, my friend.

To Aaron and Arleen Priest, Lucy Childs Baker, Lisa Erbach Vance, Nicole James, Frances Jalet-Miller, John Richmond, and Melissa Edwards for always having my back.

To Anthony Forbes Watson, Jeremy Trevathan, Maria Rejt, Trisha Jackson, Katie James, Natasha Harding, Aimee Roche, Lee Dibble, Sophie Portas, Stuart Dwyer, Stacey Hamilton, James Long, Anna Bond, Sarah Willcox, and Geoff Duffield at Pan Macmillan for leading me to number one in the UK and for a terrific visit this past spring.

To Praveen Naidoo and his team at Pan Macmillan in Australia, a special shout-out for leading me to #1 there. Three cheers!

To Arabella Stein, Sandy Violette, and Caspian Dennis for being so bloody brilliant.

To Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy for your continually outstanding audio performances.

To Steven Maat, Joop Boezeman, and the Bruna team for keeping me at the top in Holland and for your wonderful hospitality this past spring.

To all my other publishers worldwide whom I met at the London Book Fair for doing such a terrific job for me in their respective markets. It’s refreshing to know that not only are books not dead, they are flourishing.

To Bob Schule for always turning the pages.

To Chuck Betack for answering my military queries.

To Jim Haggar for the very timely magazine article. It got my imagination really going.

To Dick DeiTos and Todd Sheller for giving me the behind-the-scenes tour of mighty Dulles Airport.

To Tyler Wingo, I’ve always liked your name. Hope you enjoy the character.

To John Cole, I hope you enjoyed your promotion.

To MK Hesse, hope you liked seeing your name in the pages.

To Kristen, Natasha, and Lynette for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

And to Laura Jorstad for a great copyediting job. Your timeline was particularly impressive!

AC – air conditioner.

GPS – Global Positioning System.

CIA – Central Intelligence Agency.

MIA – missing in action.

AR-15 – the ArmaLite AR-15: a selective fire, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed rifle manufactured in the United States between 1959 and 1964. Its military version was adopted by the United States Armed Forces as the M16 rifle.

BS – bullshit.

R and R – military slang for "rest and recuperation" (or "rest and relaxation" or "rest and recreation").

VP – Vice President (of the USA).

DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid.

OCD – obsessive–compulsive disorder.

PI – private investigator.

MP – military police.

DoD – Department of Defense (of the USA).

NBA – National Basketball Association.

SOL – shit outta luck.

SUV – sport utility vehicle.