Дэвид Балдаччи - No Man's Land

“Friends. In high places.”

“Are they helping?”

“Yeah. In addition to removing the implant they got hold of the tests that Jericho did, and figured out some of what was going on with me. They think there might be a way to reverse it. For now, this keeps me from getting any worse.”

She reached into her purse and held up a plastic baggie.

“What’s that?”

“Prime weed.”

“Where’d you get that?”

“From friends in low places.”

Davis navigated them to a highway, where she sped up and put the car on cruise control. She settled back in her seat and looked at him.

“How did it feel?”

“How did what feel?”

“Jericho?”

Rogers stared out the windshield at the night sky.

“I really didn’t feel good about it,” he said at last, his voice strained. “I wonder what that says about me?”

Davis reached over and took his hand. “I think that’s actually a positive thing, Paul.”

He glanced at her. “This is going to be a rocky road, Davis. Feel free to eject at any time.”

“You remember when I told you my druggie dad died in prison and my mom croaked on crack?”

“Yeah, but you were bullshitting.”

“No, I wasn’t. I stuck with them to the end. I think I can manage you.”

Rogers looked back out the window. “Maybe I can get a job…somewhere.”

“Maybe I can too. Maybe we can get an apartment. Have, you know, a life or something.”

“Is that what you want?” he asked, shooting her a glance.

“Why the hell not?” She tightened her grip on his hand. “Doesn’t everybody deserve a life?”

“It won’t be like living at Ballard’s,” he said.

“That was all smoke and mirrors. I prefer reality, actually.”

“I never thanked you for saving my life. Myers had a kill shot on me.”

“I let you down before, I won’t again.”

“What are you talking about?” he said.

“When you were on the gurney all numbed up. I just walked away and left you there.”

“What could you do?”

“I could have tried, but I just walked away.”

She looked over at him. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “You came through in the end. That’s what counts.”

She held his gaze. “I’ll always have your back from now on, Paul. Always.”

“And why is that?”

“Because we’re a lot alike.”

“How so?”

“Damaged goods. But we have potential.”

“I’ll have your back too.”

“I never doubted it. It’s just the way you’re wired .”

They exchanged a quick smile and then both looked ahead.

They drove on.

To somewhere other than here.

To Michelle, for always being there for me.

To Michael Pietsch, for always being so supportive.

To Jamie Raab, for always being in my corner.

To Lindsey Rose, Andy Dodds, Karen Torres, Anthony Goff, Bob Castillo, Michele McGonigle, Andrew Duncan, Christopher Murphy, Dave Epstein, Tracy Dowd, Brian McLendon, Matthew Ballast, Lukas Fauset, Deb Futter, Beth deGuzman, Jessica Krueger, Oscar Stern, Michele Karas, Stephanie Sirabian, Brigid Pearson, Flamur Tonuzi, Blanca Aulet, Joseph Benincase, Tiffany Sanchez, Ali Cutrone, and everyone at Grand Central Publishing, for having my back.

To Aaron and Arleen Priest, Lucy Childs Baker, Lisa Erbach Vance, Mitch Hoffman (and thanks for another fine editing job), Frances Jalet-Miller, and John Richmond, for being such great partners.

To Melissa Edwards, thanks for all your hard work. I wish you the best in your new endeavor.

To Anthony Forbes Watson, Jeremy Trevathan, Trisha Jackson, Katie James, Alex Saunders, Sara Lloyd, Amy Lines, Stuart Dwyer, Geoff Duffield, Jonathan Atkins, Anna Bond, Sarah Willcox, Leanne Williams, Sarah McLean, Charlotte Williams, and Neil Lang at Pan Macmillan, for making me feel so very special.

To Praveen Naidoo and his team at Pan Macmillan in Australia, for all you do.

To Caspian Dennis and Sandy Violette, for being great agents and being especially fun at parties.

To Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy, for your amazing audio performances.

To Steven Maat and the entire Bruna team, for all you do for me in Holland.

To Bob Schule and Chuck Betack, for yet another eagle-eye reading of a manuscript.

To Jeff Pasquino, U.S. Army caretaker site manager, Fort Monroe, and Glenn Oder and John Hutcheson of the Fort Monroe Authority, for your time, wisdom, and one terrific tour of a scenic and memorable Virginia treasure. I encourage anyone interested in American history to go visit Fort Monroe.

To Lieutenant General David Halverson, USA (Ret.), and Karen Halverson, hope you liked the “promotion,” even if I put you in the Air Force! Thank you for your service and best of luck in the future.

To Roland Ottewell, for a great copyediting job.

To auction winners Chris Ballard, Lynda Demirjian, Vincent DiRenzo, Ted Hull, and David Shorr, I hope you enjoyed your characters. Thanks for supporting such wonderful organizations.

To Kristen White and Michelle Butler, for keeping Columbus Rose on course.

And to Natasha Collin, thanks for all the great years at the Wish You Well Foundation. I wish you all the best as you move on to your next career.

David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author. His books are published in over 45 languages, with more than 110 million copies in print, and have been adapted for both feature film and television. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org.