“Not yet, but I will. I wanted to make sure you were safe first. I sent a quick text to Zane and Diaz to warn them, too, just in case.”

Zane and Diaz were the other two members of the DEA team Layla had been assigned to. “Whatever you need from me, just say the word.”

“Can I crash on your couch for a few hours? I’d rather not go home until light.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.” Cass paused. “I can’t help but think trouble followed us home from Honduras.”

Layla had woken early the next morning to find a kind note from Cass. She must have left right at the crack of dawn. They’d exchanged a couple of texts, and Cass had said she would call DEA, which Layla felt was the right move.

Now Layla weaved quickly through the Saturday crowd that had gathered for the fall street festival in Old Town Alexandria. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being followed. Again.

She’d kept that fact to herself last night. Cass had already seemed way too unsteady. But Layla wondered if there was something going on involving their joint mission. Could her suspected tail be connected to Cass’s thief?

She glanced over her shoulder and didn’t see anyone, but she kept moving as briskly as she could without running. Had working at the CIA made her this jumpy?

When she finally saw the smiling face of one of her best friends, Vivian Steele, she let out a breath.

“Why are you so flushed?” Viv asked.

“Walk with me.” Layla grabbed her friend’s arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“I feel like I have a tail.”

Viv frowned. “Are you working right now?”

Layla shook her head. “It could be that I’m just on edge, but all my instincts are telling me otherwise.”

Viv was one of the few people who knew that Layla worked at the Agency. To the rest of the world, Layla was a State Department analyst.

Viv touched her shoulder. “I trust your instincts completely. Do you want to get out of here?”

Layla shook her head again. “There’s no reason to be silly about this.”

“Do you think you’re under some type of surveillance?” Viv’s hazel eyes widened.

Layla couldn’t say for sure. “I don’t know.”

“Have you noticed anything before today?”

That was the thing. She had. “Lately I’ve felt like someone is watching me, but I haven’t been able to substantiate that concern. And then, when I got off the Metro and started walking over, I thought I might have a tail.”

Viv stopped and looked around for a minute, her eyes scanning the crowded streets. “I don’t notice anything out of the ordinary, but it’s pretty packed down here today.”