The door led to a stone staircase that corkscrewed upwards for what felt like forever. When we finally reached the top, a door opened into a suite with a bedroom, living room and bathroom, all with curved walls. We were right at the top of one of the towers, the trees tiny and toy-like far below.

Becker took me into the bedroom. “Now,” he said. “Who knows about me? Who knows about the bomb? People at the CIA?”

We hadn’t told the CIA. The only people who knew, other than the team, were Vasiliy and Luka. If I told him, he’d kill them. Probably Arianna, too.

I shook my head.

“If you won’t tell me,” he said calmly, “I’ll make you tell me.”

My chest closed up tight. I don’t want to do this! But then I thought of the Russians. They’d helped us. I couldn’t just let them die. I shook my head.

Becker gave a tired little sigh and stalked towards me.

And it began.

69. Danny

69

DANNY

I sat staring at the floor of the prisoner transport van, brooding. The frustration was boiling up from deep inside, expanding outward like storm clouds, pushing me to leap up, to hit something, to do something. That bastard had Erin and I had to help her. But we were locked in a metal box with no weapons and our hands cuffed behind our backs and fastened to the truck’s walls.

Then I realized there was one thing I could do.

I didn’t want to do it here, with everyone listening, but if they split us up and sent us to different prisons until our trial, it might be months or years before I saw JD again so I had to suck it up and start talking.

I leaned forward towards JD. “Look, me and Erin—”

“This ain’t the time,” said JD, looking away.

“It’s the only fucking time!” I snapped. “After this, I don’t know if I’ll see you again. If any of us’ll see each other again! Now will you just listen to me?”

If there’d been a way JD could have walked away, I think he would have. But we were stuck there. He glowered at me, but listened.

I took a deep breath. “I know…that I’ve got a bit of a reputation.”

Everyone stared at me and I felt myself flush. “More than a bit. But that isn’t how it is with Erin.” I groped around, trying to find the words. How was it that I could chat about nothing for hours with a woman in a bar, but when it came to talking about something important, with someone I really cared about, I was tongue-tied?

JD shook his head. He thought it was just words, Danny the charmer trying to talk my way out of trouble. Right in front of my eyes, I was losing him.