When I come out of the lake, I see Tom’s sad face and decide it’s time to settle things. I plop myself in his lap and for the tenth or twentieth time, he apologizes to me, and I think I surprise him when I apologize in return.

He pulls his head away, looks up at me. “Apologize? For betraying? What do you mean?”

I stroke his hair. “When we first got married, you asked me never to dig into your work or your computer files. I did that. I had to do that…but I broke a promise. I’m sorry.”

His eyes well up. “Amy…compared to what I did, what lies I told, that’s nothing. I…was desperate for a book deal. I paid money for a dark-web search. I never asked for a specific search for you or your unit. The facts I learned…they just came up…and I followed them.”

I continue lightly stroking his hair, and he says, “If I knew what would happen…”

I lower my hand, put a finger to his lips. “Shhh. We’re done. I forgive you.”

“I forgive you,” he says, voice shaky.

“Good,” I say. A helicopter slowly flies over the lake, and it fills me with happiness, knowing there’s a sniper aboard, keeping an eye on the lake and the surrounding cottages. Out in the woods and on the rural roads and dirt trails, armed US marshals are keeping watch over me and my family.

And for the future? The Army is gone for me, but when I left that conference room, the deeply tanned man who had kept Major Wenner in place slipped me a plain white business card with a Virginia phone number.

“I like your style,” the tanned man said. “Give me a call, anytime.”

I hug Tom one more time, look at my little girl peacefully playing in the lake sand, and I think of Rosaria, dying back there in Florida, saving me, saving my family.

I will never forget her, and I will always protect my family.

Tom says, “What now, hon?”

“Now?” I ask. “Now we relax. We have fun. We sleep late. You find another book project to work on and me…well, we’ll see. But one more thing.”

“What’s that?” he asks.

“Never, ever do anything like this again, Tom Cornwall,” I say. “Or I’ll kill you and make it look like an accident.”

A hesitant smile comes across my beloved’s face.

“That’s one heck of a threat,” he says.

I kiss his forehead.

“Tom, you know me by now,” I say. “I don’t make threats. I make promises.”

CHAPTER 94

THE LEARJET slowly taxis into a large and nearly empty hangar, and Pelayo glances out, sees a line of his men out there, waiting for him. The engines whine down and a stairway is wheeled up. A member of the flight crew unlatches the door, and Pelayo nearly prances down the stairs.

Home. Safe. And ready to go back to work.

Casper is behind him, and he strolls to his men, looks around for one of his armored Ford Expedition SUVs to take him to one of his expensive ranches.