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Back Vortex Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. Epilogue
  57. Epilogue
  58. Acknowledgments
  59. About the Author
  60. Also by Catherine Coulter
  61. About the Publisher

“I see the grenade coming, hear Mike’s shout, and then there’s white, so much white it’s blinding and I can’t see anything else, can’t hear anything. There’s only noise, like a film feed slapping a projector wheel that keeps whirling.”

Olivia didn’t realize her heart rate and blood pressure were spiking, didn’t realize her monitors and medical staff were making that noise, close to her, very close.

4

Mia

One Lincoln Plaza

New York, New York

Monday, late afternoon, mid-March

Mia Briscoe’s heart still leaped with pleasure when she looked out her eighteenth-floor living room window to the stretch of Central Park below, even after seeing it daily for three years. It didn’t matter the leafless trees hunkered down, brown and forlorn against blasts of arctic air. To Mia, the park looked magnificent, no matter the season. It was this view that had sold her on her junior one-bedroom apartment—thank you, Mom, Dad, for helping with the down payment. She saw a good dozen serious runners, their heads down, putting in their miles though it was thirty degrees, with snow threatening. To Mia, thirty degrees meant keeping her sweats and warm socks on, with a space heater next to her desk.

She smiled, realized she’d never been more hopeful about her future, and happy in her present. Well, she’d be happier still when Travis got back from his two-month stint overseeing the construction of international headquarters for Lohman Pierce in Zurich. As one of the lead structural architects, it was his responsibility to ensure everything that was done met Swiss code requirements, and that meant his staying in Zurich on-site six days a week. They were down to eighteen days until he came home, both of them counting. If the project didn’t run over, Travis had promised skiing, or even better, Bermuda, to stretch out on the beach when he returned. He’d found a gym in Zurich to unwind in after the long hours on the job site, a good thing since if he didn’t work out regularly, he tended to lose weight. She smiled, remembering when she’d met her perfect mate on the second floor of Bloomingdale’s, shopping for his mother’s birthday. She’d helped him pick out a sexy teddy, loaded with lace, which, Travis had told her, would have his mom drooling. From Bloomies, they’d had coffee, which had led to movies, dinners, and the recognition they were meant for each other. Both sets of parents were on board, which was good. And so here they were, six months later.