They blinked at him as they emerged from the bushes, blinked at his handgun.

aI guess scouting is much more intense now than it was back when my brother was a boy,a Granny said. aYou did say you were the Boy Scouts, didnat you? The Boy Scouts of America?a Sam looked at the old woman, looked at the little girl. aAmy?a he asked, hardly daring to hope as he lowered his weapon. It was. It had to be. And what was the old womanas name? aAnd Mrs. Grayson. Iam Lt. Sam Starrett, maaam, U.S. Navy SEALs. Please step into the camper. Youall be even safer there.a Sam banged on the side panel. aSomeone get on the radio to Lieutenant Paoletti. We need to get word to Nils, pronto, to abort, repeat, abort. The hostages are safe and sound! He should get Meg the hell out of there!a aWeare going in,a Nils announced over his radio, and the door to the house swung open.

A man and a woman stood there, AK-47s in their arms. Both were dressed in desert print camouflage pants and jacketsa"the sleeves torn off. Desert print. Here in the middle of the Florida jungle.

They were amateursa"the way they held their assault weapons verified that. Neither of them had had military training. But neither of them needed more than a heavy trigger finger to use that AK-47 to make Meg and Nils extremely dead.

He was in front of Meg as they went into the house, and he hung his head, keeping his face in shadows, wishing he could stay right there, shielding her from them until this was over.

There was no one else in the entryway, no one in the room off to the right. Head expected the place to be crawling with Extremists. Was it possible . . . ?

There was no sign of Amy or Eve. No bloodstains, no bodies, nothing. Just a nearly empty house with two tangos.

The woman had her gun up and on them as the man shut the door. aPut the gun on the floor, and kick it over here,a she ordered Meg, who obeyed.

The man shouldered his weapon, and at a nod from the woman, he pushed Meg onto the floor to search her.

He wasnat gentle and Meg cried out.

Nils clenched his teeth. It took every ounce of willpower in him not to react. He was Osman Razeen right now. Meg wasnat his lover, his friend, his life.

The woman was looking at him, her eyes narrowed, and he shifted slightly, hiding his face even more while he let her see a glimpse of the cuffs on his wrists.

aWhereas Amy?a Meg asked, and got a backhand across her mouth for the trouble.

But she was tough. Shead come this far, and she wasnat going to quit now. She struggled to sit up. aWhereas my daughter? Iave done as youave asked. Iave brought you Razeen. We had a deal and Iave upheld my end of it!a aSheas dead,a the woman said harshly. aTheyare both dead.a Oh, God, no.

As Nils watched, Meg died. The life left her face, the fight left her body. She went completely still.

He looked at her, willing her to look back at him. Willing her to move back and out of the way, or at least down flat onto the floor. He was going to shoot these motherfuckers and get Meg safely out of there, but he couldnat start firing and hit them botha"not with Meg right there in the kill zone.

aOsman Razeen,a the woman said in a Kazbekistani dialect. aI sentence you to death.a She shifted her grip on her AK-47, split seconds from firing as Meg came back to life. She dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way.

Nils had his weapon up and firing, shouting for support from the rest of the team.

It was over in seconds. Head pulled back and into the other room, shielding her with his body. If there were any other tangos in this building, they were going to come running at the sound of the gunfire.

The door was smashed in with a crash, and Wolchonok and Muldoon were the first inside, checking the fallen Extremistsa"making sure neither was going to pop back up, shooting.

Meg was crying and he dropped his weapon and held her tightly, crying for her, too. And for himself.

Her daughter was dead, but shead chosen life. He knew it wouldave been easier for her simply to give up. To let herself be killed, instead of living with the pain and loss.

Nils knew she would never get over it. Not completely. But with his help and his love, she would get through it.

aIam here,a he told her. aWhatever you need, Iall get it for you.a aNilsson, report.a Lieutenant Paolettias voice came over the receiver in Nilsas ear.

aI need Amy,a Meg cried.

aNilsson, dammita"a aHeas here, L.T.,a came the senior chiefas familiar growl. aBoth he and Ms. Moore are here and alive. Theyare sharing a, ahem, private moment.a Nils looked up to see Senior Chief Wolchonok standing in the doorway. aThey killed them, Stan,a he told him quietly. aBoth Amy and Eve.a Wolchonok swore. aL.T., weave got some bad news. The hostages are dead.a aSomeoneas wrong,a Paolettias voice came back. aIave got Starrett in one of the backup vehicles saying heas got Amy and Eve with him right now and they are very much alive. Hang on . . .a There was a buzz and a click and then a very sweet voice came loud and clear over the line. aHello, Mommy?a Nils yanked the miniature receiver free, held it right up to Megas ear, leaning close so that he could hear, too.

aMommy, this is Amy. Nana and I are all right. Are you all right?a Meg gasped and looked up at Nils. aOh, my God!a He switched on his microphone. Held it close to her mouth.

aAmy?a she said. aOh, my God!a aMommy, weare okay. Nana and I climbed out of the window and onto the roof and we ran and ran and Iam so hungry and I knew you would be so worried.a Meg laughed through her tears. aItas Amy,a she told Nils.

aAre you all right?a Amy asked again.

Meg touched Nilsas face and smiled at him. aI am so totally all right, honey,a she told her daughter. aI am fabulously all right.a She kissed him and he got his very first taste of happily ever after.

It was enough to convince him that he definitely wanted more.

Twenty-five.

AMY SAT IN the camper next to Eve, eating a chicken salad sandwich that one of the FBI agents had packed for a snack.

The childas hands were filthy dirty, but there was nowhere to wash, and Eve was too hungry herself to care.

First food, then Meg would arrive, then theyad be taken somewhere safe to wash and to sleep in the beautiful softness of a real bed.

aWhat about Ralph?a Amy asked with her mouth full.

Eve laughed. Ah, yes, theyad left poor Ralph standing there, on the dock. aHead tried to be so casual,a she told Amy, aasking me if Iad come to get that annulment. As if I had traveled all that way and dressed up in my very best clothes to greet him as he set foot in England for the first time in five years because I wanted an annulment?a Amy laughed. aBoys are dumb.a aBoys sometimes are,a Eve agreed, avery dumb. I told him I had a box of over two thousand letters waiting for him, back in Ramsgate.a Letters shead written to him over the past five years. Letters shead written even though she didnat know if he were alive or dead.

Shead looked him in the eye then. Shead done this before, in France, but still, it hadnat gotten any easier. aI love you,a she told him. aThere never has been and never will be anyone else.a He started to cry. Right there on the dock, Ralph broke down and wept. He took a step toward her. Just one move in her direction was all she needed. She threw down her sign and launched herself at him, and into his arms.

He wasnat as fragile as he looked. He mightave been thin, but his arms were still strong.

aHe kissed me,a Eve told Amy, aand kissed me and kissed me, right there for all the world to see. It was glorious and I knew that no matter how hard the past few years had been, the future was going to be wonderful.

aHe told me that Iad saved his life in Dunkirk. He said that his unit was finally captured, and the Germans who took them prisoner were ready to kill them right then and there. He was on the ground, on his knees, with a Nazi gun to his head when he started talkinga"about me.

aHe spoke in German, telling the man who was about to kill him all about this girl back in Ramsgate, an American girl named Eve whom he loved with all his heart. He told the German soldier that although it was probably hard to believe, this girl loved him, too, and that shead be distraught at the news of his death. He told this German all about how wead met, about Nicky getting sick, about the warm feeling in his heart whenever he saw me.

aHe told me that he was convinced that by talking about me that way, head forced the German to see him not as a nameless, soulless enemy soldier, but as a human being. As a mana"who loved and was loved.a aIt worked,a Amy said. aBecause they let him live.a aThatas right.a Eve smiled, remembering how through the years Ralph had told her time and again of the way his stories of her light and life had served to entertain his captorsa"and to make him an individual in their eyes.

aHe asked me to marry him,a she told Amy. aRight there on the dock. I told him that I already had married him, that Iad never signed or sent back those annulment papers. But I told him, if he wanted me to, Iad marry him all over again.a aAnd he wanted to, right?a Amy said. aBecause you got married again.a aWe did.a The back door of the camper opened, and the strikingly beautiful FBI agent named Alyssa Locke stuck her head in. aYour mom just pulled up,a she said to Amy with a smile.

Amy was up and out of the door in a flash.

Eve sat for a moment, letting the little girl have some time alone with her mother, content to rest.

And remember.

aIall marry you again,a Eve told Ralph as she stood on the dock in his arms. aBut what I wonat do is delay our wedding night another day longer.a Head laughed at that, his laughter rich and warm. It wrapped around her, and she knew her words were a lie. Shead wait for him forever if she had to.

Still. He was English, after all, and it was possible head need a bit of a push. aWhat are your plans?a she asked him. aAre you going to teach?a He shook his head. aI havenat thought much about it. I havenat thought much beyond fresh eggs and a rare steak for years. And you, of course,a he added with a smile. aAnd not at all in that order.a She kissed him, long and sweet. aYou always were a fabulous teacher.a She kissed him again, longer and a little less sweetly. aAs a matter of fact, thereas something very specific I was hoping you could teach me tonight.a He shouted with laughter at that. But as he looked at her, the warmth in his eyes shifted to something potent. Something hot. aOh, yes,a he murmured. aCount on it.a His kiss held a promise of something achingly wonderful.

He pulled back to look into her eyes. aPromise me,a he said.

aYes,a she said.

He laughed. aNow how do you know Iam not going to ask you to promise me something ridiculous?a aI donat care. Iad promise you anything.a His smile softened as he touched her face. aI am the luckiest man on this planet. The war didnat break your spirit, did it?a She shook her head.

aIam not sure whether to be grateful or terrified about that,a he told her with a laugh. aJust . . . promise me that youall never withhold the truth from me again. Promise youall never again pretend to be something youare not. Because youare perfect, Eve, just the way you are. No more lies, all right?a aI promise,a she told him. She kissed him again, and he took possession of her mouth, slowly, deeply. It was exquisite.

And so were the words he spoke when he pulled back to look into her eyes. aIall never leave you again,a Ralph told her. aFrom this moment, Eve, until the day that I die, Iall be with you, right by your side.a Fifty-five years later, Eve sat in the camper all alone, remembering those promises theyad made.

The door was still open a crack, and she could see outside, see the other vehicle that had pulled up, see Amy, held tightly in Megas arms.

Shead delivered the child safely into her motheras arms. Shead done it. Or rather, theyad done it. She and Ralph.

Although head been gone from this world for these past two years, head been with her in spirit throughout this entire ordeal.

Eve smiled and sent him a silent apology for pretending to have that limp that fooled her captors so successfully. Yes, shead promised him all those years ago that she would no longer pretend to be something she wasnat, but he would have to admit that there were times when pretending did have its usefulness.

She could almost hear Ralphas rich, warm laughter wrapping around her.

Still filling her heart.

Meg held Amy on her lap. Since shead turned ten, shead claimed to be too old for that. But not today. Today, she was parked there pretty darn permanently.

Meg held her daughter close. Amyas hair smelled like a bad mix of wet paper bags and soggy dog, but she didnat care.

She had a lifetime to get Amy clean.

Eve sat next to her, holding her hand. aThank you,a Meg kept telling her grandmother.

She still couldnat believe theyad gone out a second-story window.

She still couldnat believe that in a single heartbeat, her life had turned from tragic to perfect.

She knew what Lazarusas mother mustave felt like.

The door opened, and John came inside the van.

Meg felt Amy shrink slightly. John was big, she realized. Tall and broad and . . . He smiled at her and her insides melted.

aAmy, this is Lt. John Nilsson. Do you remember him from Kazbekistan?a Meg said. aHe saved my life about twenty different times these past few days.a Eve was looking from her to John, and Meg knew she hadnat missed the message he was sending her with his eyes. His love for her was written all over his face. He didnat even try to hide it. Eve squeezed her hand and when Meg turned to look at her, she made big eyes and a completely approving face.

Meg laughed. aJohn, this is Amy, and my grandmother, Eve Grayson.a John sat down, shining the warmth of his smile on them both. aIam honored to meet you, Mrs. Grayson. You should be proud of what you did out there tonight.a aI am,a Eve said.

Johnas smile widened. aWell, good. The FBIas going to be taking both you and Amy to a safe house where you can get cleaned up and where a doctor will come in and check you both out.a He turned to Amy. aThis mustave been pretty scary, huh?a aI do remember you,a she said. aYour hair was shorter. Youare a language specialist, right? Like Mom?a aYeah,a John said. aLike your mom. I have a lot in common with her.a Amy smiled. aYou colored with me. And you taught me to say shit in Kazbekistani.a Meg laughed. She had to feign outrage. aYou did what?a aOops.a aYou also taught me to saya"a aThank you very much,a John said to Amy. aI clearly made a lasting impression. Wow.a aYou did,a she told him, laughing at the face he made. aYou always made me laugh, even when I didnat feel much like laughing.a John looked up at Meg and the expression in his eyes was priceless. Head been scared, she realized. This big, strong, capable man who didnat know the meaning of the word quit, this man whoad gone fearlessly into battle for her today and had taken two lives to protect her, had been scared to death of meeting a ten-year-old girl.

aWeare going to be seeing a lot of John from now on,a Meg told her daughter.

aYou and me, Amy,a John added, aweare going to be really good friends. We have a lot in common, too, you know. Starting with the fact that we both love your mother.a Amy looked from John to Meg to Eve. And she smiled at her great-grandmother. aThis is so cool.a aSo of course I get down here after the action is over,a Jules complained.

aYou didnat miss all that much,a Locke countered. As she watched, Sam and Lopez came out of the house with the forensics team, who were carrying one of the body bags out of the house.

Jules watched, too, as the FBI team went back into the house. aHow many are in there?a aJust two. Two others are in custodya"they were picked up on the road. Mrs. Grayson says there were five that she knew about. Oneas still at large.a The second body bag came out. Sam and Lopez were still standing next to the truck. As Locke watched, Sam turned away. He leaned down, alongside the wheel, and threw up.

Holy cow.

aI heard thereas some kind of bogus death threat,a Jules said, athat Meg Mooreas going to be under protection for a while.a aJust until the word gets out,a Locke told her partner.

Lopez touched Sam briefly on the shoulder. Sam shook his head rather vehemently as he straightened up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Locke turned away before he looked over and caught her watching. aWe think the threat was just a mind game. Just more psychological warfare. But the Extremistsa"and all of the other fringe groups in K-stana"are going to get a very explicit message,a she said. aThey go near Meg Moore or her family, and they will be crushed. They stay away, and we use our embassy to open up lines of communication between them and their government.a aAh,a Jules said. aThe old threat combined with dangling a little of what they want most in front of them. That should do the trick.a Locke glanced back at the trucks. Sam was gone.

aI heard from Max Bhagat that weave announced to the media that the so-called hostage situation at the K-stani embassy was just a training operation.a Jules laughed. aEveryone saves facea"except CNN and all the other networks whoare made to look like fools for having reporters standing outside a training op for all these days.a Locke spotted him. Sam had moved over to the house, where he sat on the front steps, head in his hands.

Who wouldave thought . . . ?

aExcuse me for a sec,a she said to Jules.

aSure.a Locke approached Sam cautiously. Slowly. Carefully.

He heard her coming, though, and he looked up. And laughed derisively. aGreat, you saw that, huh? Perfect. Have at me, Alyssa. My night hasnat been painful enough.a aAre you okay?a she asked.

aFucking perfect,a he said. aIam not sure which it was that did it to mea"the thought of how close that little girl and her grandmother came to getting a bullet in their heads or catching a glimpse of the forensics guys shoveling pieces of a human beingas brain into one of those body bags. Either way, it still makes my stomach churn.a aI wanted to apologize,a she said. aFor some of the things I said to you before, you know, back at the hotel.a He was surprised and working hard to hide it. He reached down onto the step beside him and picked up a dead twig that was lying there. aSome of the things,a he repeated, snapping the twig into two. aOnly some?a She gave him the smallest of smiles. aThatas right. You know you were there dogging me.a He looked her dead in the eye and the world tilted slightly. aCan you really blame me?a She couldnat respond to that. aI really appreciate your not giving in to your anger and, you know, your not talking to anyone about what we, um, did that night.a aOkay,a Starrett said. aWeare a slow learner, huh? Let me see if I can say it so youall understand. Iam not going to talk about it to anyone. Itas not their business. What we did is between you and me. No matter how mad you make mea"and, shit, you can make me mad!a"thatas not going to change. You want me to say it again, more slowly this time?a Locke shook her head. aNo, Iam . . . I got it. Iam . . . Thank you.a He tossed the pieces of twig into the dust, one at a time. aForget about it.a aYeah,a she said. aThatas not a bad idea. In fact, I was thinking . . .a He looked up at her in silence, waiting for her to go on. How was it that he could have been so good, so gentle and kind with Amy and Eve out there in the woods just a few hours ago? Shead been impressed with the way head taken charge of the situation. He was good at what he did. She couldnat deny that.

So why did he always treat her so badly?

Locke cleared her throat. aYou know, Starrett, since youare in the most elite SEAL team in the country, and Iam in the FBIas top counterterrorist unit, well, thereas a really good chance weare going to run into each other with a certain frequency.a He nodded. aThere is.a aIam assuming youare not going anywhere in the near futurea"a aNo, Iam not.a aAnd I would rather not have to transfer and . . .a She took a deep breath. aIn an attempt to make things as least awkward as possible, I think we should both simply pretend that night never happened. You know, forget it ever took place.a Sam nodded, still just watching her. aIs that really what you want?a he asked quietly.

As she looked into his eyes, she felt a flash of uncertainty. aYes,a she said, trying to feel as sure as she sounded. aFrom this point on, we donat talk about it again, all right?a Sam still watched her steadily. Finally he nodded. aAll right.a Locke nodded, too. aGood,a she said. aThank you.a She backed away from him. aIam going to . . . go find Jules and . . .a Her voice trailed off as she looked at him. He looked even more green than he did before. aAre you sure youare okay?a aPerfect,a he said. aIam abso-fucking-lutely perfect.a aSee you around, then,a she said.

aRight. Later.a His soft laughter followed her as she walked away.

The sun had been up for hours before Meg came out of the room in the safe house where Amy was sleeping.

aIam going to sleep in there,a she told Nils. aI hope you donat mind. I just . . . I need to be with her for a while.a He nodded. aI didnat expect anything less.a She sat next to him on the couch, slipping into his arms as if she belonged there.

aOkay,a he said.

She looked up at him. aOkay?a He nodded. aIam ready.a She put her hand directly on top of him. aHmm,a she said, athat canat be what you mean . . .a Nils laughed and moved her hand. He kissed her palm and placed it over his heart. aDonat try to distract me. This is harda"I mean, difficulta"enough, Ms. Dirty Mind.a She kissed him sweetly then pulled back to gaze into his eyes. aJohn, you donat have to do this right now.a He shook his head. aIave got something I need to ask you, but before I can do that, I have to talk to you about a couple things. You know, about tonighta"a aAh,a Meg said. aI was wondering when we were going to talk about what you had to do tonight to save my life. Are you okay?a aActually, itas not an issue for me,a he told her. aBut I thought the fact that it wasnat might be an issue for you. I eliminated two targets tonight. To be honest, I donat think about them as people. I know that probably sounds cold to you, but . . . I donat gain anything by giving names and homes and families to terrorists. They were threats, Meg. To you and to me. And I took them out. It was fast, it was clean, and if Iad only wounded them, they would have kept shooting until one of us was dead. I did what I had to do and I refuse to feel bad about it.a aReally?a she asked.

aAfter something like this happens, I have to go in for a required number of sessions with a shrink,a he explained. aHe seems convinced Iam doing okaya"at least for a guy whoas a liar, a killer, and a thief.a aLiar, killer, and thief I can handle. What Iam having trouble with is the fact that you never taught me to say shit in Kazbekistani.a He laughed. aSorry about that. She asked, and . . . well, I told her.a She leaned her head back against his shoulder. aYouare forgiven. Iam feeling very forgiving today.a Nils took that as his cue. aWhen I was fifteen,a he told her, amy father got a job working as a janitor at Milfield Academy.a aHe was the janitor. Suddenly it all makes sense.a aHe was treated like crap by all those rich kids,a Nils said. aHe hated it, I know he did, but he wouldnat quit. He said it was good, honest work and there was no shame in that. But you see, part of his salary was my tuition. He was doing it for me.a She was listening, so he kept going, telling her things head never told anyone. Things head never managed to forget. Things head tried for years to keep hidden. Things he didnat want to hide from her. Not anymore.

aSo I went therea"this poor-as-shit kid, jammed in with all those rich assholes. And it got to me, Meg. What they did and what they said and what they thought. It started to matter. And I . . .a He choked it out. aI pretended I wasnat related to that weird old janitor who shuffled around the campus. God forbid anyone find out he was my father. Yeah, even though I wasnat rich, I got the asshole part down pretty well, pretty fast.a Meg took his hand and interlaced their fingers. aI did some terrible things in high school, too, John. Nobody judges other people on that kind of ancient history.a aI judge myself,a he told her. aI live, every day, with the memory of the look in my fatheras eyes . . . It was the afternoon I got the highest score on some testa"I donat even remember what it was anymore. All I remember was that I was a freshman, and I got the best grade in the schoola"it was posted for everyone to see. And, Jesus, he was so proud of me. He waited for me outside of one of my classes after he got the news. I saw him therea"he knew I saw him. And I walked right past him without even saying a word. I didnat want to stop and acknowledge him in front of my friends.a Just thinking about it still brought tears to his eyes. aFrom that day on, he never approached me during school. Never again.a Nils shook his head. aI swear to God, Meg, until the day I die, I will never forget the look on that manas face as I walked away. He was a good man. He was one of the most honest, intelligent, kindest people Iave ever known.a aYet he drank.a Meg sat up, kneeling on the couch to face him.

aThat doesnat make him a bad person,a Nils told her. aHe was a good person who made mistakes.a She was looking at him with those eyes that could see right through him, past all the bullshit and pretense, right to his heart and soul. aWhy canat you cut yourself the same slack?a Nils nodded. aThatas what Iam trying to doa"what Iam hoping youall do. Cut me some slack and . . .a He laughed. aI donat know how to do this, how to say it, so Iall try to imagine what my father wouldave done, okay?a He got down on the floor, in front of her, on one knee.