Exit Strategy

Miranda’s heart sank. Her career—she had worked so hard for it. Now Jane Smith and Ortega had ruined it. Ruined her. She had no doubt about that.

Her gaze was drawn to the despicable image on the plasma screen and her gut tightened with disgust. He had seemed so attracted to her. So smitten. But it had all been an act. A way to doubly ensure her loyalty.

She was a dupe…

“Cutler?” Runyon switched off the monitor. “Are you okay?”

She glanced at him, amazed by the question. Then she asked, “You said two of Smith’s agents were dead. Was one named Mark?”

He nodded. “Friend of yours?”

“No. Just the opposite.” She bit her lip. “What about the FBI agent and the SPIN employee? Were they hurt?”

“Yeah, both sustained injuries. One or both are still in the hospital I think.” He smiled. “The spinner saved the day according to the report. Some sort of genius or something. Too bad you’ll never meet her. You owe her, big-time.”

Miranda studied her hands, wondering if he knew how stupid he sounded.

“Any other questions? We need to wrap this up.”

“I’d like to read the file.”

“Sorry. The less you know the better for you.” He cleared his throat. “Do you need counseling? We can arrange it.”

“No.”

“Good answer.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “You’re cleared for duty. Just like it never happened. Tomorrow morning you’re going to request time off. As a reason, you’ll say you never really came to grips with your dad’s death and you need to go home for a few weeks, to grieve. Delayed reaction or whatever. It will be approved, no questions asked.”

He walked to the door and opened it, then gestured for Miranda to join him. When she had done so, he led her into the hall and closed the door behind them. “It’s over, Miranda. Try not to let it get to you. Go home. Hang out with family and friends. Get past this—that’s an order—and then come back. Your career will be waiting for you. And Miranda?”

“Yes?” she asked, barely listening to his words.

“When you get back into town, maybe we could have a drink some night after work. Just for fun.”

She blinked, sure she hadn’t heard him correctly. Then she looked into his eyes and saw interest so stark—so degrading—that she knew he was replaying the images from the alibi tape. That scene in the elevator—

Her stomach knotted violently and she shoved past him, sprinting for the ladies room at the far end of the hall. Bursting into a stall, she fell to her knees in front of a gleaming white toilet.

Just in time to vomit her guts out.

Chapter 2

One year later

“I know you’re excited about this, Goldie, but don’t get your hopes up. We don’t really know much about this girl.”

Kristie Hennessy enjoyed the tingle that always shot through her when SPIN Director Will McGregor called her Goldie. Or maybe she was just tingling because he was physically present after a full month of being three thousand miles away, fine-tuning the West Coast office in preparation for transitioning the agency from a stand-alone entity to a division of the FBI.

In the early months of establishing SPIN-West she had been there, too, working side by side with him. Sleeping side by side with him. But lately, she had been pulled away from him with increasing frequency and duration, thanks to her duties at the East Coast headquarters, where she provided creative support for FBI agents in the field by supplying them with undercover identities and profiles of suspects.

“It’s a foolproof plan,” she assured him. “We know all we need to know about Miranda Cutler by watching that videotape. Or at least, almost all we need to know.”

McGregor groaned. “You’re not really going to ask that poor kid if she and Ortega had sex that night, are you?”

“It’s the last piece of the puzzle,” Kristie insisted. “Oh, look!” She pointed at the young woman approaching the reception desk outside of McGregor’s glass-walled office.

With the blinds open, one could see everything happening in the think tank that had made SPIN famous. Of course, had the blinds been closed, Kristie could have kissed McGregor’s square jaw, just for luck.

Not that she had his attention anymore. He was openly staring at Miranda Cutler, and Kristie could hardly blame him. The CIA operative was strikingly lovely, despite her stern expression and the hard set to her shoulders. All of that was more than offset by her mane of long auburn hair that was streaked with red and gold highlights. She was wearing black slacks, black boots and a long-sleeved black knit top with a mock turtleneck. No jewelry, no purse. In fact, her only accessories were the gleaming gun holstered at her waist and the badge affixed to the holster. And that hair.

“Put your eyes back in your head, Will,” Kristie advised with a teasing smile.

“Right.” He flushed. “She just looks so…well, never mind. Let’s get this over with.”

“It’s going to work. Trust me.”

He grimaced, then moved to the door and opened it, calling out, “Agent Cutler? Come on in.”

As Miranda entered the office, a tentative smile finally appeared on her lips. “Director McGregor, I presume?”

“Thanks for coming.” He shook her hand, then motioned to Kristie. “This is Kristie Hennessy, one of our spinners.”

Kristie offered her hand to the visitor. “I’m so glad to finally meet you, Miranda. Sit down, won’t you? We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Miranda followed them to the conference table in the corner of the room, but seemed hesitant to take a seat. Then she insisted with unexpected passion, “I’ve wanted to meet you—to thank you—for so long. I never thought I’d get the chance. I mean, you’re the ones, right? They never told me your names. Only that a spinner and an FBI agent apprehended Jane Smith before any innocent lives were lost.”

She grabbed Kristie’s hand again and pumped it. “You’re the spinner, right? And you!” she added in McGregor’s direction. “You were with the Bureau before you took this position. You’re the agent that apprehended Smith and her team. Right?” Her green eyes sparkled with tears. “Thank you so much for stopping that monster before she succeeded.”

The rush of gratitude had a tinge of desperation to it that startled Kristie, and she quickly reassured their guest. “You don’t need to thank us, Miranda. But believe me, we’ve always wanted to meet you, too. Sit down, okay?”

Miranda nodded and took a seat next to McGregor, across from Kristie.

McGregor gave her a reassuring smile. “You’re probably wondering why we asked you here today. Like Kristie—Ms. Hennessy—said, we’re pleased at this chance to meet you in person. But we also have a favor to ask.”

“Anything,” Miranda told him. “Just name it.”

“It’s not a favor,” Kristie corrected, sending McGregor a warning glance. “It’s an assignment.”

“Even better. Name it.”

McGregor laughed. “Don’t you want to know the details first? It’s strictly voluntary. And a little odd.”

“Sight unseen it’s better than anything I’ve been doing lately,” Miranda replied. “And like I said, I’d do anything for you two.”

Kristie sighed, knowing from Miranda’s file that indeed her recent assignments had been dismal ones, mostly consisting of dates with politicians or minor criminals. Nothing tawdry—at least, not exactly—but certainly nothing interesting. And definitely nothing that used the marksmanship talents that had earned her entry to the CIA in the first place.

To put it bluntly, Miranda Cutler had been typecast over the last year as a femme fatale, and while she was indeed pretty, Kristie had no doubt it was the sexy videotape with Ray Ortega that had short-circuited the young operative’s career.

Miranda looked from Kristie to McGregor, as though trying to fathom their hesitation. “It’s fine. Really. Ask me anything.”