lightning crackled viciously overhead. Seconds later, the White House went dark.
Chapter Two
Dawn was breaking behind the Washington Monument. The sun’s fledgling rays bathed the Tidal Basin in hues of pinks and purples. Adding to the beauty, the heavy rainfall from the night before made everything look as though it was dusted with glitter. From her vantage point, leaning against one of the marble columns of the Lincoln Memorial, Quinn Darby glanced through the viewfinder of her camera at the joggers hurrying along the pathways between the two landmarks. All of the runners were seemingly oblivious to the beautiful impressionist vista Mother Nature was in the process of painting.
She drew in a lungful of the sparkling air. Hours from now, the shine would wear off this place when thousands of tourists and heavy humidity descended. But this early in the day, the memorial was tranquil, still holding the promise of the optimism it was erected to memorialize.
Good thing since Quinn was in need of all the optimism she could get right now.
As usual, the scent of her handler’s cologne reached her first. Distinctive and unique, it was a warm, homey fragrance an older man might wear. It made her want to lean a shoulder on his and unburden herself.
She didn’t dare, though.
Neither could she turn around to see his face. He had been explicit about that particular command. The man explained it was for her own protection, but since she was the one straddling the dark side, she figured her handler’s anonymity was more for his security than hers. Still, she appreciated the kindness of him wanting her to think otherwise.
“Did you know I was born here?” she blurted out.
She wasn’t sure why she led with that random tidbit except she was feeling a bit nostalgic this morning. Not to mention off-kilter. She blamed last night’s close encounter with Ben Segar for both moods. Not once in her illustrious career had she felt this unbalanced. She was always the steady one. The confident one. Unfazed and unflappable with any assignment.
But not today.
And all because a boy she tried—and failed—not to fall in love with thirteen years earlier had appeared out of seemingly nowhere.
“I was born three miles away at Georgetown Hospital,” she babbled on in hopes of getting her mind to deviate from its present course.
She’d only lived in the United States’ capital city on occasion during the past thirty years, however. Her mother’s career took her to countless countries before she’d reached her teens. Quinn’s own career took her even farther afield, never staying in one place long enough to fill out a change of address card, much less put down roots. The nomadic life was a trade-off for the thrilling challenge of being in the game. The risks she took to clandestinely retrieve lost items of importance delivered a potent adrenaline high she thrived on.
“Why, yes, my dear.” Her contact’s low, well-worn voice sounded amused by her departure from protocol. “I know everything about you.”
Of course he does. The man behind her was the only one in the world who knew the real Quinn Darby. Not to mention every alias she’d ever adopted. Ironic, since she knew nothing about him at all.
“Were you able to retrieve the micro card?” he asked.
She shifted her feet nervously. She’d had some close calls and a few failed first attempts at recovering items she was sent to retrieve before, but nothing as unpredictable as last night. Things got hairy when lightning struck the White House causing a temporary blackout and a mass exodus from the building. While the weather provided the perfect cloak for her to slip away without having to face the person she’d been avoiding for nearly half her life, it also meant she wasn’t able to secure the item she had been sent to the dinner to retrieve. And this time, what she was seeking had dire consequences to her personally.
“No, I don’t have it. But the good news is Alexi Ronoff doesn’t have it either.”
Quinn felt his sharp intake of breath behind her. “You know this for a fact?”
She nodded. “Alexi isn’t aware I speak Russian.”
One of the advantages of growing up all over the world was she’d developed a flair for linguistics. She spoke seven languages fluently and she understood several more. Her talent proved useful in both her careers.
“He was very upset about being hustled out of the White House before the exchange was made. But the seller has already been in contact with him late last