law, physically as he worked himself to the bone so he didn’t have the energy to think of her or dream of her or wish things could have been different.
He remembered how he’d felt when he’d found out she was alive. Beat to hell and so utterly betrayed. Because everything he’d done because of her had been for shit.
Then he thought of what Maria had said: If this evidence could have cleared her of any wrongdoing on her part, she could have come out of hiding at any time. There’s something else going on here, Peter. She’s protecting someone.
Followed by Kat’s voice at that park in Philadelphia just before she’d left him: If I lied to you, it was for a very good reason. Maybe someday you’ll understand that.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and knew, if given the chance, he’d do it all over again the exact same way. No matter how any of it had played out, she’d been the one person to change his life for the better.
His heart was pounding a mile a minute as he leaned forward and flipped on the small tabletop lamp, then reached for the phone. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told him it was almost midnight, but he didn’t care. He paid his lawyer in Miami an insanely embarrassing retainer for moments just like this. The guy could get his ass out of bed for all Pete cared.
Twenty minutes later, with the weight of his decision on his shoulders and no thought of turning back, he clicked off the cordless phone, turned it on again and dialed the number his lawyer had grudgingly dug up for him.
He was routed all over hell and back, then told to hang tight. He clicked off the phone one more time, sat back and waited.
Minutes passed before the damn thing rang. He picked it up on the second shrill note. “That was fast, even for you.”
“Where’s Kat?” Martin Slade’s voice had that same superior clip Pete remembered from the one time he’d met the guy in Cairo. And it sure the hell didn’t endear the SOB to Pete any now.
“She’s fine,” Pete said, working to keep his tone even and calm. “Sleeping. I don’t have to tell you she’s been through the wringer the past few days. No thanks to you.”
“I had no idea Halloway was in contact with Bertrand or that he’d pass on the info I gave him about Kat’s location. Surely Kat doesn’t believe—”
“She’s not sure what to believe right now,” Pete snapped. “Any way you look at it, the government’s fucked her twice now. Why the hell should she trust you?”
“Because she doesn’t have many other options, does she? It’s only a matter of time before Minyawi finds you both. Neither of you have any idea what you’re dealing with here. This goes deeper than she could imagine.”
“She already knows.”
“How—”
“I’ve got contacts, too, Slade. And the how isn’t really important. What is important is keeping Kat safe. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she stays out of harm’s way and that this finally ends for her because I know I played a part in it from the beginning. But what about you? She gave up six years of her life because you convinced her it was the only way. And now she’s right back where she was before. Only this time there’s no easy way out. What are you willing to do to make things right for her?”
Silence.
Pete ground his teeth and though he knew it was useless, just couldn’t quite keep the contempt from his voice. “You fucking owe her, you son of a bitch.”
More silence, then finally when Pete was sure Slade wasn’t going to answer, the man said, “She has to come in. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure she gets a fair shake. If she cooperates, I’ll make sure she doesn’t get extradited back to Egypt. But there are going to be questions—even I can’t get her around those.”
“And what about you?” Pete asked. “You’re just going to skate free like nothing happened?”
“No.” For the first time, Pete heard regret in Slade’s voice. “No. If she comes in, I’m going to have to fess up to what I did to help her. Christ, it’ll probably make it worse, but I’ll do whatever I can to make things easier on her. I swear it.”
Pete realized in that moment that Slade was telling the truth. In