Page 1 of Elusive Promise

One

The last time Parisa Maxwell had been at a consulate party she'd been sixteen, and she'd spent the evening peeking around a heavy, thick curtain, looking at all the beautiful, powerful people sipping champagne and speaking in a half-dozen different languages. That party had been on the other side of the world, at the US embassy in Bezikstan, a small country tucked between Nepal and Bangladesh on India's northeastern border.

Her stepfather, Harry Drummond, had served as the ambassador to Bezikstan for almost three years, and she'd loved living in the mountainous and mostly peaceful country. While she'd been a teenager, listening to the music and imagining a time where she'd be one of the guests at the party, she'd had no idea of the chaos and terror that would soon follow.

Her body tightened at the memory. It had been fifteen years, but that night was forever imprinted on her brain.

However, there was no reason to be nervous now. This evening was not about world political events, but rather personal ones. The consul general of Bezikstan, Raj Kumar, was hosting an engagement party for his daughter Jasmine at the consulate in New York City, which was located in a three-story building just a block away from Central Park.

She'd been a little surprised to get an invitation to the party. Her relationship with the Kumars had ended years ago. She assumed she'd been invited now because of her stepfather's relationship with Raj Kumar, which had continued after they'd left Bezikstan, and the fact that a very long time ago Jasmine and her sister Anika had been her classmates and her best friends.

She wished her mother and stepfather could have attended the party with her, but they were at a yoga retreat. It was up to her to represent the family, and it wasn't a terrible chore; she was actually looking forward to seeing the Kumars again. Since her assignment in San Francisco had recently ended, she had time for a short vacation, and one that was very much needed.

She'd been moving at breakneck speed for years, and she didn't know how to shift into a lower gear, but she might need to find that gear soon, because with each engagement party she attended, she was reminded that her whole life was work, and that might not be the healthiest way to live.

She accepted a glass of champagne from a nearby waiter and looked around the crowded foyer. She didn't immediately recognize anyone, but she was only in the outer reception area. The family was probably in the living room.

Despite the happy occasion, she still couldn't quite shake the feeling that she needed to be on her toes. She'd spent the last four years working as an FBI agent, and she never went anywhere without subconsciously noting every detail: the security at the entrances and exits, anyone who looked out of place, a subtle movement, someone watching instead of participating. Being acutely aware of her surroundings was a hard habit to break, but she needed to take a breath and just relax, enjoy the party.

She'd only taken a few steps forward when she heard her name called.

Whirling around, she saw the beautiful and exotically pretty Anika Kumar, who at thirty-one, was the same age as herself, but much more sophisticated. While they both wore black dresses, Anika's cocktail dress was much shorter and glittered under the lights. Her dark-brown hair was cut short and angled, framing her oval face, which was expertly made up, highlighting her red lips and dark eyes.

"Parisa, it is so good to see you," Anika said.

"You, too. You look amazing, Anika." The thin girl with the long, gangly legs and arms had grown up to be a spectacularly pretty woman.

Anika smiled in a way that told Parisa she was very much aware of her beauty. And then they exchanged a brief, airy hug.

"How long has it been?" Anika asked.

"Fifteen years."

"I can't believe it. How are you? What are you doing now? I think I heard you were working for the state department."

That was the cover she'd been using since she'd left Quantico. It fit her background and was vague enough not to generate many questions. It also afforded her an easy opportunity to move in international circles with little scrutiny.

"Yes," she said. "I work as a translator."

"You were always good at languages."

"What about you?"

"I'm working at WNN as an associate producer for the show:Around the World with Bill Haskins."

"Really? That sounds amazing." The renowned and intrepid foreign correspondent Bill Haskins hosted an hour-long segment on cable news, featuring important world events, and he often went to remote and sometimes dangerous locations to get the story. "Do you travel with him?"

"I wish. Hopefully, some day. But it's actually fine that I'm stuck here in the city for now, since there will be a lot of planning required for Jasmine's wedding. With her marrying Westley Larimer, heir to the Larimer fortune, the wedding will be an event."

"How long have they been together?"

"Only three months, but Jasmine is head over heels in love, and Westley feels the same way."

"I'm happy for her, but that is fast."

"Jasmine says when you know, you know," Anika said, with a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

"Well, I wouldn't know," she said with a laugh.

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