Page 40 of State of Alert

He took his half, and they ate in peaceful silence.

“Everything okay with the Iraqis?”

“Define ‘okay.’”

“Okay for now?”

“Yes, for now. But there’s considerable unrest in the world tonight, which I’ve been fully briefed on at bedtime.”

“Awesome.” His insomnia was bad enough without the literal weight of the world on his shoulders. “Anything I can do?”

“This helps. Sitting here eating grilled cheese with you helps. Just having you here with me after a day like this helps.”

“I wish I was here more. Thirteen hours today. It’s ridiculous.”

“That’s rare.”

“Still, it’s a Sunday with my family that I’ll never get back.”

“It was for a good cause. I heard from several people tonight that there’s tremendous relief at knowing Tom Forrester’s killer has been arrested. People were on edge after he was murdered.” He got up and went to pour himself a glass of the good bourbon that Graham O’Connor had bought for him and returned to sit next to her. “Any news about Juan’s case?”

“Yeah, a little.”Tell him, Sam. Just tell him.“Could I ask you something rhetorical?”

“Sure.”

“If you had to choose between national security and our relationship, what would you do?”

He stared at her for a hot second. “How would that ever be a choice?”

“Answer the question.”

“There is nothing, and I do meannothing, that I value morethan our relationship, and you know that. But would I risk the other three hundred and fifty million people in my care to save us? God, I hope I never have to make a call like that.”

“I do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Something was presented to me today as a matter of national security, something I was specifically asked to keep from you. Something that I think you should know and that I do not want to keep from you.”

He put the glass on the coffee table and turned to face her. “Tell me.”

“The people who asked me to keep it from you said it could cause you big trouble later if it comes out that you knew about it.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Juan isn’t dead.”

His face went slack with shock as he gasped. “What?”

In as few words as possible, Sam conveyed the series of events that had led NCIS to reveal Juan to her, alive and well.

“I told his mother…”

“Juan is in agony over that and the other people close to him who’ll suffer over him, but he was very clear that a much larger investigation hinges on certain people thinking he’s dead and out of the picture.”

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