Page 92 of Shadow of Doubt

Johnson looked at him. “When do we leave?”

“I’m with Johnson,” Preisler stated. “I’ll meet you all in the driveway. I just need to grab my gear.”

“Thank you,” Harvath said as a sea of painful, bittersweet, and vengeful emotions churned inside him. “For the record, that was the right answer.”

His teammates smiled. A couple laughed. They knew him well. Without a sense of humor, they’d all be lost.

As they ate their breakfast, Harvath jotted down a few notes. Taking these four with him to Paris, he’d be leaving five more behind to help guard the villa—Gage, Barton, Morrison, Ashby, and Palmer. Nicholas and the dogs would also stay behind, as would Sølvi and Grechko.

He didn’t like cutting the team in half. If anything happened to any one of them, he wouldn’t forgive himself. And if anything happened to Sølvi, he knew that would be a pain he’d be unable to bear.

But while all that was true, he also knew that he couldn’t allow anyone involved in Lara’s murder to go unpunished. His joke about sending Johnson had been just that—a joke. There was only one person who could, and rightfully should, settle this score.

After finishing breakfast, he gathered his things together and went to say goodbye to Sølvi.

Grateful for all that had been done, Grechko had agreed to start their debrief early, which was why she had been out of bed before Harvath. He was loath to interrupt, but she had left him a note asking him to come find her before he left.

He knocked on the debriefing room door and waited in the basement hallway for her to step out.

“Hey,” she said, closing the door behind her and wrapping her arms around him. “You were out cold when I woke up. How did you sleep?”

“I slept well, but not nearly long enough,” he replied, giving her a kiss.

“Getting ready to leave?”

“The guys are packing up now. We’re going to take two of the cars. Barton and Gage are driving and will bring them back.”

“Who’s going up to Paris with you?” she asked.

Harvath rattled off the names.

Sølvi smiled. “You’re taking the A-team with you.”

“All ten of us are the A-team and I’m leaving you with five. You’re in good hands. Don’t worry.”

“Listen, I’ve been thinking about something.”

There was something about her tone that suggested maybe he didn’t want to hear this. “Do we need to talk about it now, or can it wait?”

“I want to cancel the wedding.”

“What?”

“After this is all over, I want as little drama as possible. Let’s just elope. Bali. Barbados. Buenos Aires. I don’t care. You pick the spot. How does that sound?”

To be honest, it sounded fantastic, but it wasn’t a decision he wanted to make under duress. “I am one hundred percent open to the idea,” he replied. “Let’s talk about it when I get back.”

“You promise?”

“That I’m coming back,” he teased, “or that we’ll talk about it?”

“Both.”

He gave her another kiss. “I promise.”

They stood in the hallway for a few more moments, holding each other. Finally, they broke off their hug.

“Do what you need to do,” she said. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

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