Page 50 of Shadow of Doubt

“Because there’s a man from Inessa’s past. He says he loves her and he thinks she loves him too.”

Eva, a hardened cynic, rolled her eyes.

“I know,” Harvath replied. “I had the same reaction, but trust me, it’s important that he see her.”

“So I’ll texthimher phone number.”

“He already has it. That’s not the problem. The problem is that if she decides she wants to go with him, he thinks Tsybulsky won’t let her leave.”

“Well, he’d be right. Arkady sees Inessa as his property. Whoever this man is, you should tell him to find another girlfriend. This one is only going to get him killed.”

“I wish it were that easy,” Harvath continued. “The first part of my job is to get the two of them together without Tsybulsky, or any of his men, knowing.”

Eva laughed. “Good luck. He’s even more obsessed with security than my husband. Everyone on his staff is ex–Russian Special Forces and he pays ridiculously inflated prices for them. The saying in the Spetsnaz community is that you haven’t truly made it until your invitation to Spetsgruppa ‘D’ arrives.”

Harvath was familiar with the different Spetsnaz units, but he hadn’t heard of a Spetsgruppa “D.” He figured it was some kind of wordplay. “What does theDstand for?”

“Dene???? meshok,” she replied. “In English, it means ‘money bag.’ In Russian as well, but for us it’s considered quite derogatory. It refers to a boorish person with a crass amount of wealth.” Smiling, she added, “I think it fits Arkady perfectly.”

Harvath smiled back.

Taking another sip of champagne, she asked, “What’s the second part of your job? Once you get these two supposed lovebirds together.”

“If Inessa decides she wants to go off with this man, I’m supposed to help her disappear.”

Eva shook her head. “If you do, Arkady won’t rest until he’s killed all three of you.”

“I don’t think I’ll lose any sleep over him,” Harvath responded.

“He’s not like my husband. He can’t be reasoned with. And you should know that he doesn’t select his ex-Spetsnaz soldiers solely for their skills and experience. He picks them for their moral flexibility. They are not honorable men. They’re bad people.”

“Understood. I intend to stay as far away from them as possible.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” she asked.

Once more, Harvath smiled. “Everything’s going to be fine. I just need you to do one thing for me.”

“Which is?”

“Contact Inessa. Tell her you want to see her before she leaves. Get her to meet you for dinner tonight.”

Eva looked at him. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” he replied, topping off her champagne. “I’ll take care of everything else.”

CHAPTER 23

LANGLEY, VIRGINIA

Though Maggie was an excellent cook, her husband, Paul, was also quite skilled in the kitchen. This morning he had whipped up a classic Frenchomelette aux fines herbesincorporating chives, parsley, and tarragon from their own garden. He served it with fresh-squeezed orange juice, French-press coffee, and a perfectly crusty baguette from their favorite little bakery in McLean.

Maggie relished unhurried mornings like this—the sun streaming through the windows, she and Paul sharing different sections of the newspaper, simply easing into the day. It both grounded and reminded her of what she was grateful for.

They were halfway through breakfast when the call came in. One of her analysts overseeing the Belarus desk had uncovered something. How soon could Maggie get to the office?

The answer, of course, was right away. Though she drew a bright line between work and home, she understood that there were certain times, especially involving matters of national security, where that line needed to be crossed. Like a surgeon who was on call, it was simply part of the job.

Because of the time element, Maggie was forced to forgo her beloved bicycle and drive one of their cars to work.

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