Page 16 of Steinbeck
He met her bottle with a clink.“Astana.”
“While you were on the teams?”
He lifted the bottle to his mouth and said nothing.But his blue eyes sparked.
Oh, maybe this was a bad, very bad idea.They couldn’t be teammates, especially not friends.She did not have room in her life for Mr.Devastating Blue Eyes.“I remember you saying you missed being an operator, back in Cuba, when we were staking out the embassy.”
He cocked his head.
“I had a lot of time to think while I crossed the deep blue sea.”She took another bite.
His mouth tightened.“It’s going to kill me, but I have to know, Phoenix.How badly?—”
She held up her hand.“Listen.After they figured out I didn’t know anything—or wasn’t going to give them anything—they locked me in a room at the estate and left me alone.Same with the boat.I just had the one scuffle, during which I grabbed the phone.”
He considered her, the slightest pull in his jaw.But he nodded.Set his sandwich down.“I should not have left you in Cuba.”
“You need to let that go.Itoldyou to leave.You had Declan and your sister to protect.I knew I could take care of myself.”She swallowed when she said it, however, because?—
“I know.”
She looked up at the stars, sighed.Looked back at him.“Listen.You didn’t have to come for me.And I don’t know why you did, but...”She nodded.“This isn’t over, Steinbeck.I need that program.And?—”
“I know.”
She stilled.
“I get it.After...”His mouth tightened.“After we left you in Cuba, we got back on the yacht only to have it be overrun with Russians?—”
“Tomas said it exploded.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“The Petrov boss and I had a chatty-chat down at the wharf.You might have caught it on video.”
“Right.And yes.Declan and I blew up his yacht.Got lost at sea for a day or so.”
“Austen?”
“Safe.”
She leaned back.Exhaled.
“What you don’t know is that Declan wasn’t a bad guy, just like I said.”
She eyed him.
“He was working with the Caleb Group.”
Her mouth opened.“No.No, he wasn’t?—”
Stein held up a hand.“Absolute truth.He hijacked the ship with the obsidite the Russians stole from the island and routed it to a processing plant in America.”
“Not a terrorist.”
“Not.A terrorist.”
She gave him a wry smile.“Okay, but we still need that program.It can still fall into the wrong hands, including the United States’.I can’t let the US be the only country that has access to the virus that can shut down his AI program.”
