Page 59 of Secret Weapon

19

EMMY

That night, I dreamed of blood.Of a bloated face, of bruises, of the crunch of cartilage and flashing knives.I was almost grateful when my phone rang, pulling me out of a sweaty, restless sleep.James.Yes, it was five thirty in the morning, but it was eight thirty in DC and he’d made the effort to fit me in before his day started, a day that was bound to be busy.He was the President of the United States, after all.

“Hey.”

“You wanted to speak?What happened to your nose?”

Damn video calls.And yes, James and I knew each other well enough for him to notice the difference in my face.

“It broke.”

“Just like that?Who broke it?Not Sky again?”

“An old friend of Ana’s.Probably the less said about that, the better.”

James sucked in a breath and closed his eyes for a brief second.When we’d been dating, my job had been a bone of contention between us—he didn’t like the danger I placed myself in, and I hadn’t been a fan of his overprotectiveness.Over the years, he’d become more accepting, but he still struggled on occasion.

“You’re okay?”

“I’m absolutely fine.How’s work?”

“We signed a new trade deal with Japan.”

“Exciting.”

“Necessary.Why did you message me?”

“I’m just curious.I’m going to give you a name, and I want you to tell me if you’ve heard it before.Maybe at a briefing or something.”

“What’s the name?”

“Ottilie Marquette.”

Oh, he’d heard the name all right.I knew his face too, including the expression of shock-slash-surprise he tried to cover up.

Interesting.

“Why do you ask?”

“I bumped into her earlier, and she rang a few alarm bells.In St.Petersburg.”This time, the surprise was absent.“Oh, you already knew about that.”

“Where is she?”

“First, tell me why you want to know.”

“We’re not playing games here, Linny.”He still used my old nickname when his wife wasn’t around.Or my husband.“This is a matter of national security.”

“Then tell me why you want to know.”

I smiled.Waited.I was holding all the cards, and James understood that.He was far from stupid, which made a pleasant change from his predecessor.

“We’re on a secure line,” I prompted.

James sighed.“Ottilie Marquette is a scientist at the Sandy Peake Defense Research Laboratory.Specifically, she was involved in creating mission guidance software.A bona fide genius, so they tell me.Two years ago, she was seconded to a more…experimental team.Project Marshmallow was tasked with creating—”

“ProjectMarshmallow?”

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