Page 58 of Covert Affairs

“He’s the only one I’ve trusted, besides my dad,” she explained.

Ian still didn’t like it. As the therapist grabbed his desk chair and slid it across the floor toward her, Ian stepped to his side. The man sat and Ian pointed the gun at his temple. “One wrong move and you’re a dead man. You do anything other than deactivate this command—”

“I know, I know.” Lippenstein waved a hand at him. “I’m dead. You’ve made yourself clear. Now let me get to work, young man.”

Vivi gave him a weak smile and he watched helplessly as the therapist put his wife into a hypnotic state.

It took several minutes of guided relaxation, and while Ian was keyed, he realized he felt more focused simply listening to the doctor. He watched Vivi’s chest rise and fall slowly and rhythmically.

Which is why his neck prickled when he sensed another presence in the house.

Two steps toward the study door and he tapped his comm. “Rory, tell me you’ve got someone nearby.”

“Hunter and his team are on the way,” came the reply. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve got company.”

The man appeared, filling the doorway. Dressed in a pale summer suit, he smiled with menace. “We finally meet,” he said, “and you brought Genevieve with you. I’ve been searching all over for her.”

Ian was looking at the spitting image of himself. He trained his gun on the smug face. “Who the fuck are you?”

A low, vicious chuckle. “Come to me, my little bird,” he said. “Time for us to go.”

To Ian’s horror, Vivi came to her feet.

Twenty-Two

Ian fired at the man but he’d already ducked back into the dark hallway. “Wake her up,” he ordered the psychotherapist. “Now!”

“Genevieve,” Lippenstein walked with her as she passed the television and headed for the doorway, seemingly oblivious of Ian. “I’m going to make a noise with my fingers and you’ll wake—”

A gunshot rang out and the doctor went down, blood blooming from his stomach and staining his robe.

Idiot! He’d taken his eyes off the open door to stare at his wife.

“Idol,” Rory said in his ear. “What the fuck just happened? Report!”

“Make one wrong move,” the man in the hall called, “and I’ll shoot her next.”

Ian grabbed Vivi’s arm. She stopped but stared at the space in front of her. “Vivi, wake up.” He snapped his fingers in her face, mimicking what he assumed Lippenstein was about to attempt and hoping that would do the trick.

“Come to me, my little bird,” the man crooned. “Don’t let anyone stop you.”

She started walking. Ian grabbed her and jerked her out of the line of fire. “A unit of highly trained SEALs are about to descend on this house,” he shouted at the bastard. “Get out before they fill you with lead, Spear. Or Alan, or whoever the hell you are.”

There was a pause, as if he were surprised Ian knew his various identities.

“That’s right,” Ian grunted around the knee Vivi jammed toward his groin. He was too quick and she missed, but he’d probably have a bruised thigh come morning. “I know who you are. Know you washed out of The Farm because you couldn’t cut it.” He needed to keep the bastard focused on him. Use what he knew to unsettle the guy, trip him up. “You may be smart, but you’re still a fucking grade-A failure.”

Another pregnant pause, brief but telling. “A failure?” His voice was silky, yet forced. “I’ve managed to get a genius psychologist whose head is filled with highly classified information to follow my every order.” The bastard chuckled. “I’ve been working on this plan since the first time I saw her at The Farm. That’s where I met her. So talented. Pretty, too. When they cut me, I knew how to get back at them, at everyone, and your wife was the perfect way to do that. I’ve kept track of her for years.”

Ian felt sick to his stomach. Vivi tried to knock the gun from his hand, refocusing his attention. He had to holster the weapon to keep from accidentally shooting her. Her hand-to-hand combat, as evidenced by the fight she was currently putting up, was a problem.

He tried to grab hold of her wrists without injuring her. “So you were jealous,” he jeered. He managed to snag her fist when she swung at his cheek, but then she made to bite him. “You couldn’t run with the big dogs, so you looked for a pawn to play off against them.”

“I found my skills and intelligence were appreciated by others.”

“Jim Lawrence?”

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