“Just the usual.”
“There is nothing usual about you.”
He drank his coffee and said, “So Melvin moving here? Him and Brown a couple? What about you?”
“What about me what?”
Trying to keep his voice nonchalant and failing miserably, Decker said, “You going to stick with the FBI?”
“Are you?”
“I don’t have anything else in my life, Alex.”
“I think you have a lot more in your life than you think.”
“So you’ll stay?”
“If you do, I do.”
He looked at her strangely. “That simple?”
She nodded.
“Why?” he asked.
“I’m surprised you have to ask, Decker.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s what I meant when I said I had your back.”
She tapped her coffee cup against his, sat back, and closed her eyes.
Decker watched her for a few moments and then turned to look at the river.
This time he kept his eyes wide open.
Acknowledgments
To Michelle, the #1 in my life.
To Michael Pietsch, for always piloting the ship with a deft touch.
To Lindsey Rose, Andy Dodds, Karen Torres, Anthony Goff, Bob Castillo, Michele McGonigle, Andrew Duncan, Christopher Murphy, Dave Epstein, Tracy Dowd, Brian McLendon, Matthew Ballast, Lukas Fauset, Deb Futter, Beth deGuzman, Thomas Louie, Oscar Stern, Michele Karas, Stephanie Sirabian, Brigid Pearson, Flamur Tonuzi, Blanca Aulet, Joseph Benincase, Tiffany Sanchez, Ali Cutrone, Mary Urban, Barbara Slavin, Anne Twomey, Sean Ford, Rachel Hairston, and everyone at Grand Central Publishing, for going the extra mile for me.
To Aaron and Arleen Priest, Lucy Childs Baker, Lisa Erbach Vance, Mitch Hoffman (and thanks for another fine editing job), Frances Jalet-Miller, John Richmond, and Matt Belford, for being great friends and advocates.
To Anthony Forbes Watson, Jeremy Trevathan, Trisha Jackson, Katie James, Alex Saunders, Sara Lloyd, Amy Lines, Stuart Dwyer, Geoff Duffield, Jonathan Atkins, Anna Bond, Sarah Willcox, Leanne Williams, Sarah McLean, Charlotte Williams, and Neil Lang at Pan Macmillan, for continuing to lift me to stellar heights overseas.
To Praveen Naidoo and his team at Pan Macmillan in Australia, for a fantastic job.
To Caspian Dennis and Sandy Violette, for being so wonderful.
To Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy, for your terrific audio performances.
To Steven Maat and the entire Bruna team, for doing a great job.
To Roland Ottewell, for a terrific copyediting job.
And to Kristen White and Michelle Butler, for keeping Columbus Rose sailing straight and true.
About the Author
David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author. His books are published in over 45 languages, with more than 110 million copies in print, and have been adapted for both feature film and television. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org.