Mark Vincent has risen from senior special agent to Director of Interior Affairs in the WBIS. Lately, life has been sweet for him -- in addition to his promotion, he's found a partner in Quinton Mann, who can almost match his ability in the intelligence field, in spite of the fact Quinn's CIA. Mark has also found a condo in Alexandria with the help of Portia Mann, Quinn's mother, and it's closer to Quinn's town house than Mark's present apartment. Sweetest of all, Mark plans to take Quinn to his island in the Caribbean for the holidays.<br><br>Quinn's glad he has the holiday with Mark to look forward to -- something is going on at Langley, and he feels he's being kept out of the loop. To make matters even worse, useless missions and sleepless nights filled with nightmares are leaving him exhausted. But then his mother's life if threatened, and Quinn discovers the accident that resulted in her hospitalization was no accident. The obsessively self-absorbed Senator Wexler is involved, and while Quinn considers himself a civilized man, now he's out for blood.<br><br>Up until this point, Mark has stayed out of Quinn's CIA business. But hurting Quinn and those he loves isn't a smart move, and Mark has every intention of seeing Wexler pays. Quinn demands to come along, and while Mark isn't happy, he finally agrees, and they set out together to deal with the senator. There's just one catch: this will be the first time Quinn sees Mark at his deadly best, and Mark isn't sure how his lover will react.

Forever

The fireplace took up part of the back wall, an empty firewood rack to one side of the hearth and the tools to the other.


At the other side of the room was the kitchen, with a compact refrigerator, a sink, and a four-burner stove with the oven Mark had insisted we’d need. Fortunately, we wouldn’t have to eat sitting on the beds. There was a small table and four chairs that would suit.


Surprisingly, the cabin was clean. There were no mouse droppings on the counter or in the cabinet above the sink, or the remains of insects in the sink or shower stall.


I opened the window in the bathroom, and Mark raised the shades and cranked open all the others. The air blowing in was cold, but it freshened the room. While I retrieved the linens, he went to the car, hoisted out my carry-on and his suitcase, and then slammed the trunk shut.


He came back in, kicking the door shut behind him. “Lock it, wouldja?”


Chapter 131