In 2002, Mark Vincent, onetime senior special agent, ran into John, a troubled little boy, at a local McDonald’s. Concerned, although it wasn’t his business, he gave the kid his business card and left. Three years later, Mark is director of his department at the WBIS and married to Quinton Mann, the former CIA spook who now writes spy novels. They’ve settled into a life of quiet domesticity and are even considering adopting a cat. All this changes when John, now using another name, barrels into Mark’s life with a secret no one expects and on the run from an organization that wants him despite the collateral damage. What will Mark, the man known as “the best” in the intelligence community, do when he learns what this secret is? Will it affect his relationship with Quinn? And how complicated are things going to get when Mark decides to get involved?

Mann of My Dreams Book 5: Complications

He was in the middle of doing the homework he’d assigned himself, and he took out a fresh sheet of loose-leaf paper. With careful strokes he wrote his name at the top of the page. In the opposite corner he put the date, May 23, 2005. Instead of writing an essay on what led up to the events of 9/11, though, he found himself sketching an idea that had been niggling at his brain.


When the phone rang, he looked up. “Ma?”


“Let the answering machine pick up.” They had to have a phone in case her boss needed her to come in for an extra shift, but the rule of the house was all calls went to the answering machine. If it turned out to be her boss, she’d pick up.


“I’m looking for Jeanette Van Orden.” The voice sounded prissy. “Is she there?” There was a long moment of silence as the caller waited for a response. Finally, he said, “I beg your pardon. Obviously I’ve called the wrong number.” There was a subdued click, and after a short time, the answering machine shut off.


Chapter 46