Quinton Mann is CIA through and through. Mark Vincent is WBIS for life. There is no way they could end up as anything other than adversaries -- and yet, Quinn takes Mark out to dinner on his birthday -- the one no one is supposed to know about -- and gives him one hell of a present in the restaurant's restroom. Mark, not to be outdone, has decided to escalate this game, because it has to be a game, right? There's no way it can be anything else.<br><br>But as the game continues, as Quinn shows up to a WBIS funeral, as a friend of Mark’s penetrates the CIA computer network to get information on Quinn, as Mark breaks into Quinn's house and gives Quinn a very interesting encounter, both Quinn and Mark realize that this is becoming the most real thing in their lives.<br><br>Can they find a way to do their jobs and keep this surprising, intriguing connection?

Houseboat on the Nile

“Thanks.” The card was gray, with subtle swirls of black and white in the background making it look like marble.


“Same here, Quinn.” I signaled a waiter and handed him my plate, fork, and cup. There was no way I’d leave anything with my DNA lying around in CIA territory.


It might come across as paranoid, but as I’d told Cooper, I was still alive.


He studied my eyes for a long minute, then gave a lopsided smile. “No, I imagine not, but let’s anyway.”


We left the room and took the elevator down to the lobby.


“I enjoyed talking with you,” Mann said, but I knew it was Kane Flint he meant. He’d probably have headed for the hills if he’d known I was Mark Vincent.


Chapter 8