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“I asked her to marry me,” said Blue Man abruptly.

“What?” exclaimed Reel. “Isn’t that sort of sudden?”

“It’s actually many decades overdue.”

“But after everything that’s happened,” said Reel. “What you told her about Patti.”

“I had to try. I had to.”

“Why was that?” asked Reel.

“Because I love her. Sometimes it’s just as simple as that. And if someone can’t act on love, then what does anything else really matter?”

Robie hadn’t really reacted to any of this. He just stared out the window, his mood growing fouler by the moment.

Until he felt it.

He looked down.

Reel’s steely fingers had closed around his.

When he looked up, she was gazing straight ahead.

Yet he thought he saw the barest glimmer of a smile on her face.

And a solitary tear clutching at her right eye.

Robie gripped her hand back.

The truck drove as the night enveloped them.

Yet perhaps for Will Robie and Jessica Reel there was now a seam of light somewhere inside the darkness.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To Michelle: Remember when we weren’t sure if there’d ever be more than one book?

To Michael Pietsch, for always having my back.

To Lindsey Rose, Andy Dodds, Brian McLendon, Ben Sevier, Karen Kosztolnyik, Beth deGuzman, Brigid Pearson, Bob Castillo, Anthony Goff, Michele McGonigle, Andrew Duncan, Joseph Benincase, Tiffany Sanchez, Stephanie Sirabian, Oscar Stern, Matthew Ballast, Jordan Rubinstein, Dave Epstein, Rachel Hairston, Karen Torres, Christopher Murphy, Ali Cutrone, Tracy Dowd, Lukas Fauset, Thomas Louie, Laura Eisenhard, Anne Twomey, Flamur Tonuzi, Blanca Aulet, Mary Urban, Barbara Slavin, and everyone at Grand Central Publishing, for being a terrific partner all these years.

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 Rachael Burlette, 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 build me to lofty heights around the world.

To Praveen Naidoo and his team at Pan Macmillan in Australia, for topping themselves with each book.

To Caspian Dennis and Sandy Violette, for being both great drinking partners and top-notch literary agents!

To Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy, for your astounding audio performances.

To Steven Maat and the entire Bruna team, for doing a wonderful job.

To auction winners Brenda Fishbaugh, Clément Lamarre, Roark Lambert, and JC Parry, I hope you enjoyed your characters. Thank you for supporting such wonderful organizations.

And to Kristen White and Michelle Butler, for keeping Columbus Rose going strong!

End Game

David Baldacci is one of the world’s bestselling and favourite thriller writers. With over 130 million copies in print, his books are published in over 80 territories and 45 languages, and have been adapted for both feature-film and television. He has established links to government sources, giving his books added authenticity. David is also the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation®, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across the US. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org.

Trust him to take you to the action.

ALSO BY DAVID BALDACCI

The Camel Club series

The Camel Club The Collectors • Stone Cold

Divine Justice Hell’s Corner

King and Maxwell series

Split Second Hour Game • Simple Genius • First Family

The Sixth Man King and Maxwell

Shaw series

The Whole Truth Deliver Us From Evil

John Puller series

Zero Day The Forgotten • The Escape

No Man’s Land

Will Robbie series

The Innocent The Hit • The Target • The Guilty

Amos Decker series

Memory Man The Last Mile • The Fix

Vega Jane series

The Finisher The Keeper • The Width of the World

Other novels

True Blue Absolute Power • Total Control

The Winner The Simple Truth • Saving Faith

Wish You Well Last Man Standing

The Christmas Train One Summer

Short Stories

No Time Left Bullseye