Lee glanced in the rearview mirror. "But I guess that's not in Reynolds's agenda, is it?"
"I doubt it."
He looked back at her. "Faith," he said softly, "why did you step in front of that bullet? I know you care for Buchanan and all, but why?"
She took a shallow breath. "Like I said, he's unique, I'm ordinary. I couldn't let him die."
"I wouldn't have done it."
"Would you have done it for me?" she asked.
"Yes."
"You sacrifice for people you care about. And I care a great deal about Danny."
"I guess the fact that you had all the means to disappear—fake ID, Swiss bank account, safe house—and instead went to the FBI to try and save Buchanan should have clued me in on that."
She clutched his arm. "But I survived. I made it. Maybe that makes me just a little extraordinary, in a way?"
He cupped her face with his hand. "Now that you're here, I really don't want you to go, Faith. Like I would give everything I have, do anything I can, if you wouldn't leave me."
She traced his mouth with her fingers, kissed his lips, stared at his eyes, which even in the darkness seemed to have the blinding heat of the sun behind them. She never thought she would ever see those eyes again; maybe the fact that she might, if she were to survive, had been the only thing that had saved her, had not let her die. Right now she wasn't sure what else she had to live for. Other than the apparently depthless love of this man. And right now it meant everything to her.
"Start the car," she said.
Puzzled, he looked at her but said nothing. He turned the key in the ignition, put the car in gear.
"Go ahead," Faith said.
He pulled the car away from the curb and the vehicle behind them immediately did the same.
They drove along, the car following them.
"Reynolds must be pulling her hair out," Lee said.
"She'll get over it."
"Where to?" he said.
"How much gas do you have in the car?" Faith asked.
He looked surprised. "I was on a stakeout. Full tank."
She was settled against him, her arm curling around his middle, her hair tickling his nose; she smelled so wonderful he felt dizzy.
"We can drive to the lookout spot off the GW Parkway." She looked at the star-filled sky. "I can show you the constellations."
He looked at her. "Been chasing stars lately?"
She smiled at him. "Always."
"And after that?"
"They can't keep me in Witness Protection against my will, can they?"
"No. But you'd be in danger."
"How about we'd be in danger?"
"In a second, Faith. In a second. But what happens when we run out of gas?"
"For now, just drive."
And that's exactly what he did.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my dear friend Jennifer Steinberg, for tracking down so much information for me. You'd make a great PI!
To my wife, Michelle, for always telling me the truth about the books.
To Neal Schiff at the FBI for his continued help and cooperation with my novels.
A very special thanks to FBI Special Agent Shawn Henry, who was very generous with his time, expertise, and enthusiasm, and who helped me avoid some serious gaffes in the story. Shawn, your comments made the book much better.
To Martha Pope for her valuable, insightful knowledge on Capitol Hill matters, and her patience with a political neophyte. Martha, you'd make a great teacher!
To Bobby Rosen, Diane Dewhirst, and Marty Paone for sharing their experiences and institutional memories with me.
To Tom DePont, Dale Barto, and Charles Nelson of NationsBank for assistance on financial and tax matters.
To Joe Duffy for enlightening me on foreign aid policy and procedures. And to his wife, Anne Wexler, for sharing her valuable time and insight with me.
A very, very special thanks to my friend Bob Schule for going above and beyond the call of duty in helping me on this book, for not only providing fascinating details about his long and distinguished career in Washington, but also for casting a wide net among his friends and colleagues in order to help me better understand politics, lobbying, and how Washington really works. Bob, you're a wonderful friend and a true professional.
To Congressman Rod Blagojevich (D. Ill) for allowing me a glimpse into the life of a member of Congress.
To Congressman Tony Hall (D. Ohio) for helping me better understand the plight of the world's poor, and how that issue plays out (or doesn't) in Washington.
To my good friend and family member Congressman John Baldacci (D. Maine) for his support and assistance with this project. If everyone in Washington were like John, the plot of this book would seem totally implausible.
To Larry Benoit and Bob Beene for their help on everything from lobbying to the nuts and bolts of governing, to all the little nooks and crannies in the U.S. Capitol building. To them I owe one of my favorite scenes in the book.
To Mark Jordan of Baldino's Lock and Key for educating me on the ways of security and phone systems and how to crack them. Mark, you're the best.
To Steve Jennings for reading every word as usual and helping to make them better.
To my dear friends David and Catherine Broome for exposing me to the North Carolina settings and for their continued encouragement and support.
To all those other people who contributed to this novel but for various reasons wish to remain anonymous. I couldn't have done it without all of you.
To my editor and my friend Frances Jalet-Miller. Her skill, encouragement, and gentle persuasion are all that any writer could ever want in an editor. To many more books together, Francie.
Last, but absolutely not least, to Larry, Maureen, Jamie, Tina, Emi, Jonathan, Karen Torres, Martha Otis, Jackie Joiner, and Jackie Meyer, Bruce Paonessa and Peter Mauceri, and all the rest of the Warner Books family. It takes all of us to make this happen.
All the people listed above gave me the knowledge and help I needed to write this novel.
How I used that assistance to conjure up all sorts of shenanigans, misdeeds, outright crimes, and depictions of felonious and conspiratorial souls in Saving Faith, however, is my responsibility alone.