Despite her nervousness while test driving the vehicles, Sarah had to admit that the S80 was more powerful than the smaller sedans. Lee was pleased that she wanted the larger car, but he frowned a little when she said she wanted the metallic blue one over the black demo.

"Daddy, I can pay for the difference between the two cars. I can afford it."

"You'll do no such thing. I talked you into getting this car—we might as well get you the color you want. Besides, it had a nice package." And it will sure make Frank happy. So much for my "old friend" owing me one. Frank had been one of Lee's "family" during his Agency days, but as Amanda had noted, Frank had ended up needing favors from Lee more often than he had been helpful.

Sarah missed Lee's sarcastic expression as he turned away to go to the sales manager's office. Matt took Sarah's hand and led her over to the used cars.

"I hope you don't mind. I wanted you to take a look with me at this Charger. It seems to be almost brand new."

"You said something about getting a new car a few weeks ago. What's wrong with your Mazda?"

"I've wanted to replace it with a bigger, more powerful car since I started at the Agency. I've been saving, and your dad said I was going to get a raise, so…"

"Oh, congratulations! I know you've done a lot to deserve it."

Smiling, he offered a simple reply. "Thanks." Normally Matt would feel embarrassed at the praise, but when it came from Sarah, it brought the opposite reaction.

They inspected the black Charger. "Sarah, this is top of the line." Matt craned his neck at the driver's window so he could see inside. It had leather seats and several of the extras that Matt had not expected to find. Most importantly, it had the engine he wanted. Matt read the fact sheet in the window. "The mileage is really low. I wonder why they sold it—it can't be more than six months old."

Matt heard the salesperson approaching. Before he could turn towards him, he heard Frank's voice. "That's okay, Manny. I've got this."

Matt looked back at Frank. Lee was not in sight. "I see you've got your eye on this beauty, Matt. Top of the line. The previous owner loved the car, but unfortunately, the wife wanted a Volvo, so…" Frank tried to assess Matt's interest in the car, but Matt had put on his agent face. Sarah watched quietly. This was a side of Matt she hadn't seen since they first met.

"We've lowered the original price by four thousand, so I don't expect it to stay here long."

"That's not much of a savings, considering someone owned it for…"

"Only six months."

"I guess I have a decent car already. It's in excellent condition, no issues. The price is still a little steep for me."

Sarah turned away to grin to herself. This is kind of entertaining.

"If you have a nice trade-in, I could knock a little more off the price, then give you a fair shake for the trade-in. You'd owe next to nothing."

Matt and Frank haggled over the price for a few minutes. Matt remained casual. He gave half-hearted replies to Frank's suggestions. Sarah could not read Matt's expression the entire time. Soon her father came out of the offices.

"Uh, Frank, did you want me to go sign the papers now?" She gestured to her father, who was standing with his hands on his hips.

"Oh, sorry, Sarah. That's what I came out here for. I'm sure your dad is wondering what happened to us."

Sarah started to walk towards the offices, but Matt hung back. He wanted to see what Frank would do.

Frank looked anxiously towards Lee, then back at Matt. "You drive a hard bargain, and we both know I don't get anything for used cars. But I'll meet you at your price. Join us inside. I'll order some sandwiches. That should keep Lee from blowing his top at me."

"I might be interested—once I've given it a test drive and looked the car over. But you'll have to knock the equivalent of the custom color price off any deal you've struck with Lee for the S80. If anything is out of order, the deal is off."

"No wonder Stetson likes you. What have I gotten myself into? We'll take the test drive after you take a look at the Charger and we get these Volvo papers signed. But first I'm going to feed Stetson. And you."

Matt smiled to himself as waited for one of the other salespeople to unlock the car so he could take a look. If this car checks out, I've saved myself thousands of dollars and another six months of waiting. And Frank won't be unhappy. He'll be that much closer to his monthly quota. He pulled out his phone so he could talk to his father as he inspected the car.

Two hours later, Matt pulled up to the curb on Maplewood Drive in the Charger, with Sarah in the passenger seat. After they had brought the Volvo home, she had gone back with him in the Mazda to finish the trade. They sat in the car a minute, looking over the features.

Amanda came out of the house to admire Matt's new car as they finally emerged from the vehicle. "Hello there. I have to say I'm pretty surprised you both have new cars now."

"Well, I was planning to wait another six months, but I hadn't expected to find such a good deal…"

"That's what I hear."

"And honestly, I think this car is safer…" Matt looked at Amanda, hoping she would understand his meaning. Her eyes clouded over briefly as she nodded at him.

Lee walked over from the driveway, where he had been checking out Sarah's car.

"Congratulations, Granger. Sarah told me you worked Frank hard." He chuckled. "And thanks for saving me that six hundred dollars so Sarah could get her custom color for free."

"Yeah, well I felt kind of guilty for bringing up the metallic blue within earshot. You know, I didn't even have to get a loan—I didn't think I'd saved enough. But, I guess I really lucked out." Matt grinned in spite of himself. "I talked with my dad about the condition of the car and the engine. He thought I shouldn't pass it up."

"Daddy, it's top of the line. It has leather seats—it even has seat warmers in the back. I'm sure you know all about the engine."

"I heard it when you drove up. Well, I hope you enjoy your own car as much."

Sarah reached over to put her arms around Lee's waist. "Oh, you know I love it. I'm so glad you talked me into it. It was very generous of you."

Lee hugged Sarah back. "Well, I guess you could consider it a gift from my parents. You worked hard and earned those scholarships…" He interrupted himself with a yawn.

Amanda looked at her watch. "It's going on three o'clock here, but it's the middle of the night in Kazakhstan. I'm ready to crash."

Lee looked over at Amanda. "A nap sounds good right now."

After stopping to look over the Volvo, Sarah and Matt, with his arm draped around her shoulders, walked up the driveway to her apartment stairs. She had reached up to hold his hand. "It was interesting to watch Agent Granger in action. I haven't seen that side of you since we met."

Matt squeezed her hand. "I like to give you the real thing. That agent persona is just the way they trained me to act—you know how it is." They walked up the stairs together.

"Well, it worked on Frank. I imagine you must be quite good at getting information from people."

"Sometimes." Matt was enjoying the praise coming from Sarah, but he did not want to seem immodest.

As Sarah shut the door after them, Matt felt a wave of drowsiness come over him. The same jet lag Amanda and Lee had felt was hitting him suddenly. Sarah had not missed his expression.

"Oh, Matt. You look exhausted. Do you want to lie down?"

"Maybe I could just stretch out on your couch for a little bit. I hate to waste our time together…" Matt wasn't sure he could make the drive to his apartment.

"Don't worry about that. Look, that couch won't hold you. Go lie down on my bed. I can grab my laptop and work on bills, maybe go down and clean out my old car…"

"Oh Sarah, the couch will be fine."

Sarah could see Matt was uncomfortable. "Pretend you are just a guest here. I won't be there with you, if that's what's bothering you."

Matt's eyes grew wide and Sarah couldn't help but laugh a little. "And I thought I was more reserved than you were."

Matt decided to ignore her remark, since it would only increase his discomfort to talk further. "If you're sure. Honestly, I can hardly keep my eyes open."

"I'm sure. Let me just grab my laptop bag and the bills."

Matt left the door to Sarah's room slightly ajar and lay down on the side of the bed she didn't use. He could smell the scent of her hair—just like his mother's rose garden—coming faintly from the pillow next to him. His mind started to wander to places he had determined not to go. This is why I didn't want to lay down on her bed. Drowsiness overwhelmed him as he closed his eyes and tried to relax. Soon exhaustion won out and he was sleeping soundly.

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Lee followed Amanda into the house and locked the door behind them. He caught a glimpse of her face as she went into the kitchen for a drink of water. "Amanda, I know that look. You're wondering how Matt got the money for his car, aren't you?"

"I'm ashamed to say the thought crossed my mind. Here he is confiding in us, and I am jumping to conclusions because there's this kernel of doubt in my mind now."

"If it's any consolation, I thought the same thing. I want to trust Matt. Like I said earlier, I've gotten kind of attached to him. The sooner we can prove that he's not the mole, the better, if you ask me. I think we need to check out his money trail now and set our minds at ease."

"Oh, Lee. I was hoping someone else could do the snooping. I hate this. You know, he was trying to tell me that one reason he bought that Charger today was because he wanted a safer car for Sarah's sake. He seemed so sincere, Lee."

He could see that Amanda was getting increasingly distressed over Matt. He drew her into his arms and held her for a moment. "Maybe you could go lay down while I run the check on his financials." He pulled his head away so he could see her face. Seeing the relief there, he kissed her gently and led her to the stairs. "I'll be up to take a nap with you as soon as I'm done."

"Hopefully he'll never know we doubted him…"

"I hope so, too."

It was an hour later when Lee joined Amanda on the bed, where she slept soundly. Despite his careful movements, she stirred in her sleep. After watching her for a moment, he settled himself next to her. He sighed. While he had no doubts about Matt's financial reports, he was not sure he would be able to put Francine's concerns to rest. He closed his eyes, hoping he could go to sleep instead of worrying about Matt.

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It took a few moments for Matt to get his bearings. Roses. He recognized the scent and remembered he was lying on Sarah's bed. He checked his phone. I've slept for over two hours. Maybe I can make up for it by taking her to dinner. Matt listened to the sounds coming from the other room and smiled to himself. Sarah was quietly shuffling papers and working on her laptop. She's probably at the table, paying her bills. I wonder if this is what it would be like if we were married…

Matt got off the bed silently and straightened the bedspread and pillow before creeping from the room. Sarah did not turn around from her work at the table. She had braided her hair to the side, so the back of her neck was bare. Matt focused on the smooth skin that lay exposed as he moved one step at a time towards her chair. Finally he was close enough to kiss her lightly on his target and whisper in her ear. "Hello, beautiful."

Sarah did not look up as she spoke. "Hello yourself, handsome. Did you sleep well?"

Matt laughed and went to sit in the chair near Sarah. "How did you know I was there? I didn't think I made much noise."

Sarah smiled at him. "Actually, you were almost silent. I just could tell you were there."

"You're trying to make up for insulting my spying skills."

"I'm serious. Like the time you sneaked in here to see if I was really Sarah Stetson and not some terrorist. I knew you were there. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Then, when I saw your silhouette in the dark, I nearly died of fright."

"Oh, I was hoping you'd forgotten that. Not one of my best moments."

"You were doing your job." Sarah was matter-of-fact. "You didn't know who I was. If you think about it, you were looking out for me already."

"Right. You were scared to death. But you did recover quickly and offer me some muffins. I think you had me hooked right then." Matt patted his stomach.

"Oh, I see. You only like me for my cooking—well, technically, my mom made those muffins."

Matt reached over and put his hand on her arm. His voice grew soft. "Actually, it was the way you forgave me so quickly. That and the brave way you dealt with everything. For such a sweet person, you have a lot of strength, Sarah. That's one of the things I love about you."

Sarah's eyes glistened and she didn't say anything for a minute. "Thank you, Matt. You are always so good to me. I haven't really felt that way today—strong, I mean."

"You've been dealing with a lot. I think you've held up well." Matt leaned over and kissed Sarah's cheek. "I should let you finish up. To be honest, I'm really hungry."

"I just need to put everything away and change my clothes. Then we can go to dinner."

As Matt was retrieving his boots from Sarah's bedroom, he heard her phone ring. He went back to the table and sat down.

"Yes, Daddy. We were just heading out. I can do it right now before I change out of my jeans…No, I'll do it. I can get in and out of it much more easily…Okay. I'll see you in a minute."

Sarah cleaned up the table while she filled Matt in on the conversation. "Daddy has found a wrecker that will pay cash for the Corolla. It's a good thing I cleaned it out while you were napping. They're coming in the morning."

"On a Sunday?"

"Apparently this is some old snitch of his. Augie, or someone like that. I guess Daddy thought it would be nice for all of us to get the Corolla out of sight, and Augie owed him a favor."

"Why don't you let me move the car?"

"It's okay, Matt. You'd have a hard time getting into the driver's seat. I'll do it. Maybe you could move the Volvo for me while Daddy moves Mom's SUV?"

"Sure. You know, I was wondering if it might make your dad happy if we drove the S80 tonight."

"I'm sure you would love to take the Charger."

"I would, but I'll be able to drive you around in it tomorrow. I feel like I stole your dad's thunder."

"I hope you don't think I'm a spoiled rich girl, having my daddy buy me a new Volvo…"

"I know you and your parents better than that. Your dad said he had a fund set aside. I didn't think anything of it."

Sarah smiled down at Matt for a moment. "I love you, you know. It means a lot that you are thinking of Daddy's feelings."

Matt stood up and took Sarah's hand. He looked in her eyes for a moment. "I care about you both—I want what's best for you, Sarah. Let's go down before your father wonders what happened to us."

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Lee was watching Matt help Sarah, who was now wearing a dress, into the Volvo. Matt shut the door and went around to the driver's side. Just then, Lee felt gentle hands encircle his waist.

"That's twice in one day that I've caught you spying, Stetson."

Lee turned around in Amanda's arms so he could return the embrace. "I'm glad you slept well."

"Did you even take a nap?"

"For about an hour. I ran the reports and called a wrecker after I got up. He's coming tomorrow, so we moved the Corolla out to the street. He's paying cash."

"Lee, you didn't call Augie, did you?"

Lee squirmed in Amanda's arms, but she held on tightly. He decided to change the subject.

"Sarah's letting Matt drive the Volvo. I was a little worried she was embarrassed I'd gotten the car for her, but she seems okay." He sighed. "I guess they're getting an early dinner. It's only five-thirty."

"Well, it's been a busy day, and Matt gets pretty hungry with that training regimen of his…"

Lee laughed. "He does eat pretty well. Wish I still could do that."

Amanda smiled and grew serious. "What did you find out this afternoon?"

Lee's smile faded. "Let's go make dinner, and I'll tell you about it."

Amanda was chopping vegetables as Lee reheated the chicken from the night before.

"Matt was telling the truth about having saved up for that car. He's been putting money into a short term account—there's even a little left over. Maybe a few thousand. And he's got a lot more in another account—seems to be a long term investment or something."

"That doesn't look good."

"No, but if you look at the deposit history, it completely fits with what I had figured for Matt. He's single, doesn't spend a lot on himself, and saves as much as he can. It looks like he saved a large portion of his Army Intelligence pay. It all adds up."

"Oh, I hate this. I feel like such a voyeur. I know that sounds silly. We used to do this all the time…"

"But this is different. It's Sarah's boyfriend. He's almost like family." Lee had stopped to look at Amanda. "But we have to prove he's innocent. I feel in my gut that he is, but I wish we had some kind of rock-solid alibi."

"Wasn't Matt stationed in Afghanistan with Intelligence, working from different bases?"

"He spent a couple of years doing that—and received hazardous duty pay for the entire tour. His expenditures and savings match his income." Lee got out the wine and two glasses.

"Okay, that's good. Let's keep going for a minute. Then he had a permanent change of station to Belgium at the NATO facility in Mons. Was there any change in his spending habits, other than cost of living? Was all of his money accounted for there?" Amanda sautéed the vegetables in the pan.

"Yes. If he received any money above his pay, it was next to nothing—most likely gifts from family. In Belgium, he paid off his charge card every month, and he didn't start making large purchases until he was hired by the Agency."

"They were for his apartment? Mostly furniture, electronics, weight equipment? Certainly we can account for most of his pay, then."

"I have." Lee propped himself up against the counter and pondered for a moment.

Amanda turned off the stove and began serving the food. "You know, the food in Kazakhstan can be delicious, but it's nice to come home to this. It was thoughtful of Sarah to cook enough for leftovers."

Lee glanced up at her blankly for a moment. "Yeah, it was." Still lost in thought, Lee picked up Amanda's wine glass and took it with his own to the table. "Maybe there will be something on the surveillance recording."

Amanda was undaunted by Lee's distracted behavior. "At any rate, I think you've proven that he doesn't have any extra income. I don't know about you, Mr. Stetson, but I'm feeling better about this, now."

"But I wasn't able to research overseas accounts—what if he received transfers to hidden accounts and he's just sitting on the money? We'll need Jamie for that. And at some point, Matt's going to find out we investigated him."

"But if all the agents are investigated…"

"We spare his feelings somewhat, but morale goes down the drain." Lee frowned into his wine glass as Amanda joined him at the table. "I don't envy Francine."

"I just hope Matt doesn't hold it against us." Amanda began to pick at her food in a half-hearted attempt to eat her dinner. Her brief boost in spirits had dissipated.

Lee picked up his knife and fork and sliced into his chicken. "You were talking about being honest earlier. We're just going to have to bite the bullet and tell him what we did—and that we did it to prove he was innocent. But not until Monday. I don't want to ruin things for the family time tomorrow afternoon. We have to go in for debriefing. We can pull him aside and tell him before he hears about it on his own."

Amanda didn't reply. She continued to push her food around on her plate. Lee put his hand on her arm, and she looked up at him. "Please eat, Amanda. You'll feel better."

"We can at least tell him how impressed we are with how he manages his money…" Amanda gave a dubious smile, and took a bite.

Lee leaned over and kissed his wife, then concentrated on his own dinner.

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The wait had been short, and they had ended up in a secluded booth. Sitting close beside Sarah, Matt enjoyed the intimacy of the setting. It was not an upscale restaurant, but the atmosphere and the food—Italian cuisine—were better than he had expected.

Sarah had stopped eating, leaving half the pasta on her plate. Matt was accustomed to that habit now. Where he could finish all of the food on his plate and eat an occasional dessert, Sarah did not have that kind of appetite. While she looked around the restaurant, he quietly appraised her figure. She does look thinner—and tired. He picked up his wine glass and took a sip before placing his hand on her arm.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Sarah, but I'm a little concerned about something."

Sarah turned to him, a question in her eyes. He felt her tense slightly.

"You've lost weight…you're already pretty slender…"

Sarah looked down at her half-finished food. "I really can't eat anymore, Matt."

"Did you eat regularly while I was gone?"

Sarah watched Matt run his hand idly over her lower arm. "No. I just couldn't. And sometimes, I was so busy, I would forget."

"Have you been sleeping well?"

"Most of the time. Work was crazy, then I had the debriefings…" And the nightmares…

"Have you thought about seeing someone—talking to someone—about what happened last Sunday? You could still be upset about it. It might help…"

"Francine and Jamie both suggested I see Dr. Kirby." Sarah looked up at Matt. "I haven't heard anyone say they liked Dr. Kirby."

"But he knows what he's doing. Just a few weeks ago he helped me deal with an op that went badly. I have to admit I didn't like going, but he helped."

Sarah didn't say anything for a few minutes as she idly played with her food. "Okay. I think it would be good to talk about it. Honestly, it really hit me when Daddy saw the car today. I felt so stressed." She was quiet for a few more moments while the server, a pleasant girl whom Sarah guessed to be college age, came and refilled their waters.

Matt ordered some dessert to share with Sarah.

After the server left, Sarah spoke again. "Matt, I'd like to ask you something."

He put his arm around her. "What?"

"I know you can't talk about it, but were you in a lot of danger during that op you just mentioned? Was someone killed?"

"No one was killed. But they could have been." He didn't say any more.

Sarah looked leaned back a little so she could look in Matt's face. She knew the rest of his answer, although it remained unspoken.

They were quiet for a few more moments, while Matt finished his wine. Sarah took a sip of hers and set it aside.

"Sarah..." Matt's voice trailed off a bit as he waited to make sure he had her attention.

Sarah wondered a bit at Matt's change of demeanor. Oh, he couldn't be asking me that right now. We're not there yet. He just got back from a trip. She forced herself to calmly reply. "What is it?"

"My parents and I would like for you to go to Texas with me and spend Thanksgiving with us." He paused for a moment to let the words sink in. "I'm hoping your parents won't mind if you spend the holiday away from home." Matt looked at Sarah's face. At her expression, he continued.

"I was intending to leave the Friday before and come back the next Saturday. I've reserved tickets for us both, if you'd like to come. I know it's three months away, but I thought you'd need to ask for vacation time…" His voice trailed off as he looked at her expectantly.

Sensing his anticipation, Sarah took a breath and sat up a little. "Oh, I'm flattered that you'd ask me." She leaned back again so she could see his face more clearly. "You said your parents wanted me to come, too?"

"Yes. I've told them a lot about you and they're eager to meet you. My sisters are, too." Matt grinned and grew more animated. "We could make a little vacation out of it, too. Maybe go to Sixth Street in Austin and hear some live music. There are a lot of places to go dancing. I could show you around the Capitol—maybe we could go to San Antonio…"

"I'd love to go." Sarah smiled at Matt and reached up to take the hand that still rested on her shoulder.

Pulling her closer to him, he kissed her.

Just then the server arrived with their dessert. She smiled at them as she set the chocolate cake on the table and took Matt's plate. "Here's two forks. I guess you might not need a second plate?"

Sarah blushed and looked down at the table.

Matt squeezed Sarah's hand as he replied. "No, we're good. Could you please bring the check?"

"Sure thing. Shall I put this in a container for you, ma'am?"

Sarah's head came back up as she recovered from her brief embarrassment. "Yes, please." Sarah waited for the girl to walk away before whispering to Matt. "I can't remember being called ma'am by anyone before. I'm only twenty-three." Sarah laughed softly.

Matt chuckled. "She seems like a nice person. I think she thinks we're a cute couple. Besides, you are rather mature for twenty-three."

Sarah blushed again and Matt chuckled once more.

They dipped their forks into the cake at the same time, but Sarah hesitated before placing the bite in her mouth. "Matt, it's very kind of you to reserve the ticket for me, but you should let me pay for it."

"Please accept it as my gift."

Sarah looked doubtful.

"Really, Sarah. It's okay." He looked in her eyes.

Sarah was still dubious. But it was impossible to say no to him when he looked at her that way. I'm sure you're a whiz at interrogations, Matt Granger, with those gorgeous, intense grey eyes of yours and that wonderful smile. She forced herself to concentrate on their conversation. "Well, all right. It's very generous…" Sarah finally placed the fork in her mouth.

"Maybe not. I got a good deal." Matt grinned and took another bite, while Sarah elbowed him playfully.

After the restaurant, Matt drove them back to Maplewood Drive, where they watched a movie together on the couch in Sarah's apartment. At the end, Matt was moving towards the DVD player, when Sarah put a hand on his arm. "You know, I've missed dancing with you. Do you think we could dance a little before you go home?"

Matt looked over at Sarah. His expression told her that he had missed their dances, too, but he only said, "That would be nice."

"Just a few. We have to get up for church tomorrow…"

"Pick out a playlist while I put the DVD away."

Sarah chose two waltzes, then a piece she had just purchased.

After the waltzes ended, Matt recognized the sweet melody of Debussy. He smiled down at her and pulled her closer. Like they had done on their first date, he held her hand against his chest and rested his cheek on her hair. They began to move slowly about the room. "This is our tune. When did you get it?"

"While you were in Kazakhstan. I would play it at night if I couldn't sleep." Sarah sighed and closed her eyes. Enjoying the moment, she did her best to block from her mind the reason for the sleepless nights.

Matt could not find his voice. They danced quietly through most of "Clair de Lune." Near the end, he pulled away to look at her face. She opened her eyes as he gazed down at her. "You have the most beautiful eyes, Sarah." He lowered his head and their lips met. As the music ended, Matt continued to hold her tightly to him for a few minutes.

"Thank you, Matt."

"For what?"

"For Debussy, for dancing, for a wonderful evening."

"You're welcome. I enjoyed it, too."

Finally Matt pulled away. "I should go. You're tired, and I will be tomorrow if I don't go to bed soon, too."

"Tomorrow we can drive around in the Charger after church. Daddy asked if we could bring both cars to the track. He said he'd bring my car so I can practice some maneuvers."

"I'd love to take the Charger there. Are you up for driving your new car?"

Sarah's face clouded briefly. "I'd rather just watch you, but I know Daddy is right. We do this every time we get a new car in this family. Thankfully, Leatherneck is happy to indulge him on a weekend. He enjoys it, too. Sometimes he lets us take out the older cars and practice our bootlegger turns."

"Well, I can ride along with you in your car, if that will help." Matt went to the door and picked up his gym bag.

"Oh, thank you. It would." Sarah followed him and reached for the knob, but did not open it yet. "The usual nine-fifteen?"

"I'll see you then." Matt kissed her one last time before finally slipping out the door. She went to the window and watched him walk to his car. As if sensing her gazing after him, he turned back and raised his hand towards her. She smiled and waved back.

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Matt leaned back against the hood of the Charger and watched as Sarah chatted with Jennifer, Amy, and Jessica while they waited for Leatherneck outside the gate to the track. Seth and David chased each other in some kind of game nearby while Lee and Amanda stood with Phillip, speaking quietly. Matt's eyes went back to Sarah before glancing at Jamie as he approached and stood near Matt.

"She's a beauty, Matt."

Matt knew Jamie was referring to the car, but he could not help thinking the same about Sarah. He directed his attention to Jamie. "Thanks. I couldn't pass up the deal. I was looking at another six months of waiting, but I saved quite a bit this way."

"That's great." Jamie looked over at the women, then back at Matt before leaning against the hood next to him. "I'm sorry about the video. Phillip just doesn't realize sometimes…"

Matt shifted uncomfortably and looked back at the women. At the house, Phillip had called everyone except Jennifer, Amy, and the kids into the study. Having hooked up his laptop to the large screen television with a VGA cable, he started the video as soon as everyone was in the room.

Matt wished Sarah had stayed with Amy and Jennifer. Jessica had needed help on her history report—the first of the school year—and as soon as the video had started, he knew her being there was a mistake. Matt stood in shock as he watched Sarah's car maneuvering the winding roads of Chantilly at a breakneck pace. He could hear Sarah and Cheryl speaking to Francine over the phone in a voiceover that Phillip had added to the footage. To the untrained ear, Sarah sounded like a calm professional, but he could detect the fear there. He started to feel nauseous as the sedan closed in on her car. Suddenly it pulled alongside of her vehicle and Sarah swerved to avoid it. On the second try it rammed the Corolla violently. The audio picked up the sound of the crunching metal.

Amanda let out a small gasp as Lee put an arm around her shoulders and raked his free hand through his hair.

Seated on the couch beside her parents, Sarah was no longer looking at the screen.

A knot was growing in Matt's stomach, nearly making him sick. At the point in the video where Sarah forced the other car off the road, she suddenly leapt off the couch and pushed her way past Jamie. With Matt on her heels, Sarah rushed out of the room, past a surprised Jennifer, and onto the patio. Neither Matt nor Sarah heard Jamie speaking angrily to Phillip.

Sarah wrapped her arms about herself and started pacing to and fro. Glancing over her shoulder at the women inside, she hurried off the patio and headed for the side gate.

"Sarah, wait. Please." Matt had never seen Sarah this agitated. He caught up to her and put a tentative hand on her arm. "Let's go for a walk."

Finally acknowledging him with a brief glance, Sarah allowed Matt to guide her out of the yard and down the street. He looked back at the house and saw Lee watching them from the front door.

They walked in silence for several minutes before Sarah spoke. "It was like watching one of those reality police shows, but it was me. I don't know why Phillip thinks it's so entertaining."

Matt didn't say anything for a minute. Finally, he quietly ventured, "He's proud of you."

"I don't share his feelings. Inside the car it was so different. I felt this huge burden—for Cheryl, for the other agents, for the people in the helicopter. It was my fault we were in that mess. What if someone had gotten hurt?" Sarah stopped and looked at Matt. "Well, the driver I forced off the road was hurt. But I'm not sure I care. And that scares me, too."

Matt hugged Sarah to him. "I feel the same way about the driver. After all, he was chasing you and he hit you. You could have been killed. It's natural to be angry when someone does something like that to you—or to someone you love. But Sarah, those agents were doing their jobs. You endangered your life, which is terrifying to me, but you also helped the Agency and Homeland catch one of the members of the Mexican cartel. That's huge. He's given them intel about the other members of his organization." Matt looked away for a moment. "I probably shouldn't be telling you that."

They started walking slowly back towards the house, hand in hand. "I was so angry—I feel badly that I made a scene. I just wish Phillip wouldn't make such a show out of the footage. He even added the audio…"

Matt spoke softly. "Your voice was as cool as a professional agent's, but you sounded scared under all that."

Tears sprang to Sarah's eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. "I was. I don't know how you all do this for a living."

"You get used to it. But it isn't for everyone. Jamie and Phillip aren't in the field…"

"They were at one point. But I don't think Jamie liked it. Phillip enjoyed the thrill of field work, but Amy asked him to take the desk job. He's really better suited to it, anyway. Even if he is a jerk about how he uses his technical abilities sometimes."

"Phillip is very good. I've been on ops where he's helped save lives—including mine—by being on top of things."

Sarah looked up at Matt. His words had been gentle, but she understood his meaning. "You're right. I need to forgive him."

Matt pulled himself from his reverie. Jamie was watching him, a curious look on his face.

"Sorry. I was remembering something from this afternoon. Sarah plans to speak with Phillip. She knows she needs to forgive him."

Jamie blew out his breath. "Where were you when we were younger? Those two have always butted heads—usually Lee or Mom would have to talk Phillip into apologizing to Sarah. In fact, they're working on that right now." Jamie looked over at Sarah, and then back at Matt. "You have a way with Sarah, Matt…"

Matt shifted uncomfortably at the praise. "It was Sarah's choice."

"But you helped her work it through. I haven't seen her that angry in a long time. Actually, I'm pretty ticked at Phillip myself."

"I care about her. She just needed to talk." Matt shrugged and changed the subject. "Jamie, how did Cheryl seem after the chase? Was she rattled?"

"Not really. Not like a typical civilian would be. I couldn't figure out if it's just her personality, or if she had been in a similar scrape before. I asked Lee about it earlier—I was thinking about her, too. He said they had had a few close calls back in the day."

"When we saw her today she was concerned about Sarah, but rather calm. She even asked me to come to her house tomorrow night to fix her porch light. It was just like any other Sunday for her."

Jamie furrowed his brow. "We should bring this up at the meeting tomorrow. Does she know you're Agency, yet?"

"No. She doesn't know IFF is a cover for the Agency—at least she doesn't seem to." He pushed away from the Charger. "Meeting? I have a debriefing for Kazakhstan and some kind of interview with Francine and Wong…"

Jamie realized his mistake too late. "Well, we should mention it to Lee at some point."

Matt wondered about the meeting. Were they having a meeting to discuss the cartel case without me? He had spotted the tails. They had been after Sarah. Why would he not be in on a meeting related to the cartel?

Matt's thoughts were interrupted with the arrival of Leatherneck. Eagerly anticipating a ride on the track in Matt's Charger, Seth and David ran back to the car, arguing over who would get the front seat first. Jamie took them aside to settle the debate while Matt went over to speak with Lee, Sarah, and Leatherneck.