College was fun, but I stuck to legal stuff, and I was an upstanding citizen once I graduated. I pay my taxes, vote, and so on.”“Your ex?”“Not...a bad guy and I don’t think he’ll say anything bad about me other than I was away far too much.”“OK. What do you think about living in the DC area? Maryland or Northern Virginia?”“What the hell? Why not the OTHER coast! Who’s the job with?”“One of two possible places. I’ll need you to speak to a Navy Commander I know. She’s already seen your résumé and. Some smoked while they were eating,even, but that has never been one of my faults, and itdidn’t bother me. Another feature of this tradition,however, was the hydraulic nature of desert. There wasno way I could eat lunch *and* drink beer withoutsmoking. I put up with a lot of teasing (Sailors don’t“tease” – they harass) about passing on the beer. I finally went to the payphone at the entrance andcalled home, hoping to sneak out for some afternoondelight. PJ was in. ”“You learned that from Amy and Mel, didn't you.”“You tried to explain it to me first.”“I hurt you. I didn't mean to do it, but I know I did. That made it hard for you to listen to anything I said. You had to hear it from Amy and Mel.”“Meeting them was a stroke of luck.”“For both of us.” Jeanne was silent. After a moment she said, “I feel like they're my best friends, but I've never actually met them, not in person.”“Eventually you'll get to meet them. Maybe we can take a trip to Tucson next. .”‘Bloody hell.’ Becca's gut clenched and she considered trying to escape, but Dimtri was an experienced killer and she doubted she would ever make it to the door. Bracing herself to bluff it out, she remained calm, waiting for him to pronounce her fate. His gaze had dropped, as if what he was about to say was unpleasant.“This is hard for me. But I must apologize. I was incredibly thoughtless and can only hope you will forgive my grave insult to you.”Becca froze as she processed his words..