Excerpt of Diamonds Are Truly Forever by Gina Robinson

Chapter 1

Redmond, Washington

Drew Fields pulled to the curb and parked in front of his former home. He hated the bland, midsized sedan the Agency insisted he drive as part of his mind-numbingly dull, assigned cover life. A marketing director for a microbrewery? Really? At least there'd be free beer. He hoped.

That was the Central Intelligence Agency for you. The government sanitized everything. Even his official title--National Clandestine Services core collector. He was a spy, a secret agent. What kid wanted to grow up to be a core collector? Sounded more like nuclear reactor work.

Which, come to think of it, pretty nearly described his mission to reconcile with his estranged wife and stop her stepfather from selling vital satellite secrets to the Revolutionary International Organization of Terrorists, RIOT. If Staci ever found out what he was up to, there would be fallout. Plenty of it.

He shut off the ignition. Next time he was going to insist on an Aston Martin DB5. A sexy car made up for a lot of crap.

He took a deep breath. How was he going to convince Staci to take him back? Especially after he'd agreed to the divorce without a fight. And why now?

They had an anniversary coming up a week from Friday. Maybe he could play off that? Claim to be sentimental?

He was something of a phenom when it came to lying, a natural talent. His inborn gift had gotten him out of more than a few scrapes when he was a kid, and even more as an adult. But there were limits to even his ability.

Drew had tried to convince his boss, NCS Chief and head spook Emmett Nelson, to send another agent on this mission to bring down Staci's stepdad, Sam Deeds, aka the Fisherman. Drew had no desire to infiltrate Staci's life. But Emmett did what he did best--used emotional blackmail.

RIOT was notorious for taking out family members of their business associates on a whim. It kept everyone in line and on task.

With Staci's stepfather involved in nefarious, traitorous business dealings with RIOT, Staci and her mother were in danger. With a little ingenuity, Drew would be perfectly placed to guard Staci day and night, keep an eye on her mother, and spy on Sam, all without arousing anyone's suspicions. It had to be him.

Stalling, and hoping to be clobbered by a stunning blow of inspiration, Drew studied the two-story house he still owned half of, looking for security lapses. Staci kept the bushes in front of the windows well trimmed and away from the house, and the sidewalk, driveway, and front entry clear of any hiding places.

She'd resisted her natural botanical urge to plant flowers and trees over every square inch of property and columns of junipers on each side of the door. Open spaces made for less stealth and more safety.

Before their marriage went sour, he'd picked this gated neighborhood for Staci because of its low crime rate and excellent security measures. A spy's family was never one-hundred percent safe.

The Redmond Chief of Police lived here, a senator made her home away from the nation's capital here. At least two state legislators and several high-profile entrepreneurs lived in the pricier part of the development.

Drew hated what he was about to do to Staci. The sooner he completed this mission and found an assignment overseas, disappearing deep undercover, the better for both of them. In the meantime, his Farsi was getting rusty.

He never should have married Staci in the first place. What had possessed him to think a girl who couldn't lie to save her life would make a good wife for a spy like him? She had a tell as obvious as Alaska. The woman couldn't even keep from giving herself away when she played Clue.

Ironically, that's what he'd loved about her�she was the one person he could believe, the one honest thing in his life. A little slice of black and white shining through an otherwise gray gloom. When she told him she loved him, he knew she did. When she said she wanted a divorce, she shattered his world.

And now here he was, at her insistence, stopping by the old homestead to pick up a box of odds and ends from their former life. A box Emmett had planted to give him an excuse to see her.

Drew glanced at his watch. Ten thirty. Right on time. He got out of the car, wondering exactly how he was going to convince Staci to give him another chance. He still hadn't figured out exactly where he'd gone wrong in the first place. Other than being a secret agent and lying to her about it to get her to marry him.

He couldn't believe he was undercover as himself, dressed in Staci's favorite shirt, wearing his good guy, boy-next-door persona on his sleeve. He'd rather be in Hawaii, working undercover as a tour guide as he had last year.

He'd just recently returned from a minor follow-up assignment in Maui and hoped Staci didn't notice his tan. But how could she miss it?