“Mom, what is the matter with you? Why are you crying?”
“I love you guys. More than you’ll ever know.” Gabby kissed the tops of her kids’ heads and shut her eyes, just savoring her happy ending.
“Oh-kay. Love you too,” Kyle said flippantly, but it was the first time she’d said it in a very long time.
“Are we going to the mall tomorrow?” Gabby asked, and wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to act normal. “Purple hair or bust?”
Kyle pulled a faded purple strand out and inspected it. “Actually, I was thinking I might go red. Maybe with one purple streak.”
Gabby’s heart almost stopped. “Really?” Blinking back tears, she said, “L’Oréal intense red copper does run in our family.”
Kyle backed away slowly. “I’m going to bed now. You’re acting really weird, Mom.”
“Brush your teeth!” she shouted, in a desperate attempt to flee emotion, as the kids ran up the stairs.
It might be a new landscape—co-parenting with her grandma, fake red hair all around, a coffee date with Markus—but everyone was safe. Sloane was right; change was a good thing.
For the first time in a long time, all was right with the world.
Sunday morning, Greene household
The next morning, Gabby awoke on her futon with sore ribs, a sore back, and the greatest feeling of contentment she’d ever known. Her children were not only safe but seemed almost happy. A hit man wasn’t parked outside her house. Not a single high-stakes, life-or-death mission was on the calendar. Except for a coffee might-or-might-not-be-a-date with Markus, she was done with the EOD forever.
With no need to hop out of bed, she breathed deeply and let her eyes drift shut again. The dappled light of morning played across the room, almost like she was in a country meadow. It was you-own-a-pony-and-have-enough-money-to-keep-it-on-your-own-property lighting. Today was heaven.
Her phone cut through the sleepy peace. She didn’t want to look. Hell, she wouldn’t look. Everyone she loved was tucked in safe and sound. Whoever was tainting her Sunday morning could leave a voicemail.
But who was she kidding? She wasn’t the kind of person who could not answer her phone. What if it was an emergency?
The name Valentina Monroe stared back at her.
Exactly who she didn’t want to see. She ran through a list of reasons for Valentina to call: 1) Smirnov out on bail and hot for revenge; 2) Sergei out on bail and hot for revenge; 3) Kramer out on bail and hot for revenge; and most believable, 4) Fran out on bail and hot for revenge, or 5) some sort of “keep your hands off my man” conversation. None of the options were good.
Fully awake, she sat up and braced herself. “Hello…”
“Wake up, Gabby,” Valentina said. “Debriefing at oh-nine-hundred.”
“Oh-nine-hundred?” She still hadn’t gotten used to military time.
“In an hour,” Valentina clarified in an exasperated tone. “Meet at the office.”
Just a debriefing, no imminent threat. The knot of dread in her stomach loosened. “Can this wait till Monday? It’s Sunday morning, and I’ve barely seen my kids this week.”
“It’ll be short.”
“Okay.” One more meeting and then she’d be free to relax.
Besides Bubbles, who padded over expectantly, no one else was up. Gabby filled his bowl with kibble and gingerly slipped into her favorite athleisure wear. While heading through the Starbucks drive-through and easing onto the freeway, she found that she wasn’t as annoyed as she thought she’d be. On the one hand, all she wanted was to be drinking her coffee in peace and quiet. On the other hand, she had the world to herself on a Sunday morning, and how cool was it that she was needed at an EOD meeting?
Gabby parked her soccer mom–mobile. Maybe she wasn’t a spy anymore, but it might be time to pass the minivan on. Grannycould have this one, and she could get herself something sexier, basically any other car. Hell, she could get herself a midlife crisis–mobile like Sienna’s mom had done.
It was trippy walking into EOD headquarters for the last time. She’d said goodbye to this building once already. At the International Rug “Everything Must Go!” sale, she’d bought $200 in candles and throw pillows and a hammock she still hadn’t hung up. This was a different kind of goodbye, her last time going through a biometric screening and retinal scan, her last fingerprint entry. Who would have thought Gabby Greene, burner of meat loaf and all around half-assed housewife, would be a secret agent?
And who knew she would feel so uncertain and, to be honest, a little sad about giving it up. Her sadness had a weight to it. She walked a little slower than normal, delaying the end of her big adventure. Being an actual executive assistant would be a comedown after this.
Gabby found Valentina sitting in the ops room, alone with her laptop. Markus and Alice were nowhere to be found. There was almost no noise in the building, none of the usual boisterous chatter. Just one TV tuned to world news playing from down the hall.
“Am I the first one here?” Gabby looked around.
