It seemed to Anya that there was never time for solitude in America. She knew that supposition was incorrect. She’d often felt similarly in Russia.
Or Europe.
Or South America.
Or Asia.
The problem was that she only noticed her need for solitude when she couldn’t get it. At the moment, though, she felt exhausted. None would understand, though. They congratulated her. Everyone wanted to shake her hand and thank her for the accomplishments of her mission with Tyler. Each wanted, in part, for her to think of him as a person who never doubted her. They didn’t understand that them doubting her didn’t offend her.
She smiled very faintly and very briefly when it crossed her mind that Tyler doubting her did, in fact, offend her.
But now, she needed to breathe. She excused herself from the revelry a few doors down and sat in the apparently unoccupied office. She kept the light out, sitting in shadows but keeping the door open so the light from the hallway came through and illuminated the place slightly.
The Wall had intended to rescue the three of them from the accolades of their peers by spiriting them off to Europe, but he hadn’t succeeded. Three days after their return, he had apologetically informed them that they were hosting a dinner in Munich in their honor, and it would be attended by enough very highly placed people in the United States government that they couldn’t refuse.
So, she had endured several hours of people telling her how amazing she was. She wasn’t used to this recognition, and she wasn’t comfortable with it. When she worked for her father, there was no such thing as praise for a job well done. You simply did your job. It was expected that you would succeed.
She frowned as she thought of her father. She still didn’t have a very good understanding of her father’s actions. Nor did she understand his motivations. Now that the United States wasn’t under threat, she couldn’t force those thoughts to the back of her head. Not anymore.
It made sense for him to kidnap her and bring her before the council, but everything after that didn’t make sense. It would have made sense for him to visit her in prison if he hadn’t offered her coded encouragement to escape. It would have made sense for him to help her escape from prison if not for her being there because of him in the first place.
She supposed that it made some sense that he helped them defeat Ivan, but he had other agents who could have dealt with Ivan. Dmitry could have handled him. He didn’t need to come in person.
That thought troubled her most of all. There was no excuse whatsoever for a member of the council of ministers to be anywhere near Cuba. The only reason he could have been there was to come for her.
But why?
She couldn’t believe that he did so for her sake. He had spent years, decades, most of her life making it clear to her that he didn’t value her as anything more than a tool for the people.
But…
But. She hated that word. Her job was to know, not to wonder. Her job was to find answers, not to be left with more questions.
There was a knock on the door, and a moment later, Tyler walked in. “Hey. I thought I’d find you here. May I join you?”
She opened her mouth to ask for privacy, but before she could say anything, she realized that she desperately wanted him close. She held out her arms, and he crossed the room to her and pulled her close. They said nothing for a long while, and it occurred to Anya that Tyler’s willingness to be silent and simply hold her made him the perfect man for her.
Many things made him the perfect man. When Anya first met him, she saw him as nothing more than a tool to get her to the CIA. Now…
Now, it was different. Now she was different. She wasn't the girl she had been before, not even the woman who had decided years ago that she wouldn't support a government that oppressed and hurt her people.
She had grown.
Tyler had grown too. He was no longer the impetuous, insecure boy who had no idea what he was doing as a spy. Glimpses of that impetuous nature showed on occasion, but even during those glimpses, he was more measured, more calculated. Wiser. He had become a man, and Anya had fallen in love with that man.
She kissed him softly and said, “Let’s go back to the party.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “You don’t want to talk about it?”
She kissed him again. “I’m sure. It can wait. I’m just happy to be with you.”
He smiled, and she decided she could endure anything that life sent her way as long as she could always see that smile.