He sat down as she put a loaded, steaming plate in front of him. It was his favorite meal.
“Pepper steak medium rare,” she said, “lyonnaise potatoes, creamed spinach, corn on the cob with extra garlic butter.”
“Guess we’re not too worried about my cholesterol today,” Charlie said with a smile.
“We’re not worried about anything,” Julie replied.
Charlie waited until everyone was seated, then cut himself a forkful of red meat.
He regarded Julie for a long moment, remembering everything he had ever loved and respected about her, from those first moments when they met in Tashkent until this last, crazed adventure.
“Of course, if I’m going to Shanghai, we’re gonna have to figure out your next move,” he said. “Spunky girl like you, you gotta get back out in the world, huh?”
Julie reached out, resting her hands on Ollie’s shoulders as if they were a life raft. And a parting of her lips revealed a grateful, almost knowing smile.
“The world can wait,” she said. “For now.”
Acknowledgments
This book would never have been written without the prodding and support of Richard Abate, Erwin Stoff and Walter Sorrells. To my wife, who reads every draft of everything I write, I owe a debt of gratitude for her invaluable feedback and her constancy. To my parents, thank you for engendering in me a love of stories and for always being such unabashedly biased readers of my material. I also must thank my editor, David Highfill, for his patience, optimism and guidance throughout this process. And to all the fans of Without a Trace, whose enthusiasm and support gave me the opportunity to hone my craft, I really hope you enjoy reading this. . . .
About the Author
HANK STEINBERG was the creator, executive producer, and show-runner of the award-winning hit TV series Without a Trace, and screenwriter of the acclaimed HBO film 61*. He has been nominated for an Emmy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award for screenwriting as well as a Humanitas Award. He is currently at work on the screenplay for Out of Range for Paramount Pictures and writing and producing the TNT pilot The Last Ship. He lives with his family in Los Angeles..
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Credits
Cover design and illustration by Cabo Graphic Design
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
OUT OF RANGE. Copyright © 2013 by Hank Steinberg. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 9780062080530
EPUB Edition © June 2013 ISBN: 9780062080547
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