Alana called Priest later that night but said she would have to go home to check on Kia. Priest thought her voice had softened but he remembered the edge she had when she found out he had kept from her the involvement of the White House. He hoped that her return home – rather than to the hotel to see him – didn’t reflect a lingering tension between them.
In the morning, Priest called Alana while he was sitting with Aggie in the hotel breakfast room. She seemed to have recovered and the edge was gone from her voice.
“How’s Kia?” he asked.
“She’s fine. Sorry to have missed out on seeing Washington, and tired from all the traveling. But she’ll be okay.”
“How are you?” he continued, but Alana didn’t answer.
Once they moved beyond the awkward pause, he asked about the investigation, and fo
