My mother set me up on a blind date with a Navy commander.

“Be grateful a man like him even looked at you,” she sneered — certain I was a nobody who fetched coffee near the Pentagon.

The commander ordered my dinner for me, put his hand over mine, and told me I’d be following his rules. He had no idea the “clerk” across the table ran the counterintelligence unit that was already investigating him for treason.

By the time dessert would have arrived, I was gone — and so was the case he thought no one could see.

Chapter 1 — The Dinner

The first thing Commander Adrian Vale did when I arrived at the restaurant was look at his watch. Not a casual glance — a deliberate, calculated assessment.

“Seven minutes late,” he murmured.

I stood beside the white-clothed table, still holding my damp coat. Outside, a sudden autumn squall lashed the windows of the Harbor Room, the glass reflecting amber lights and the churning black water of the Chesapeake.

Inside, the air smelled of grilled lemons, cedar polish, and money.

“There was an accident near the bridge,” I said, keeping my voice flat.

Adrian leaned back in his leather chair, his dress uniform immaculate. “A disciplined person plans for contingencies, Serena.” He smiled — an expression built to pass an insult off as charm.

I smiled back, mirroring the exact curve of his lips. “Then I’m lucky you’ve already found my first flaw.”

His eyes flickered. For a fraction of a second his brain short-circuited, trying to categorize me: submissive or mocking? That micro-hesitation told me everything I needed to know.

My mother, Linda, had orchestrated this. She’d sent me Adrian’s pristine résumé before she even gave me his phone number: Navy commander, destroyer executive officer, Annapolis graduate, decorated, promotion board pending.