Chapter 77

CHAPTER 77

O SLO

Since all of the people S?lvi would have invited to the wedding were already on this side of the Atlantic and almost everyone Harvath would have invited were also here, they had decided to go through with it and get married in Oslo.

Even Haney with his bad wing, which he kept blaming Harvath for, and Johnson, who had just been cleared for travel, had been willing to fly up from France. Preisler and Staelin had come too.

For everyone on the other side of the Atlantic, the Carlton Group had generously offered up its private jet.

Having the wedding in Oslo had made everyone happy, especially the men in S?lvi's family, who Harvath was convinced would have strapped him to a sinking Viking longboat had he attempted to go through with an elopement.

Nicholas and Nina were thrilled to be able to show off their new baby. Gary Lawlor, interim director of the Carlton Group, had shown up with a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle that was so expensive it had to be kept under armed guard. Even Holidae Hayes was in attendance.

Shortly before the big day, she had reached out to S?lvi with an early wedding gift. The CIA didn't have a spy inside the Norwegian Intelligence Service. They had learned about Grechko's defection through a series of intercepted Russian communications, all of which she turned over, in full. It was a first step in mending fences—both professional and personal.

S?lvi had gotten to know and love Lara's beautiful little boy Marco, as well as Harvath's wonderful former in-laws, but a snap wedding wasn't in the cards for them. They had just been to Oslo for a fabulous visit several months ago. Pulling Marco out of school in Boston and coming back so soon was too overwhelming. Harvath had figured as much. Nevertheless, he had extended the invitation, but with a nice get-out-of-jail-free card, which they had politely availed themselves of. As far as everyone was concerned, they were there in spirit.

The ceremony had been officiated at the palace by the king of Norway, who had recently recognized Harvath for bravery.

The reception took place atop the Thief hotel, where Harvath had originally proposed to S?lvi. Twice, the exceptional staff had to put the call out for more champagne and more oysters.

When it was time for the newlyweds to depart, they said goodbye to their beloved guests and headed down to the water, where Harvath's same boat was waiting at the swim platform to take them to the cottage out on the fjord.

Tired of doing anything that smacked of responsibility, Harvath had arranged for a captain to transport them.

As he and S?lvi relaxed in the open air of the stern, a wool blanket keeping them warm, he pulled out the bottle of Krug that had been sitting in her refrigerator.

"Right here?" he asked, echoing his lurid invitation of several nights ago, "or up in the cabin under the bow?"

S?lvi smiled. "Per Viking law, I'm not yours until we've fully crossed one body of water together."

"Good thing I'm patient," said Harvath, as he peeled away the foil, loosened the cage, and removed the cork.

He handed S?lvi a pair of glasses, poured the champagne, and then offered up a toast. "I love you. Thank you for not subjecting me to any of those weird Norwegian traditions like cheese, wooden shoes, or ribbons."

Feigning offense, S?lvi slapped his chest and said, "What kind of oddballs do you think we are? The Dutch are the ones with the wooden shoes."

"Okay," Harvath said with a smile. "Then thank you for not making me do anything weird with ribbons or cheese."

"You're welcome, but we're going to revisit all of this at midsummer."

He loved pulling her chain and loved even more that she pulled his right back. They really were a wonderful pair. First they kissed and then they clinked glasses.

"So," she said, loud enough that Harvath could hear over the engines but quiet enough that the captain couldn't, "what's next? Any loose ends?"

His mind had already been spinning back in Eze about how he and Nicholas could hide his money once he had gotten it away from the U.S. Treasury. Now that it was safe, he had space to breathe, relax.

"Part of me," he replied, "wants to go after the guy at the CIA who blackmailed me."

"And the other part?" S?lvi asked, leaning in closer.

"Now that I have it all back? I guess the other part of me wants to take the money and run."

Leaning the rest of the way in, she kissed him; long, hard, and deep. When she finally pulled her lips away, she asked, "Do you trust me?"

Harvath didn't even need to think about his answer. "Without a doubt."

"Then let's run," she said, kissing him again. "Let's run as fast and as far and for as long as we can."