Need to Know

Two Days Earlier

Chapter 1

"Bad news, Viv."

I hear Matt's voice, words anyone would dread, but a tone that's reassuring. Light, apologetic. It's something unfortunate, sure, but it's manageable. Anything truly bad and his voice would be heavier. He'd use a complete sentence, a complete name. I have some bad news, Vivian.

I hold the phone to my ear with a raised shoulder, swivel my chair to the other side of the L-shaped desk, to the computer centered under gray overhead bins. I guide the cursor to the owl-shaped icon on the screen and double-click. If it's what I think it is-what I know it is-then I only have a bit longer at my desk.

"Ella?" I say. My gaze drifts to one of the crayon drawings tacked to the high cubicle walls with pushpins, a pop of color in this sea of gray.

"A hundred point eight."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. We've been expecting it. Half her class has been sick, falling like dominoes, so it was only a matter of time. Four-year-olds aren't exactly the cleanliest bunch. But today? It had to happen today?

"Anything else?"

"Just the temp." He pauses. "Sorry, Viv. She seemed fine when I dropped her off."

I swallow past the tightening in my throat and nod, even though he can't see me. Any other day and he'd pick her up. He can work from home, at least in theory. I can't, and I used up all my leave when the twins were born. But he's taking Caleb into the city for the latest round of medical appointments. I've been feeling guilty for weeks that I'll have to miss it. And now I'll be missing it and still using leave I don't have.

"I'll be there in an hour," I say. The rules say we have an hour from the time they call. Factoring in the drive and the walk to my car-it's in the outer reaches of Langley's sprawling parking lots-that gives me about fifteen minutes to wrap up work for the day. Fifteen minutes less leave to add to my negative balance.

I glance at the clock in the corner of my screen-seven minutes

Karen Cleveland is a former CIA analyst. She has master's degrees from Trinity College Dublin (international peace studies) and Harvard University (public policy). Cleveland lives in northern Virginia with her husband and two young sons. This is her first novel.

"Shaping up to be one of the year's biggest new thrillers."-Entertainment Weekly

"So timely . . . Think of the perfect mix of Homeland and The Americans. . . . Need to Know needs to be read by all who relish spy novels. As entertaining as it is informative and as irresistible as it is impossible to put down."-Providence Journal

"Pulse-pounding."-O: The Oprah Magazine

"Accomplished . . . a nonstop thriller tapping into a hot mix of contemporary digital counterintelligence, old-school spying and ageless family drama."-Shelf Awareness

"An early contender for next year's Gone Girl."-GQ (UK)

"The Russia page-turner that should be on everyone's list."-New York Post

"Perhaps there will be two or three readers out there who manage to finish the first chapter of this terrific debut and put it down for more than an hour. But they'll be back. And they'll devour it like the rest of us, skipping lunch, losing sleep, turning pages until the end, where we're all left waiting for more."-John Grisham

"Prediction: If you read chapter one, you'll read chapter two. If you read chapter two, you'll miss dinner, stay up far too late, and feel tired at work tomorrow. This is that kind of book. Superb."-Lee Child

"Karen Cleveland is the real deal-an exciting new voice in thrillers. Scarpetta would call her friend."-Patricia Cornwell

"I am consumed with awe that this a debut novel. Breathtaking, heart-pounding, it manages to be at once intimate and sweeping, characterful and plot driven. Need to Know is a really astonishing achievement for any writer, let alone a first-time novelist. I love it!"-Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"I raced through this gripping tale of domesticity and deceit. Karen Cleveland deliciously ratchets up the tension at every turn. You won't be able to put it down until the final, stunning page!"-Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

"Need to Know carves out a uniquely compelling