"What the hell are you talking about?" Annie's eyes narrowed as she smoothed her dress, undeterred.

"Because V said the same thing about you, Annie," I replied, taking another deep breath. "He's on our side."

"For your sake," Annie said in a rushed low voice. "You'd better hope so." She looked around to make sure we were alone and looked me in the eye again. "We don't have a lot of time."

Then, a thought occurred to me as I backed away, my eyes narrowing. "Annie, why ...