Laynie Portland, Retired Spy

How does a covert operative who has stolen Russian secrets for decades leave the field and “come in from the cold”? What if that spy were the longtime mistress of a reputable Russian scientist—a former officer of the KGB and, at present, senior technology advisor to the Secretary of the Russian Federation’s Security Council?

Laynie Portland has masqueraded as Swedish citizen Linnéa Olander for close to two decades, the last seven years as the companion of Vassili Aleksandrovich Petroff, a man with a pathological need to control every aspect of Laynie’s life. But during her time as Petroff’s woman, Laynie (Linnéa) has also ferreted out and fed her handlers a treasure trove of political and technological intel.

When Petroff’s abuse worsens, Laynie petitions her agency to pull her out. She is told, however, that she is too well-placed to decommission; she is too valuable an asset where she is—and she fears that someone, someone in her chain of command , would rather risk her death under Petroff’s hand than lose the value and prestige her intel engenders.

She is told, furthermore, that her request to withdraw poses a larger danger—because the abrupt departure of Linnéa Olander would trigger an avalanche of Russian suspicions, and those suspicions would extend to her company, Marstead International, the front for a joint U.S./NATO covert intelligence gathering venture.

But Laynie is desperate: She knows how close to the edge she stands. She has acted the part of Linnéa Olander too long and her ability to maintain the façade she presents to Petroff is fragile at best. A single misstep could blow her cover.

Faced with no good solution, Laynie runs.

Petroff views Linnéa Olander’s disappearance as a personal affront. In his eyes, Linnéa’s disloyalty is the ultimate act of betrayal, and he swears to find and punish her. Simultaneously, Laynie’s Marstead superiors brand her as a rogue agent, a loose cannon who can no longer be trusted—and the “retirement package” they order for her includes a short walk off the deck of a ferry into the black, icy rollers of the Baltic Sea.

How can Laynie escape both the Russians and her own agency—the very people she once trusted? Will no one help her? Or will God himself extend his protection over her life? But why would he do that given the life she has lived?

Laynie Portland
Book 1: Laynie Portland, Spy Rising—The Prequel
Book 2: Laynie Portland, Retired Spy
Book 3: Laynie Portland, Renegade Spy (December 2019)
Book 4: Laynie Portland, Spy Resurrected (June 2020)