“Tell me you have her, Gavin. Tell me you’re following the signal.” Ryan kept his head down. The FBI were all over the waterfront spot where Carson had disappeared. It was only a matter of time until they threw the blame Ryan’s way.

“The signal is strong and moving fast,” Gavin replied.

“You. Scott,” Agent Walker bellowed.

“Call me when it stops.” Ryan hung up the phone and turned toward the FBI agent. “Is the secondary tracker working?”

Agent Walker stalked toward Ryan with Owen and his partner Rusty following close behind him. Owen caught Ryan’s eye and shook his head. Walker’s feet churned in the gravel as he closed the distance between them. As usual, his glare wasn’t the least bit friendly.

“What the hell were you thinking running out there like that?” Walker was close enough Ryan could smell the sweet creamer the agent had put in his coffee.

“I was thinking our asset was about to make a serious mistake.” Ryan held his ground.

“You didn’t stop to consider that there might have been other guys stationed around here we could have caught on camera?” Walker’s upper lip curled into a sneer.

“They weren’t here. They were on the water waiting for her.” Ryan threw his hand toward the car Carson had left behind.

“You don’t know that.”

“You are a disgusting piece of shit, you know that? You just want to get the bad guys and fuck everyone else. You don’t give two shits if those four, good people, die. Do you?”

“Depends on your definition of the word good.” Walker crossed his arms over his chest.

Ryan took a step back and really looked at the man.

Walker was a holdover from the old days when law enforcement branches didn’t play nice together, which was evident in the way he would not cooperate with the police. He’d had no qualms against taking all the evidence from Carson’s apartment, including the laptop with the recordings that incriminated him.

“Don’t look at me like that. I see this all the time. Whore’s kids are still whores, and those two hippie mother fuckers that raised them aren’t innocent either.”

“Ryan. Ryan—don’t!” Owen dove between Ryan and Walker, grasping Ryan’s fist before he could punch the old man. “That’s what he wants you to do.”

“What about the recordings?” Ryan kept glaring at Walker.

The old man had taken a few steps back, giving Ryan some space.

“What recordings?” Walker grinned.

“Don’t say anything,” Owen spoke low and slow, for Ryan’s ears alone. “Rusty?”

Owen’s partner stepped forward. He took a tablet out from under his arm and glanced at it.

“You good?” Owen took a step back.

“Yeah,” Ryan muttered.

“This is the full file Walker didn’t share with us. This is why we couldn’t find a case file to attach any of this to.” Owen took the tablet from Rusty and gave it to Ryan.

“He does not have clearance to read that.” Walker sounded more like a toddler not getting his way.

“He does now.” Owen turned his attention back to Ryan. “Read it.”

Ryan skimmed the first few lines, then went back over them.

“What the fuck am I reading here?” He glanced up at Owen.

“This whole thing, it’s not about these guys or Carson. It’s a federal investigation into Aerospace, Inc.” Owen took the tablet back from Ryan and went to a different page. “Walker has been digging into people connected to the case. That’s how he found Ben Grewing in the first place. He brokered a deal between these people and Aerospace. Walker couldn’t get at Grewing, so he went for Carson because she was easier to manipulate than Grewing.”

“And killing four innocent people in the process, that’s okay to you?” Ryan glared over Owen’s shoulder at Walker. “I hope you rot in hell.”

“There’s more,” Owen said.

“What else could there be?” The way Ryan saw it, when he got Carson and her family back, they needed a lawyer. A good one. And they sure as hell would not be cooperating with Agent Walker’s investigation any longer.

“A week ago Kawa made contact with a senator on the committee investigating Aerospace’s bribery case. Senator Joe Neilson.” Owen held out the tablet showing a transcript of some kind.

“Why does that matter?”

“The senator’s sister has been a terrorist prisoner for years. It is believed she’s being held inside Syria.”

“These guys are from Syria.”

“They’re actually from a little arm of the country trying to break free, but yeah. They’re Syrian born.”

“You think they were making a deal? The sister—what?”

“We don’t know.”

Ryan’s phone began to ring. He glanced at Gavin’s name flashing on the screen.

“I have to take this.” He turned and hit the answer button. “What?”

“Agent Walker!” One of the support team jogged toward them.

Ryan plugged his ear to hear Gavin.

“You there?” he asked.

“Yeah, you still watching Carson?” Ryan prayed for good news.

“The tracker just went offline.”

“What?”

“It’s gone. Her signal is gone.”

Ryan froze.

All they’d had was the tracker. That was how they were going to find her and fix this.

“Owen?” He turned toward the others.

Rusty and Owen stared at him, their eyes wide.

Ryan swallowed, but his mouth was still dry. “She’s gone...”

He’d promised her she’d be safe, that he’d be there for her, and now she was gone.

CARSON WAS GOING TO die.

She’d made the wrong choice and now she’d pay the price.

Ryan had no way to find her. She’d gone off on her own because she thought, once again, that she knew best. And she didn’t. From the very beginning she’d dug her grave with no help from anyone and now she’d have to lie in it.

Her nose throbbed and her knee ached to the point she couldn’t totally feel her foot. Her arms were rubbery after that climb. She held her hands out as the man behind her shoved her forward, through the metal halls of her prison. She could smell salt on the air and the tang of metal.

Survive the next minute that was her goal.

The man spat words she didn’t understand then let go of her.

She took a step back and ran into the wall.

Did she dare run?

She had no idea where she was or which way would take her out of here. A single light lit the hall. It wasn’t much to see with.

He kept his gun on her to the point she could feel the phantom touch of the muzzle. He tossed something at her. The hard object hit her in the arm then fell to the floor with a metal jangle.

The man barked a word at her in something that wasn’t English and gestured at the ground.

“You want me to pick this up?” She bent slowly and grasped a key ring.

He spoke again and pointed at the door.

“Okay, okay.” She picked a key and slid it into the lock.

It wouldn’t turn.

“Wrong one,” she muttered.

She picked a second key.

What was behind the door? A convenient way to kill her?

She twisted the key, and the lock relented. The door swung open.

The man jabbed her in the back with his gun. She nearly tripped over the bottom lip of the door stepping into the room in an effort to get away from the man.

The door clanged shut behind her and the lock clicked into place.

She backed away from the door and sucked down a breath.

What was that smell?

She knew that smell.

Something thumped in the shadows.

She whirled to face the new threat, her heart racing.

“Carson?”

She froze.

Mom’s perfume...

A familiar halo of hair emerged from the shadows into the light shining through a small window.

“Frankie?”

“Oh my God, Carson!”

Frankie and Mom rushed Carson at the same time, wrapping their arms around her.

“You’re okay?” She pressed her cheek against the top of Frankie’s head. There were only two pair of arms. “Where’s dad?”

“Over here, cupcake,” he said.

“Dad?” Carson squinted into the shadows.

Mom and Frankie let go of her. She crossed to what appeared to be some kind of pallet on the floor. Dad sat with his back against the wall and his leg propped up.

“What happened?” She knelt next to him and took his hand.

“Fell and busted my knee. All part of getting old, I guess.” He was still being Dad, downplaying the serious nature of the situation.

“Dad, seriously?” Carson had never found his understatements endearing.

“What is going on, honey?” Mom put her hand on Carson’s shoulder.

Carson glanced at Frankie.

“Cupcake, are these the men you warned us about?” Dad asked.

She’d barely told them what was going on before they were taken.

“I have a friend that’s going to get us out of here.” Carson swallowed.

The FBI might not care about bringing them back alive, but Ryan did. She believed in him. Right now she just had to keep breathing and stay alive. She’d tell whatever lies she had to like Merida had suggested to buy them time for Ryan to get here.

“I told them everything else. They didn’t believe me,” Frankie said.

“The FBI? Really?” Mom had good reason to distrust Frankie. She’d always struggled with honesty.

“It’s true.” Carson swallowed. “The FBI planted evidence on Frankie to get to me so they could force me to give them information on a client.”

Her throat closed up. If she’d gone to the authorities or a lawyer, none of this would have happened. It was on her shoulders. Frankie was a child, a pawn, in this. Carson should have known better. She should have asked questions, but she hadn’t.

“They planted it?” Frankie pushed up and stomped her foot.

“That’s what I think. I don’t have proof, but I know you.” Carson stared at her little sister. For all their faults, they were not the people Agent Walker saw them as. Sure, both she and Frankie had baggage, but they were good.

“Who are these men? Drug traffickers? Terrorists? Only three speak any kind of English.” Dad’s cheerful routine dimmed.

“I’m not sure.” Carson managed to get the lie out without her voice wavering. “They want money the FBI took from Ben. I gave them money, and after they count it, they should let us go.”

If the money passed a check.

She had no idea what constituted as good fake money or bad. It had felt and looked real to her, but she didn’t know anything about that. She could only pray that Kawa didn’t either.

KAWA PACED THE ROOM while listening to the machine count the money. Whatever they had their Chinese hosts would take a cut, he had to keep that in mind.

The machine slowed to a stop.

“How much is there?” He turned to his man at the desk.

“Three million.” The man reached over and turned on a UV light.

Kawa crossed to the desk.

The man slid the top bill of the last stack under the light.

“What does that mean?” Kawa got the sense that was significant.

“There is no security thread. The ink is right. The watermark is there. Even the serial number looks right, but there should be a dark strip here under the light.” The man glanced up at Kawa. “She lied to us.”

No.

This couldn’t be happening.

He fisted his hands and closed his eyes.

It was too much to hope for such a neat ending.

Now he’d have to kill the four of them and figure something else out.

Kawa turned and strode into the hall.

He’d made a mistake waiting on the broker. He should have acted immediately to find another resolution. Instead he’d wasted time and money they couldn’t afford.

“Keys,” he barked at the man stationed outside of the room they’d locked the family into.

The door creaked open.

Kawa drew his gun and stepped in.

He was going to handle one problem.

CARSON FELT THE FOOTSTEPS before she heard them.

“Someone’s coming,” she said.

If Kawa figured it out, if he knew what she’d done, she didn’t want him to take it out on her family.

“Stay here.” Carson pushed to her feet then backed away from her family.

“What’s going on?” Frankie asked.

“I gambled. I’m sorry, it was the only way to find you.” Carson swallowed.

The lock scraped loose and the door swung open.

Kawa stepped in, gun in hand, and his gaze went straight to her.

“It’s fake,” he snarled and raised the gun.

“I know. I’m sorry.” She held up her hands. Ryan had said they were motivated by money. She’d have to believe he was right. “But what did you expect? I can’t get the accounts unfrozen that fast. It takes time.”

“You had time.”

“A few hours. I need at least twelve. Maybe a whole day. I—I could still do it.” The lies tasted funny, but she got them out.

On TV people always tried to get their captors to empathize with them. See them as real people.

“Why should I trust you?” Kawa wasn’t shooting.

He was thinking about her statement.

“Do you have family?” she asked.

Kawa didn’t respond, but he also didn’t say no.

“I love my family. I’d do anything for my family. That’s how this all started. The FBI wanted Ben, so they used my family to get to him. Now, I’ll do whatever you want for them.” She was showing her underbelly, the thing that made her the weakest, but it was all she had.

He stared at her, the shadows obscuring his face.

The gun lowered to his side.

“You’ll think about it?” she asked.

“I can only trust a friend. Friends don’t lie. They don’t try to steal.”

“I told you—”

Before Carson could get her excuse out Kawa lifted his arm and fired without looking.

“Don’t!” Dad yelled.

She flinched and ducked her head as the bullet pinged off the walls. Mom and Frankie both screamed in surprise then hit the ground.

Kawa turned and stepped out of the room. The door shut behind him and she went to her knees.

She’d bought them a little more time.

“Carson?” Frankie’s voice wavered.

“Oh my God.” Mom gasped.

“What? What is it?” Carson rushed to her sister’s side. Frankie clutched at Carson’s hand.

The smell hit her first. She would never forget the scent of fresh blood.

RYAN STALKED OFF THE elevator and shoved the office door open. Merida, Alec, Vito and Ian stood in a circle, all eyes on him.

“Where is she?” he asked, praying for a miracle.

No one answered.

“Come on, there’s got to be something,” he pleaded.

Ian took a few steps toward him. “Paxton and Silas took a couple of the drones down by the water where we lost the signal and are searchin’, but...”

“But what?” Ryan paced to the windows and peered out at Carson’s baby blue VW bug. They’d brought it here for lack of a better idea what to do with it.

“The signal switched off within a short distance of two commercial marinas, three private ones and a dozen different ways off the water and onto land.” Alec never did shy away from delivering the hard lines. It was why he rarely worked alone. He had no client touch, no way with words.

“I’ve got to take this.” Ian held up his phone. “Merida, can you get started on that list of boat docks?”

“On it,” Merida said.

Both made a hasty retreat.

“Who do we know that could help find her?” Ryan turned back toward Alec and Vito.

“Everyone’s looking, man.” He spread his hands.

“That’s not good enough. She could be dead right now for all we know.”

“I get it. Calm down.” Alec held up his hands.

“Don’t you tell me to fucking calm down,” Ryan snarled.

“Are you listening to yourself?” Alec pitched his voice louder.

“Have someone you love kidnapped and see how you feel about it.”

“Easy.” Vito stepped between them.

“What did you say?” Alec stepped around Ryan.

He stared at Alec’s face twisted up in disbelief.

“You love her?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Dude, she fucking lied to your ass.”

“If that’s all that matters to you, you don’t understand the situation.” What she’d done, how she’d led him on in the beginning, that was old news. Besides, he couldn’t change how he felt. That wasn’t the way of things and even if he could, he didn’t want to.

“Carson’s still alive,” Vito said.

“You don’t know that.” Ryan closed his eyes, but that was a mistake. He could see her with blood splattered on her clothes and face, her eyes wide and lifeless.

“She’s still leverage. These people want something. Until they get it or the FBI get too close, they aren’t going to kill her. She’s smart.”

“Are the feds willing to play ball at all?” Alec asked.

“Depends, are we talking about Walker and his partner? Or the local feds?” The common problem seemed to be Walker’s investigation. Everyone else as part of the team.

“Then we dig something up on Walker. Make him a team player.” Alec thumped his knuckles on Merida’s desk. “We bend him, we get to Carson and close this whole thing up.”

He made it sound easy. Ryan wished it was that simple, but he had a bad feeling things wouldn’t turn out that well.

KAWA WATCHED THE CLOCK tick toward the morning hours.

He could hear the others talking softly. They didn’t want him to know they were awake.

What were they talking about? Were they taking a vote?

Kawa knew he’d lost the team’s confidence, and he couldn’t blame them. At every turn something had gone wrong.

Were they doomed from the beginning? Was this some cosmic sign their bid for independence was doomed to fail?

All he wanted was a safe place for his people, what little family he had left. That wasn’t too much to ask. It was what other countries had, so why not them?

The satellite phone buzzed. He’d turned the ringer off because he knew he wouldn’t sleep until this call happened.

He got up and swung the door shut before answering.

“Hello?” he said.

“Kawa, this is not good news.”

“President Farage, I am sorry.” He bowed his head even though the other man could not see him.

“I sent you there to fix a problem, not to create more.” Farage’s tone was no longer that of the firm, understanding leader.

“You did, and I failed you.”

“How can you fix this? Or do I have to do that myself?”

“No. No, sir. I can—”

“Not on this line. Listen, Kawa, if you don’t fix this, don’t expect a warm welcome.”

Kawa squeezed his eyes shut.

The line clicked. Either President Farage had hung up on them or they were cut off, there was no way to tell and Kawa wasn’t going to call back to find out.

He was stranded in a foreign country with no friends and few options.

If he killed the girl and her family that did not stop the flow of information. Without the money or some kind of leverage, he couldn’t make good on his bargain with the senator, though he doubted that would help keep them out of the investigation into Aerospace, Inc.

Kawa needed that money back. With it, they could buy more bullets or perhaps bribe the right person to speak up on their behalf at the United Nations. Money could go a long way. Right now his only hope of getting the money was the girl and that meant trusting her.

What he wouldn’t give for the chance to stand outside under the sun. But now he was a wanted man. The cargo ship’s captain had already told him to stay out of view from even the crew. They were confined to two lower decks using rooms that were intended for cargo. They were making do with air mattresses and pallets.

He paced the room, rolling his options around.

They could get the girl a computer and hope she pulled through for them. But what else? He needed a backup plan, something that would save his ass.

Someone knocked on the door.

Kawa steeled his nerves and opened it.

The first mate stood on the other side. He wouldn’t look at Kawa directly as though if he didn’t make eye contact he could feign ignorance.

“Someone on the docks for you,” the first mate said.

“Who?” Kawa could think of no one that would come here looking for him. At least no one he wanted to see.

The man waved him to follow.

Kawa would rather remain where he was. He had enough problems on his plate without adding another. He released the catch on his holster and followed the man to a hatch that let down to the deck below.

“Make him go away,” the man said before leaving.

Kawa went to the rail and peered down.

A man in a dark suit paced the dock under the staircase leading up to the exit.

Fucking hell.

How had he found them?

Kawa didn’t dare leave the ship. So long as he was on it he was considered to be on Chinese soil and not subject to American law. He leaned on the railing.

How the fuck had he found Kawa?

“Good morning, friend,” he called out.

Senator Neilson craned his neck and squinted up at Kawa. “Why the hell haven’t you returned my calls?”

“You aren’t my only friend. Come up.” Kawa didn’t want to stand out here exposed having this conversation.

The senator climbed the stairs to where Kawa stood waiting.

“What happened to our deal?” Senator Neilson asked standing toe to toe with Kawa.

“These things take time. We missed our window, I told you that if we—”

“I’ll pay you and keep your name out of the investigation,” the senator said.

Kawa closed his mouth and studied the man.

Senator Neilson was desperate. Kawa hadn’t realized how much until this moment.

“What’s your price?”

“An operation like this will be expensive.”

“How expensive?”

Kawa couldn’t get three million dollars out of the senator. That was an astronomical price, but he could recoup some of their losses.

“Two hundred thousand, you keep Akkadia clear of involvement and put in a good word for us,” he said.

“I can do that,” the senator said slowly. “The bank opens at eight. I can have it for you shortly after that.”

Kawa turned his face toward the shore and the rising sun.

There was still hope.