Less than twenty-four hours later, Logan and Olivia reported for duty in the sit room. Mike Rose was there as well. Garth sat at the head of the table and welcomed them back. “I hope you’re ready for another assignment, because you’re needed.”

“I’m always ready to rid the world of terrorists, sir,” said Olivia. “But I haven’t heard about Mission Cat House. Were all the hostages reunited with their families?”

“Yes, ma’am, without a single casualty, thanks to ICE.” Garth chuckled. “Though it’s the Israelis and their Apache copters who are taking all the credit.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” asked Mike. “You wouldna want anyone knowing we had anything to do with it.”

“You got that right.” Logan nodded. “We don’t officially exist.”

Olivia folded her hands in her lap. “Tell me Gabby got the medical attention she needed.”

“Who’s Gabby?” asked Garth.

“One of the two girls from the Netherlands. She was…ah…assaulted by those apes.”

“Right.” The CO frowned. “NATO did report one casualty with minor injuries.”

Olivia pursed her lips. “Only minor?”

“Jesus, Hamilton, minor means minor. The girl will be fine. All the hostages are back with their families. That was your job and you accomplished it. Leave the worrying to her parents.”

Olivia let out a sigh and glanced to her partner. She and Logan hadn’t told Garth about the details of her brush with al-Umari and his knife. There was no need—and doing so might start another inquisition by Dr. R. “We all would have been gutted if Commanders Rodgers and Rose hadn’t shown up when they did.”

Logan grasped her hand beneath the table and gave it a squeeze. “So, what’s up with Russia?”

Garth frowned. “Turns out our intel was a smoke screen to take our attention off their real plan—whatever it is. Fahd al-Umari has slipped underground again.”

Olivia sat a bit straighter. “Then it’s our job to ferret him out.”

“That’s right. We’ll nail that bastard sooner or later,” said Garth turning his attention to the redheaded Scot. “Rose, there’s a woman I want you to pick up in Miramar at the Regional Joint Correctional Facility.”

Rose sat a bit straighter. “I beg your pardon, sir? What does she have to do with al-Umari?”

“She’s a prisoner?” asked Olivia.

Garth sliced his hand through the air. “First of all, she’s been proven innocent and secondly, she’s a sniper.”

“Are you talking about Henri Anderson?” asked Logan.

Olivia knit her eyebrows. Anderson had been accused of killing an Iranian dignitary in Washington DC. “Henri’s a girl?”

Garth glanced her way. “It’s Henrietta, and she’s the next asset to join the team…we hope. Anders had a bit of trouble with his recruiting tactics.”

“If Commander Rose is going to fetch Anderson, what are our orders, sir?” asked Logan.

“After you spend a week in the sim relearning how to land a Gulfstream, I need the pair of you working out of Pakistan. Jesus Christ, you nearly crashed that plane.”

“Hardly.” Logan swatted his hand through the air.

The CO stared at him humorlessly. “Yeah, but it was close. NATO said the landing gear was nearly crushed—I think the phrase they used was it looked like you were trying to land an elephant.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “Prickly bastards.”

Across the table Rose chuckled, but Olivia’s entire body tensed.

Garth brought a street scene up on the screen for everyone to see. Olivia smothered her gasp with her hand as she instantly recognized Karachi, the same place her parents had been killed. Garth didn’t seem to notice her reaction. “I need you to chase down a lead on the whereabouts of al-Umari’s inner circle.”

“Pakistan, sir?” Olivia asked while her palms started to perspire.

Logan held up his hand. “Are you sure you want O—”

“Goddamn it, Rodgers, I’m always sure of what I want.”

“Yes, sir.”

After the briefing, Logan took Olivia back to his suite. Standing face to face, he cupped her cheeks between his palms. “I know Garth shot me down in there, but I’ll fight him if you don’t think you can face Pakistan.”

“Are you kidding?” Olivia kissed him on the lips, her initial trepidation turning to excited anticipation. “We’re going to nail al-Umari this time. I can feel it right down to my bones.”

“What if this new girl kills him first?”

“Then I hope they pin a medal on her.”

“Honest?”

“Damn straight.”

Logan grinned—white teeth, teal-blue eyes that could hypnotize Olivia every time he looked into her eyes. “God, I love you.”

He kissed her, a marvelous and meaningful kiss filled with a commitment of everlasting passion. Logan wrapped his arms around her, making her feel part of something more powerful than she could ever be alone. Olivia wanted those protective arms surrounding her forever. She repaid the gesture with a squeeze of her own, kneading her fingers into the thick bands of muscle in Logan’s back. After fluttering more kisses along his neck, she let out a contented sigh and looked him in the eye. “Know what?”

“What?”

“I love you, too.”