Mary didn’t rationalize what she was doing. Truth told, she didn’t even realize what she was doing until it was mostly done. The mess hall was dark, but well stocked. Dylan and his brothers spared no expense to offer whatever food their men and the visiting soldiers in the Warrior’s Path might want.

Three industrial-sized refrigerators lined the back area. A large, twelve-burner cooking surface was along the half wall toward the front. A U-shaped serving bar was empty, but she imagined fruits, vegetables, assorted meats and cheese with pertinent condiments filling the area. A small cooking area was up front. Waffle irons and small skillets lined the bar to the right of the station.

Hot breakfast.

She’d enjoyed an omelet one morning. Dylan had fixed it for her. Her gut tightened. Guess she’d messed up that before it even really got anywhere. Typical. Always screwing stuff up.

She wrapped paper towels around her sacrifices and trudged out the side door. To hell with whatever the sign said. Someone in surveillance would just have to deal. No alarms sounded. She and Vi had ended all that whoop and blare drama. It was so twenty years ago. Don’t tell the bad guys you know they’re there. That was the new rage.

The smell of hay and stable assailed her nostrils when she entered. She wasn’t exactly sure what the smell of a stable was, seeing how this was the first one she’d technically been in, but she imagined manure, animal, and country. Yeah, country definitely had a smell, one seared into her brain as the best place going.

A part of her grieved for what she’d lost. The other accepted it wasn’t ever really hers. An asset. That’s what she was. Peter had always called her that. The best asset he’d cherry picked from MIT. They hadn’t always gotten along. Death had a way of casting a rosy haze around the bad parts of someone.

Dylan’s high-handed actions reminded her a lot of the head-to-head battles she and Peter had when things weren’t going according to his pre-conceived plan. If it’d been him in there today, he would’ve already hunted her down and talked it out. He was big on not letting her simmer for long.

“I’m thinking I really messed up this time, girl.”

Dylan’s voice boomed from Peanut’s stall. Mary looked down at the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches wistfully. Apparently, they’d both had the same idea. This was his ranch, his family. His horse. His sister’s habit to mimic.

She’d give him the space he needed.

“She was right, you know. None of us are good with the black part of what we’ll be doing. It’s part of the job though. You do what you’ve gotta do and move on. She was wrong too, though.”

Mary froze. Her gut tightened.

“I would’ve walked away unchanged because it kept her safe. She would’ve gotten me through. Jesus, how the hell did I fall this fast?”

Mary ignored the way her heart thudded hard and wild. Or the way her breathing grew more labored the closer she got to Peanut. To Dylan. She clutched the PBJ in her good hand as she turned the corner and angled into the stall’s entry.

Shock clogged her throat, killing the scream before it escaped. Speakers sat in the hay a few yards away. Dylan wasn’t there. A recording.

A trap.

The sandwiches crashed to the ground as rough hands grabbed her and slammed her against the side of the stall. Amusement echoed in hot breaths against her ear.

“This was almost too simple. Come on, bitch, time for me to get a nice, fat pay day.”

Dan Hennessey. The name chimed in her head. They’d escorted him off property though. Fear chewed through her thoughts as she looked over her shoulder, then at the gun pressed into her head.

“Walk. Don’t make a sound. This’ll all be over soon.”

“Let me go. Let me go, and I won’t tell. You don’t have to do this.”

“Yeah, bitch. I do. They’re gonna pay. They’re all gonna pay. He’s right. It’s time to make everyone pay.”

“Who’s right?” Mary asked. “I don’t understand any of this.”

Dan snagged her by the hair and dragged her from the barn. He opened the trunk of a dark green Honda and motioned. “In, bitch.”

“I’m claustrophobic. Please. I won’t make trouble, I swear.”

“Mary!”

Her heart seized. No. No. No. No. No. She closed her eyes and willed the voice away. Dan turned her in Logan’s direction as he ran toward them.

“Logan, no! Get back!”

Dan aimed at Logan and fired. She slammed her casted arm against his hand at the last second, praying it was enough to help. Logan tumbled to the ground a few feet away. Blood pooled around his head.

Tears stung her gaze as she was slammed in the side of the head by the gun handle. “Stupid bitch. You never learn.”

Dan shoved her into the trunk and glared a few beats before slamming the weapon on her head one more time. Blackness enveloped her.

“YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE.”

Dylan ignored Addy’s statement and secured the glove around his wrist. Someone should’ve stopped her from tracking him down. Hell, his brothers knew better. He’d tried calming himself in the barn earlier, but it hadn’t worked.

She got in his face. “You were out of line.”

“Not your business,” he gritted through clenched teeth.

“Bullshit. I stood there, watched you cut her open. For doing her job.” Addy’s voice thundered through the exercise room. She looked at the punching bag, then smiled. “You feel like a big man now, roaring your rage like a pissed off kid who didn’t get to play where he wanted. Now it’s time to punch it out, feel more like a real man. Fine. Let’s do this.”

Addy grabbed a pair of grappling gloves from the pile they kept on hand. She sneered when she glanced up at him. “What? Never gotten your ass handed to you by a girl? Well, today’s your lucky day.”

“You think you can take me.” He shook his head in disbelief a moment. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

“You forget who my brother was. I learned to fight to keep breathing after the first few broken bones. Toughen up or check out. That was his motto.” She clenched her fists, testing the fit of the gloves. “I’m a fast learner.”

Dylan’s gut tightened. Rage rolled from the woman when she spoke, but he wasn’t sure whether it was anger at him or something else. “I’m sorry you lost him.”

“Everyone remembers a different Peter. No one knew the same man. You notice that?”

“You did,” he commented.

“You were a lot like him in there, you know. He used to get up in Mary’s face all the time, screaming and yelling when she didn’t let his decision be the move made in the field. He’d storm off, pout. Just like you.” She struck.

A foot landed in his face. He stumbled backward and defended against the next move. The woman was a powerhouse. He set aside everything but the fight.

Fists and legs flew. Strike after strike landed. Sweat poured from them both. Addy took a step back and dragged in labored breaths while Dylan doubled over and willed his gut to stop heaving.

“You’re good,” she commented. “Better than I expected.”

“He trained you well.”

“There wasn’t any training with Peter Rugers. There was defending. Learning. Applying.” Addy grabbed a bottle of water and tossed it to him. “I loved my brother, but he wasn’t a saint. No one as good as him got that way being an angel.”

“What are you implying?”

“Nothing.” She sighed and sat. “Hell, I don’t know. Something about today doesn’t sit right, like I missed something important.”

“What specifically?”

“The amateur hour kidnapping attempts. The one with your sister, then today. Whoever hired those idiots knew you’d take them down easily. So why bother? The first was because someone got uncomfortable. Or so I thought.” Addy took a sip of water. “It doesn’t read right. None of this does.”

“You’re thinking the first attempt wasn’t to get us refocused.”

“It was definitely a smoke screen, but I can’t figure out why, not after the one today. Those idiots in there stood no chance, but someone wanted them here. In this very situation.”

But why? Dylan sat across from Addy and set the anger and rage aside. Someone had played them. “Divide and conquer. Today, what went down, pushed my buttons, the ones that demanded I be the one to protect Mary, those I love.”

“And it pushed hers for the very same reason. It’s her job to protect everyone. She is the job. We’ve said it a thousand times. She was only the job. Until you.” Addy cursed. “Someone’s seen inside enough to know you two were close, exactly how to divide you.”

“And has a better than average ability to read people,” Dylan commented as his mind started putting two and two together. “I’m not liking where this is taking us.”

“Me neither. Let’s go. I want eyes on Mary.”

Conversation died as they sprinted toward containment. Dylan’s pulse quickened. He’d phone Marshall, but the thick metal walls prevented cell phone signals. He tagged Addy by the back of the shirt when she arrived at the door leading to the lower levels.

“You’ve got a code for this sort of thing? At Hive?”

“This exact one? No. But there are a few usable. Why?”

Whoever was pulling the strings read people easily, knew exactly how to come between him and Mary when very few even knew there was a him and Mary. The possibilities were limited, and since most were either blood or had shed theirs to keep him breathing, the conclusion left him nervous. One person fit the bill better than anyone else.

“I’m pretty sure Doctor Parsons is dirty,” he said.

“Which makes your boy Logan dirty, too, since he recommended her,” Addy added.

Fuck. He hadn’t gotten that far. Yeah, he wasn’t trustworthy either.

“One or both are going to be down there, and we need to warn everyone somehow.”

“I’ll get word to Vi.” She yanked her cellphone from her pocket and punched a few buttons.

“Cells won’t work down there, not with the thick walls.”

“This isn’t your average cell. Vi and I are testing a new add-on to HERA. I’d get a signal on Mars, so Vi’s phone will ring.” She held the phone up to her ear. “If Graves is in there, he can help.”

Dylan didn’t want to think about Fallon Graves, how easily Mary trusted him to get the job done when he’d been found lacking. His gut soured, but he ignored the emotion chewing through his insides and headed toward containment.

All eyes swept toward him when he and Addy entered. The woman maneuvered toward Vi without comment and sat. No conversation, no scrawling of notes. Nothing. Yet he noted the tension in the other woman’s shoulders, in the way she typed on the keyboard.

“Doctor Parsons, I know you’re the shrink and can walk them through the interrogation, but I’d like to assume initial control.” Vi’s voice was low, calm. Rational. “That’ll give you the time to assess the situation and make adjustments when the session gets to the critical stage. That’s what Edge and I did.”

“Yes, yes. That’ll work.” The woman sat on the other side of Vi, too close for Dylan to strike and not risk fallout, even with Addy on the other side.

“Graves, this is Quillery. Do you copy?”

“Yeah, we’re ready.” Graves and Sanderson had Driggs in the interrogation area, a chamber with a drain, chains, a chair, and a table. Instruments hung on the walls and spread across the table’s surface, more for show and effect than actual use.

“Edge is not in target zone. New replacement has been acquired,” Vi commented. “Recommend extreme measures and ready for unknown variables. Parsons will provide further recommendations.”

The line was silent a moment.

“Copy, Quillery. Is Edge secure?”

“Unknown. She is no longer our focus. We have a new asset in position. Begin when ready.”

“Roger.”

Vi removed the headset and passed it over to Doctor Parsons. The woman smiled graciously as she put it on.

“Thank you for stepping in. I have no idea what happened. She just lost it. She’s been on edge a lot lately. I guess it was just too much.” Vi tapped away on the keyboard. “It’ll be nice to have a professional around, someone who knows psychology. Mary and I were always arguing over the best way to handle people.”

“Well, interrogations are tricky and not my forte, as I mentioned.” The woman crossed her legs and smiled at Marshall. “I’m willing to do whatever must be done though.”

Jesse and Nolan had Dylan as their sole focus. He flashed a quick hand signal for danger while Vi had Parsons distracted. Addy shifted away, standing to walk around the console and take a position nearer his brothers.

Cord glanced down at the gloves Addy hadn’t removed, then over at Dylan’s bloodied face. He’d like to think hers looked just as bad, but the woman was fierce. “Looks like you knocked some sense into him.”

“Well, he knocked more than that into me. Trust me, things aren’t always what they seem. I’m glad we got it worked out. I need to track Mary down though, do the same with her.”

“Logan went to find her. He was worried,” Parsons replied with a smile.

Yeah, sure he was. Dylan grunted and remained in position. He needed to contain the situation here before worrying about Mary.

“Oh, well she’s in good hands then,” Addy said. “Let’s get this going. I’m ready for answers.”

“You’re green for start, Graves.”

“Roger, Quillery. We’re a go.”

The feed into the room went dead. The overhead monitors turned to snow.

“What happened?” Parsons asked.

“Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention. Graves is a bit touchy about his interrogations. He has certain...methods...he prefers no one see. He’ll establish contact in a while, once he’s gotten Driggs warmed up.” Vi chewed on her bottom lip. “I doubt it’ll take long. Driggs isn’t exactly a hard subject to break.”

“Likely not,” the doctor replied. “I really must insist on observing the entire process. I can’t help later if I don’t know what was done.”

“I see you went to Berkley,” Vi commented. “Nice campus. I almost went there.”

“You should have. It had an excellent curriculum.”

“Yeah, too bad they booted you out your junior year,” Vi commented. “I bet that sucked.”

The woman reached for her pocket, but Dylan was there, gun drawn. “Don’t.”

Doctor Parsons laughed. “You think you can win? Honey, you’ve already lost. You lost before you were ever tagged in.”

“Where is Mary?”

“Long gone by now. This was almost too simple, not even worth our time.” She chuckled and leaned back in the chair, her gaze on the gun as though it was a water pistol. “Stupid little guppy, thinking you could swim in the ocean.”

“What did you say?” Marshall whispered. He got in the woman’s face.

“Nothing. I didn’t say anything,” she spat.

“Bullshit. I heard. Where did you hear that?”

“What’s it to you?” she retorted.

“What the hell is going on?” Nolan asked.

“Doctor Parsons is our mole. Logan, too, more than likely,” Dylan explained. “Addy and I went a few rounds and knocked enough sense into ourselves to realize we’d been played. Me. Mary. All of you. Divide and conquer, oldest game in the book.”

“Surveillance cameras aren’t picking Mary up anywhere,” Vi commented. “I’m accessing her chip.”

The woman typed fiercely on the keyboard, her brow furrowed. Dylan squeezed Parson’s throat. “One chance, lady. Where the hell did he take her?”

“Front gate says no one’s been in or out,” Dallas said.

“She’s headed north. Sending the signal to your phones and trucks.” Vi looked up. “Go get her!”

Dylan’s jaw twitched. He wanted to charge out the door and run toward her, but they still needed answers.

“Go. We’ll call in what Graves and Sanderson get from Driggs,” Marshall said. “Doctor Parsons and I are going to have a chat.”

“I’m taking a team over to the old Burton place. I’m not hanging around for answers if there’s a hit squad at our back door,” Jesse said.

“I’ll go, too, help clear and secure the tunnels. I’m thinking we need to have a chat with the realtor, take that property on.” Nolan looked around.

“Yeah, get on that,” Marshall said. “Cord, you help Vi keep scanning. Feed us whatever you can.”

Dylan headed out. God help whoever took Mary.

Hang on, sweetheart. I’m coming to get you.