TREVOR WANTED TO PACE. To move. To do something.

The only thing he could do was stare at the monitors showing four shots of Charles Ray’s house and three shots inside the house. Every available SWAT officer was on hand for this, stationed in the windows of neighboring houses, in blind spots, in the shadows. The street was crawling with hidden cops as the sun began to dip below the horizon.

Dina passed in front of the interior house camera. She was in there by herself.

Was that smart? Was this the right way to go about catching these guys?

They knew these two were going to come for Dina no matter what. It made sense that the best thing to do was control the environment where the suspects made their approach. The plan was to take them out before they got to the house. Which meant their set-up had to be believable.

Dina had her bag, the new laptop, something to eat. There was no officer in there with her. They couldn’t risk blowing the op by having someone in full tactical gear spotted.

The closest officers were eight feet from her door in the next house.

Casey was stationed in the open window of the house on the right. Liam was up in a tree house across the street with his sniper gear. Val was back on the team in the house on the other side of Charles Ray’s place. They had people everywhere.

But he wasn’t with Dina.

“Try to relax,” Alex said in a low voice.

“I am.”

“You’re grinding your teeth.”

“Do we have every exit covered? On both street?” Trevor didn’t have a view of the adjacent streets.

“Yes. Did you look at the diagram?” Alex pulled a tablet out from under his arm and brought up some kind of fancy mapping software. “These green dots are the Ransom officers focused here. The yellow dots are my guys stationed out in a two block perimeter. We’ve got every street covered in the neighborhood.”

Trevor nodded.

Was it enough?

“Are we sure we can trust your guy?” he asked.

“The informant?” Alex shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine. My detectives said he’d run with anything they dropped, so we’re hoping that’s the case here.”

“How long can we hold the perimeters?” Trevor knew they’d put everyone they could on this in the hopes that desperate criminals would act on opportunity. If the suspects took the wait and see approach they could blow the operation.

Dina walked to the front windows, stepping into the frame of the camera pointed at the door. His heart squeezed, and he had to keep himself from reaching for the mic to tell her to stay away from there.

When this was all over, they could get a fresh start. They could try again.

“Guys, don’t be jealous right now, but I’m getting cookies,” Casey said through the headsets

Alex glanced at Trevor.

“Cookies?” Liam muttered.

Alex covered the microphone on his headset. “You know who lives in that house?”

“Wish you guys could smell this. It’s amazing. I think those are chocolate chip.” Casey was laying it on thick.

Oh, no...

Trevor stared back at Alex.

“That’s the Campbell house...”

“Yup.” Alex nodded.

Trevor covered his mouth. Despite the severity of the situation, he chuckled.

Casey had no idea what was coming.

Trevor shook his head and rubbed his face, all while Casey continued to tease the others about the upcoming treat.

“He doesn’t know about the pinch tax, does he?” Alex said, microphone still in hand.

“I guess not. If I were in there, I’d push those cookies away. I learned my lesson.” Then again, Trevor had raised enough hell as a kid he couldn’t fault a few grannies a little pinch.

Dina turned in the camera frame, the burner phone she’d been using in hand. A moment later Trevor’s rang.

He pulled the headset off and turned away from Alex and the other two men manning the cameras.

“Hey, how’s it going in there?” he asked.

“It’s quiet. Is it supposed to be quiet?”

“It’s quiet until it’s not. This is the part of ops that suck, sorry. Hang in there.”

“I’d feel better if I weren’t alone.”

“You aren’t alone. We’re out here.”

“I know.” She sighed.

“Hey, when this is over, why don’t we do a weekend trip down to San Antonio or Austin? Just get away. Relax.” He was more than likely going to get put on shit duty for the foreseeable future, but he could hope for a pair of off days at the least.

“That might be nice. I’ve never been further south than Fort Worth.”

“Well now, that’s a shame. San Antonio’s got some great Mexican food. There’s the River Walk. A haunted hotel. The Alamo.” Things he’d seen a dozen times, but were new for her.

“Haunted hotel? Really?”

“Well, it’s either haunted or really old, take your pick.”

“I’ll have to see it for myself then.”

“Trevor?”

He turned toward Alex who pointed at his headset. The corners of his mouth curled up, which was an extreme expression for the stony faced man.

“I’ve got to go. We’re right here with you, okay?”

“Okay.” She sighed then hung up.

“What did I miss?” Trevor asked.

“Cookies just came out of the oven.”

Trevor slid his headset back on.

“Liam, can you smell this across the street?” Casey asked.

“Fuck you,” Liam muttered.

“I’m getting a plate all to myself in a few minutes.”

“I bet you are,” Val said.

“You sure you want to eat those?” Sean asked.

Trevor shook his head. Even when times were tense, they could still find something to laugh about.

“Here they are. Thank you so much, Mrs. Campbell. These look delicious. I don’t know if I’ll be able to save any.” Casey made sure to chew and smack as he ate the first cookie, carrying on like he was in the throes of an orgasm.

Trevor continued to watch the footage of the darkening streets.

“Silver Toyota turning on Maple,” the woman manning the street cameras said.

“Ow! Ouch!” Casey yelped.

Trevor winced.

“I think Cookie Monster over there just found out nothing is free,” Liam said dryly.

“She pinched me,” Casey muttered.

“Yup,” Val drawled.

“Guess no one told you about the pinch tax?” Sean drawled.

“Are you boys going to keep carrying on, or are we working here?” Heidi’s no-nonsense tone couldn’t tone the boys down.

“Guys,” Alex barked over the snickers. “Silver Toyota heading toward the house.”

The snickers silenced and the tension in the room went up.

The silver car stopped in front of Charles Ray’s old house. A young woman got out from behind the wheel, but left the vehicle idling.

“I need to know who that is,” Alex said.

“It’s too dark to make an ID,” Casey replied.

The young woman approached the door and lifted her hand.

Who the fuck was this?

Trevor jabbed the call button on his phone.

Dina stood with her back pressed against the wall out of sight of the windows. She lifted her phone to her ear.

“Dina? Dina, do not open that door. We don’t know who it is,” he said.

Unknowns were never good.

Trevor pulled his phone away from his face.

It was still ringing.

DINA KEPT HER BACK against the wall and squinted at the frosted glass panes in the front door.

“Dina? Dina, open up. It’s Giada Volta.” The woman’s voice was muted, but there was no denying the name.

Dina took a step away from the door.

No.

That wasn’t possible.

Had she heard the young woman right?

Giada Volta.

As in Rosie’s younger sister Giada?

Not the youngest, Alessia. Giada had been just old enough Dina and Rosie would let her hang out with them after putting Alessia to sleep. Giada had always wanted them to put make up on her and dress her up. She was a future fashion diva, so much more forward thinking in terms of style than either Rosie or Dina had been.

Dina had always felt like Rosie’s sisters were hers.

And now Giada was here.

Why? How? What had Dominick done to her?

That couldn’t be good.

“Dina? Dina, can you hear me through the ear piece?” Trevor whispered. She’d felt her phone vibrate, but she couldn’t move.

Giada was on the other side of the door.

Dina crossed the room.

“Giada, is that really you?” she called out.

“Yes. It’s me.”

“She can’t hear us. Fuck,” Trevor said in her ear.

Dina reached up and plucked the earpiece out. She slid it into her pocket. Whatever Giada had to say, it was between them. It was important. Dina unlocked the door and swept it open.

She stared at the young woman standing on the mat.

Giada stood there in a silvery, slinky party dress. Her hair was up, a few tendrils of overly bleached blonde hanging down. Her skin was pale. Glitter stuck to her here and there.

Funny, Dina had always imagined Rosie’s sisters would look like her with dark curling hair, tan skin and lively eyes.

Giada had grown up, there was no denying that.

Her cheeks were no longer round and pudgy.

She had Rosie’s cheekbones and height.

And skinny to the point Dina could have balanced golf balls off her collar bones.

Dina should say something. She’d always thought that seeing Giada and Alessia would be like seeing Rosie’s ghost. It wasn’t. Giada had grown up into her own woman.

When was the last time Dina had seen her? Before Rosie’s death sometime, but she couldn’t say when. Dina had often felt guilt over leaving the girls behind. They’d been innocent in all of it, robbed of their sister in a horrible way.

“This is all your fault,” Giada said through clenched teeth. Tears welled in her eyes even as she fisted her hands.

“I am so sorry. Gia, I’m sorry.”

“You should be. My sister is dead because of you.”

Dina opened and closed her mouth.

Rosie dead because of her?

“You’re the reason Alessia and I are here.”

“Where is Alessia?” Dina peered out onto the street. Alessia would barely be eighteen. Still a child, but also an adult.

“Your brother’s going to kill her unless you come with me, but you don’t care about that, do you?” Giada crossed her arms over her chest.

Dina’s body went cold.

The two girls were there because of her?

This had Dominick written all over it. He meant to win. To get his way.

“You never cared about us, you selfish bitch.” Giada took a step and lifted her hand. She swung her fist, which only unbalanced her.

Dina ducked the blow, but held her ground as Giada stumbled into her. Dina wrapped her arms around the too thin girl. Giada stomped her foot and wiggled.

“Let go of me. I hate you. I hate you!” She sobbed.

Dina closed her eyes and held on tighter.

Right now she hated herself, too.

“What has Dominick done? Where is Alessia?” Dina had failed Rosie, she couldn’t fail her sisters, too.

“He’s at some house.” Giada gave up struggling and stood with her head on Dina’s shoulder. “He wants you to come to him.”

Of course he did. All of this was his plan.

“Dina?” Giada picked her head up off Dina’s shoulder. “What happened? What really happened?”

Her mouth went dry.

Of course no one would explain a Cosa Nostra murder to two children. It had been swept under the rug and ignored because that was the preferred way to deal with it.

“My parents. They killed her. With Dominick. I don’t know why. I never really understood that part. That’s why I did what I did.”

Giada pulled away and swiped the back of her hand across her cheeks.

Dina had to make this right.

“I NEED TO HEAR this conversation,” Trevor said.

“Casey, can you get closer?” Alex asked.

“Negative. Not without giving away my position.”

Trevor turned toward the door, but Alex was in his way.

“I’ve got an unknown man on foot approaching from the east,” the woman at the monitors said.

“She’s hugging the girl like she knows her. There’s no weapon. She’s okay,” Alex said.

“We don’t know that.” Trevor began staring at the other monitors.

Was this girl a distraction? Was something else about to happen?

“Where’s the guy on foot?” He bent over the chair, peering at the screens.

A burst of light on the grainy screens froze Trevor to the spot.

Someone had fired a gun.

In the vicinity of the house where Dina and this unknown girl were.

Dina could die, right now.

The answering blast of gunfire on the street two blocks away shocked him out of that moment.

“Shots fired. Liam, do you have him?” Alex demanded.

“Negative.”

“I’ve got a shot,” Casey said.

“Take it,” Alex ordered.

Trevor heard the shot.

“Suspect has cut between two houses heading back east,” Liam said.

“I should see him any second now,” Sean said.

“I need everyone on the perimeter to tighten up. Catch this guy.”

Trevor needed to get to Dina. This shouldn’t have happened.

Alex turned, planted both of his hands against Trevor’s chest and stared at him.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” Alex said.

“Dina needs me.”

“She needs us to do our job.”

“Suspect is twenty yards north of our position,” the woman on the monitors said.

Trevor yanked out of Alex’s grasp and sprinted for the door. He burst out onto the street. Other officers in tactical gear were moving in.

The bushes to Trevor’s left rustled and a man the size of a Longhorn bull burst free. Trevor dropped his shoulder and ran into the guy before he knew Trevor was there. They both went tumbling to the pavement.

“Freeze, police!” Someone bellowed.

The man twisted and punched at Trevor, striking him with the butt of his gun. Trevor had the advantage of being on top. He drove his knee into the man’s groin and wrapped his hand around the man’s right wrist.

The street light shone down on Little Tony’s snarling face.

One suspect down.

THE MOMENT THE GUN went off, Dina grabbed Giada and hit the floor. Dina covered the young woman’s head with her arms and prayed that Trevor and the others were out there. A second shot, then a third rang out. No more followed, and no one barged into the house.

What the hell was happening?

Dina dug in her pocket for the earpiece and slid it in.

“Suspect is headed east on foot,” a woman said.

“Trevor—no!”

Dina listened to the jumbled words, drowned out orders. Something unexpected was happening.

“Was that Phillip? Little Tony?” Dina pushed up and peered out through the door.

“Phillip is with Dominick. I don’t know a Tony.” Giada scrambled back up against the wall, sucking down deep breaths.

Whatever split happened between Phillip and Little Tony, this could be part of that drama. Little Tony was the kind who would barge in, shooting. Not Phillip.

“It’s Tony,” Trevor said in her ear.

Dina was stuck here, waiting for Dominick to come to her. He never would. He was too smart for that. The plan was doomed to fail, which meant the death of the two girls who had been like Dina’s own sisters. If Dominick saw a cop, the girls were dead. He was like Dad. He’d kill first.

She couldn’t let that happen.

This might be her only chance to save them.

She took the earpiece out again and held it in her hand to muffle the sound.

“Giada?” Dina clutched the girl’s shoulders. “I need you to listen to me, okay?”

Giada nodded.

“I need you to get in your car and drive around the street. Take two right turns, then wait for me, okay? There are cops out there. This was a trap for Phillip and Dominick. I can’t walk out the front door without them wanting answers. Okay?”

“O-okay.”

“Go.” Dina nudged Giada toward the door.

The girl darted down the walk, sprinting to the car and dove behind the wheel. One tail light flickered before dying.

Was this the right thing to do?

Before this moment, Dina’s focus had been on protecting herself and putting the three men after her behind bars. Now that Giada and Alessia were in danger, everything changed.

They were kids.

Girls.

They didn’t know better. No one was protecting them. No one would look out for them.

Except Dina.

She couldn’t think about herself or the future she’d wanted if she let something else happen to these girls. Their presence changed everything. And Dominick knew it. This was his goal. Trot out the two people Dina was bound to still care for and dangle them like bait.

It was working.

If she told the people out there, if they made a move on Dominick’s location, he’d kill everyone.

There wasn’t a way to do this without someone dying.

Was going with Giada her only chance at redemption? What other way could she see?

“Dina? I need someone to go into the house and check on Dina. Find out who that girl was.” That was Alex.

Shit.

“I can slip inside,” the woman, Heidi, said.

No, Dina wanted to wail.

She was cornered. The cops on one side. Trevor on another. Dominick always chasing her. And now Giada and her sister. Dina couldn’t make a right move. There was nothing she could do that was correct. If she stayed here, the girls died. If she went, they’d probably all die.

How could this work out for any of them?

“Hello? Dina?” Heidi called out.

“In the living room.” Dina closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

A woman wearing green pants, a long sleeve athletic shirt and green tactical gear over her clothes entered. Her rifle remained pointed at the ground.

“You went silent on us.” Heidi’s gaze scanned the barren house. “Everything okay?”

“Are you on comms? Can they hear you?” Dina asked.

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

“Can you mute them? I need to talk to someone—not everyone.”

“Tell me what’s going on first. Who was that girl?”

“My dead best friend’s little sister.” Dina dropped her hands to her sides.

“What’s she doing here?”

“Can I talk to just you? I know they’re barking in your ear. I just—I can’t make decisions by committee right now.” And Dina couldn’t let Trevor change her mind.

“Okay.” Heidi reached up and pulled her comm. from hear ear. “There. It’s just you and me. What’s up?”

“Dominick knows this is a set-up. He brought Giada and her sister here as bait. They’re my best friend’s little sisters. They were kids when Rosie was killed. Hell, they probably trusted Dominick. If I don’t go with them, he’s going to kill them. If I go with them, he’ll probably kill all of us. The girls are disposable to him.”

“That’s a lot of death.”

“I was there when Rosie died. I couldn’t stop it. But what if I could stop Giada and Alessia from dying?”

“You might just get all three of you killed instead. You know, we have a large, joint task force here—”

“Getting them to do anything fast isn’t going to happen. I have to decide right now what I’m going to do. What’s the right thing to do?”

“Whatever keeps you safe—”

“Whatever keeps me safe could kill them. Shit.” Dina thrust her hands through her hair.

“I’m going to get Alex and Trevor in here. We’ll make a plan—”

“No.” Dina whirled.

A shadow in the kitchen moved, materializing into a person. A familiar face emerged, freezing Dina to the spot.

“I know you’re scared. This is a lot to deal with,” Heidi said.

Dominick shifted, lifting his gun and pointing it at Heidi.

Dina yelled and dove at Heidi, but Dominick fired first. Heidi’s green eyes went wide, her jaw dropped. Dina crashed into her and the two of them went to the floor. But it was too late.

“Get up,” Dominick ordered.

Dina twisted and kicked, nailing her brother in the thigh. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her off the fallen officer. He then aimed the gun at Heidi’s face.

“I’ll kill her,” he said.

Dina froze.

“Get up. Now,” he barked.

“No,” Heidi wheezed out.

Dominick took a step toward Heidi.

“Stop!” Dina shoved to her knees then lifted her hands. “I’m coming, see?”

“Don’t,” Heidi rolled to her side. Even injured the woman was trying to help.

“Come on. Now. Move.” Dominick grabbed Dina by the arm. “I’d almost say it was nice to see you again, sis.”