Gripping the kitchen island, I pulled myself up and pushed the wheelchair away—I hadn’t technically been cleared for long-term standing, but after hearing about Jim Pace, I no longer gave a shit. I grimaced for a moment, catching my breath. 

Then Gabe came into the kitchen, and I straightened myself. I had no intention of letting my strain show.

“Are your brothers on their way back?” I asked.

“Yeah, they’re on the red-eye,” Gabe said. “Fiona had just contacted them and hired them for personal security—right before this happened.”

He was quiet for a long minute. “I can’t believe Jim’s dead. He and Fiona were college sweethearts. Jim was a great guy, brilliant—and he had a big heart. He loved his wife and his girls.”

“They shot him right outside his office?” 

Gabe grimaced. “Yeah. From what I heard, Jim had a late board meeting, and the parking lot was dark. He didn’t have security—he’d never needed it. The shooter was waiting outside in a car. They used a silencer. One of the board members found Jim on the ground.”

I gripped the island. “Jesus.”

Gabe poured himself a drink. “They’re going back through the security tape to see if they can ID the shooter or find plate numbers, but I doubt it’ll help.”

“What did Agent Marks say?”

Gabe had called his FBI contact as soon as he’d heard the news.

“The usual—thanks for the lead, and they’re working on it.”

I grimaced. “I don’t have much use for Agent Marks.”

Gabe flopped down into an armchair. “Tell me about it.”

“What did Lauren say?”

I’d tried to call Hannah, but she hadn’t picked up. They were still at Paragon.

“Not much. They’re probably coming home soon.” Gabe shook his head. “What a mess.”

“We’ve got to be able to go after Li Na—get her arrested,” I said. “She’s committed too many crimes at this point. She’s a freaking terrorist.”

“Agent Marks has assured us at every step that there’s nothing we can do because of jurisdiction.”

I scrubbed a hand across my face. “Murdering and kidnapping can’t get you incarcerated in China? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s a connectivity problem.” Gabe took a sip of bourbon. “We can’t actually prove that these thugs she’s hiring work for her. There’s no paper trail, no money trail, and there’s no testimony. It’s all circumstantial evidence, and that’s not good enough. Maybe now that she’s branched off and targeted another California company…maybe there’s something we can do. I’m going to call Kami.” He hopped up and headed for his office to call his lawyer. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Of course.”

I waited until he left the room, and then I called Hannah again.

“Hey—sorry I didn’t pick up before.” She sniffled.

“Are you coming home?”

I knew they’d taken security with them to Paragon, but I couldn’t help feeling panicked.

“We’re on our way. We’re fine. I’ll see you soon.”

But I could tell she was crying.

I hung up, and my mind raced, thoughts jumbling inside me. I knew Li Na was responsible for killing Jim Pace, but what was she thinking? What did she hope to accomplish with another round of violence? Apparently, losing Paragon hadn’t dampened her enthusiasm for thug-like tactics. Li Na wanted Fiona Pace’s company, but Fiona had said no.

And now Fiona’s husband was dead.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief twenty minutes later when I heard Lauren and Hannah talking in the entryway. Brian came around the corner first.

“Any signs of trouble?” I asked him.

“Nothing.” 

“We need to make sure we have every available man on duty tonight,” I instructed. “All eyes need to be on the perimeter, to make sure Li Na doesn’t try something here, too.”

Brian nodded. “I’ll call everyone who’s off-duty and have them come in.” 

“Thanks, buddy. Have you talked to Levi and Ash?”

“They’ll be here in the morning.” 

He made himself scarce as Hannah rounded the corner, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

I held my arms out to her. “Hey.”

She came toward me, then stopped. “Why are you out of the chair?”

I pulled her to my chest. “Don’t we have bigger things to worry about?”

Lauren came in, looking exhausted as she unwrapped her scarf. “Where’s Gabe?”

“He’s in the office, on the phone with his lawyer.”

“Okay.” Lauren’s gaze briefly met mine, then she looked pointedly at Hannah. “Hannah, you should get some rest—this has been a terrible shock. Have you heard from Fiona again?”

“No.” Hannah’s voice came out muffled against my chest. “Just that last text.”

“What did she say?” I asked.

“She wanted to tell us about Jim.” Hannah shook her head against me. “I can’t believe this is happening again. I can’t believe Li Na killed Fiona’s husband.”

I wrapped my arms around her. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Nothing’s okay!” Hannah started crying. “They were married for fifteen years! They have two little girls!”

Lauren’s face twisted with worry as she watched her sister. “Can I help?”

Hannah abruptly stopped crying and pulled back from me. She wiped her face roughly as she turned to her sister. “You just need to stay safe. We should all get some sleep, not just me—tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”

“Levi and Ash will be here first thing in the morning,” I told them. “We’ll get everyone together and have a debrief.”

“That’s good,” Lauren said. “We’re going to need to send a team to Protocol, and another team to watch Fiona and her girls.”

Hannah shivered. “The poor things.”

Lauren hugged her briefly, giving me another worried look as they embraced. She didn’t have to say anything—I understood. She was concerned about Hannah, that this was too much for her little sister to bear.

Hannah pulled back from the embrace, but she still gripped Lauren’s shoulders. “We’re going to make her go away this time. She can’t keep doing this.”

Lauren blinked. She looked as though there were a million things she wanted to say, but she bit back the words. 

Hannah turned to me. “I’m going to take a quick shower and go to bed. Are you coming?” Her gaze flicked briefly to the abandoned wheelchair.

“In a minute.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it—probably about the chair—and then headed to our room. 

Lauren started talking as soon as Hannah was out of earshot. “This is too much for her. Fiona is her friend, and we just saw her and talked to her. I don’t know what this is going to do to her. We just got her back from those animals, and she’s still so raw. I know she’s trying to hold it all together—”

“She is holding it all together. She’s tough. Maybe she’s too tough.”

Lauren went instantly on alert. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean, I think she’s dealing with all of this too well. I think she’s holding stuff inside, and I don’t know what to do to help her.”

“Has she said anything?”

I shook my head, wondering if Hannah would make a shish kebab out of me for telling her sister about the nightmares. But here I was, about to talk, so I might as well prepare to be skewered. “She’s been having nightmares. Bad ones. But she doesn’t remember them, or she says she doesn’t, and she doesn’t want to talk about it.”

Lauren started pacing. “I’ll talk to her. I’ll make her understand she doesn’t have to hide this. Stress is nothing to be ashamed of—”

“Lauren.” I waited until she stopped pacing. “We might need to give her some space—she is an adult. The most important thing right now is to protect her.”

“Agreed.” She started pacing again. I left her to it.

As I headed to my room, I had to stop frequently. I leaned against the wall, desperate to catch my breath and not pass out. I wiped my brow and composed my features as I reached the door. 

It’s my issue, and I’m dealing with it.

Hannah was in the shower. She came out a few minutes later in one of my T-shirts, her face puffy from crying.

“C’mere.” I pulled down the comforter.

She shuffled into bed, clutching a tissue.

“I’m so sorry about your friend.”

She blew her nose.

“It’s okay, you know. It’s okay to be scared.”

She sat up a little, glaring. “I’m not scared.”

“I meant sad,” I backpedaled.

“I’m not sad—I mean, I’m sad, but that’s not why I’m crying.”

“Okay…” I waited to let her finish.

“I’m mad. And I’m not just mad, I’m so angry, I don’t even know what to do. I’ve never felt this way before. It’s like I’m out of control. If Li Na was in front of me right now, I don’t even know what I’d do.” She shook her head. “I hate hating her. But I hate her so much.”

I held her closer. “I know how that feels.”

Many times, in the service and on the job, I’d felt a blinding rage, an urge to crush someone. 

“Do you feel like that now?”

I shook my head. “Right now, it’s more like a dull throb. Like I’m the Hulk, and I’m getting ready to burst, but I’m not quite there yet. I’m more in the planning stage. I like to plan, then I like to burst. It’s more effective that way.”

A brief smile crossed Hannah’s face. “I like that.”

“Good.” I wrapped my arms around her. “The Hulk’s got you, babe, and there’s extra security on the premises.” 

“What about Fiona?”

“Levi and Ash sent a team there. too. And the police are there. Her family’s safe.”

Now.

She looked as if she might start crying again, but I rocked her a little, holding her close.

“Go to sleep, babe. And tomorrow?”

She looked up at me expectantly.

“Tomorrow we plot our revenge.”

She snuggled against my chest. “Plan, then burst.”

I kissed the top of her head. “You got it.”