Shane rubbed the sleep from his eyes and gulped his fifth or six cup of coffee. He didn’t regret the short resting hours one bit. His time with Lacey was precious and he was determined to soak up what he could get.

Kyle closed the master bedroom door and ran a hand through his hair.

That couldn’t be good.

“Well?” Shane braced himself for the worst.

“They need some time to discuss what they want to do.” Kyle spoke slowly, holding his hands up.

Shit.

Kyle didn’t lose his patience with civilians often, but judging by his tone, Kyle was ready to snap.

“What the hell are their options?” Isaac’s usual cheer was gone, replaced by the morning grumps. He never was much use without his beauty sleep once they were back on American soil.

“Depends on when you ask them.” Kyle glared over his shoulder.

It was easier to deal with the assets when they were still in the thick of it. When they were overseas and in trouble, there were no arguments. Whatever Kyle—or the others—said was law. All that changed the moment they got back to the states. Once they were here, the team served at the pleasure of their clients. Considering that Alpha Team catered to the wealthy and privileged, that could mean any number of things.

Kyle crossed to the kitchenette and poured himself another cup of coffee. They were about to blow through what room service had brought up for them an hour ago at this rate.

“We will likely proceed down one of three paths,” Kyle said, holding up a finger. “One, they go to their home in Delhi, settle in, and deal with law enforcement from there. Two, the wife wants to go to her family, who are in New York, and handle it from there. Three, something about the husband’s family, though which one, I’m not sure. I know his biological father, who lives in The States, has been ignoring our calls. His family in Deli are only talking through the wife’s family. It’s a clusterfuck.” Kyle shrugged and sipped the black coffee.

Shane would rather see the couple to their family home in New York. Form a tactical perspective, they lived in a fancy, high-rise condo that would have security staff and precautions built in. His least favorite option was sending them back out of the country before the incident was handled. Any time they traveled, they were vulnerable to another attack, potentially more casualties. Shane caught Kyle’s eye and he nodded, likely thinking much the same thing.

The bulk of their job was done. They’d brought the hostages home. They were in America. The police or FBI would be there later this morning to handle the case. Once that ball was rolling, they’d deposit the clients wherever they wanted and leave, unless their contract was extended. Job over.

That left Lacey at odds.

Shane figured she would either strike out on her own, or if he had his way, he’d pay for her to come to Seattle. At least until Marcos was found and arrested, for her safety. After that, he couldn’t imagine that she’d stay with him.

“Isaac, you heard from the FBI office yet?” Kyle asked.

“They’re sending someone over this morning.” Isaac checked his watch. “Soon, I’d imagine. There was some department training thing, which was why they didn’t come yesterday.”

“We still have the copy of the video, correct?” Kyle directed that question at Shane.

“Correct,” he replied.

“How’s she doing?”

“Good.” Shane resisted the urge to shift, look away, or present any other guilty tells.

“Shane and Lacey, sitting in a tree,” Isaac said in a sing-song voice, his grin wide.

“I wouldn’t—personally—recommend kissing in a tree.”

Isaac’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click.

Shane turned his head, taking in the sight of a sleepy, rested Lacey shuffling out of the bedroom door. She’d scraped her hair back into a braid and once more wore the solid black outfit from last night.

“Sorry, I—uh...” Isaac had the good grace to be embarrassed. She’d been on the other side of the fucking door.

“Sorry you got caught, huh?” Lacey slid past them and helped herself to the coffee. “Did I miss anything?”

“Lacey, morning.” Kyle nodded at her. “We were just discussing the agenda for the day. Right now our focus is on getting everyone interviewed and our statements done by the local FBI office. Once we got the cops up to speed, they decided to pass us up the food chain. They’re going to want a copy of the tape.”

“Oh. Right.” Lacey stirred her cup slowly. “Do you think I could borrow a laptop? There’s some more footage, but... I might need to cut some out.”

Shit.

She’d said she thought she might have recorded the episode in the truck.

It was Shane’s turn to scrub his hand over his face, the ongoing conversation fading.

He didn’t want anyone else seeing that tape. They were private moments. End of story. He was already never going to live this down, he’d rather Lacey not become a spectacle.

A sharp knock at the door to the suite shut them all up.

Adam and Felix were down the hall sleeping.

Kyle laid his finger across his lips.

“Lacey, go inside,” Shane said, keeping his voice low.

Isaac and Shane moved as one toward the doors, hands resting on their weapons. They flanked the double doors, while Kyle took up a position slightly behind a leather wingback chair catty-corner to the door.

“Who is it?” Kyle called out.

“Atlanta PD. Someone called for a detective?” a muted voice replied.

They collectively exhaled, but didn’t take hands off their weapons.

Kyle crossed to the door and peered out. He pulled the door open enough that Shane caught sight of the guy on the other side.

“Can I see some ID?” Kyle asked.

“Of course.” The detective presented his shield.

“I’m going to verify this with our home team. Wait one moment, please?” Kyle pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.

“Is that really necessary?” The man chuckled. “I mean, you guys called us out.”

“Us?” Shane stepped forward, allowing Kyle to focus on verifying the badge. There was something familiar about the guy.

“Yeah, my partner’s downstairs, trying to find a place to park the damn car.” The detective peered into the suite. “Nice place.”

Shane didn’t respond.

“Oh, hello. You must be,” the detective glanced at his notepad, “Lacey, right?”

“Get inside,” Shane said without glancing at her. Stubborn woman.

“Thanks.” The detective put a foot in the door.

“No offense, I wasn’t talking to you.” Shane didn’t budge. He didn’t give two fucks if this guy was who he said he was—until it was verified, Shane wouldn’t let him within ten feet of Lacey.

“Is this really necessary?” Lacey padded across the room.

“They’re just trying to keep you safe.” The detective was a bit on the young side, early thirties, if Shane had to guess. He didn’t carry himself like a cop, though he was dressed like one from the steel-toed boots to the badge and ill-fitting suit.

“I know.” Lacey stopped at Shane’s side.

“I’m Detective Brown, by the way. Nice to meet you.” The man offered Lacey his hand. “I looked up your travel videos. You’ve been just about everywhere.”

Short of stepping between Lacey and the man, he couldn’t make her follow orders.

“I’m not sure what the guys told you, but...I think a murder case is connected to—this.” Lacey’s smile dimmed and the sadness returned to her eyes.

“That’s actually why I’m here.” Detective Brown leaned against the door, his whole focus on Lacey.

Shane wanted to punch the guy’s lights out for looking at her. It was a completely irrational response.

Kyle paced into Shane’s peripheral vision, his face creased.

“I was hoping I could convince you to come down with me and—”

“She won’t be going anywhere with you.” Shane had about enough of this. He stepped between them, the smaller man taking a few steps out into the hall.

“Hey—cool man, cool.” Detective Brown held up his hands.

“Wait there.” Shane closed and bolted the door.

“What the hell are you doing?” Lacey sighed.

“This isn’t right.” He grasped Lacey by the arm and hauled her protesting from the door, keeping himself between her and the hall.

“He’s a cop.” Lacey threw her hand toward the door.

“I don’t think so,” Isaac said softly. He’d drawn his weapon and stood with his gaze on the doors.

“The badge number is real, but that badge was a fake. Travis is flying out to dig into this.” Kyle still had the phone pressed to his face. “We’ve been blown. This location is not safe. Prep to move within the hour.”

“What? How?” Lacey blinked up at Shane, her face slack from shock.

“Whatever’s on that tape is worth killing for. Go get your shoes, we’re leaving.”

Marcos waited for Pedro to shut the car door and pressed the gas. The little sedan shot forward, its engine whining in protest.

“I thought they were going to shoot me, man. You could have warned me it was a bunch of commandos. Fuck.” Pedro tossed the hat in the back seat and removed the police shield from around his neck.

“Was the big one there?” Juan asked.

“The big one? The fuck are you talking about? They were all big.” Pedro glared at his brother in the back seat.

“Fuck,” Juan muttered.

“Anyone follow you?” Marcos asked.

“No, they were too worried about closing the door in my face.”

“Good. She didn’t recognize you?”

“Nope. I’m just another brown guy.”

“I’m going to need your personal touch later. Will you be available?” For what Marcos was paying them he shouldn’t have to ask, but the Torres brothers were finicky.

“Sure, man.” Pedro answered without consulting his brother.

It was time to manage the three-ring circus. In three days, the medical center would request payment. He could put them off, at best, for five days. Plead time zone difficulties, whatever. Past five days and Tommy’s schedule would suffer. Before his wife had died, Marcos promised her that Tommy would never want for anything. That was a promise Marcos intended to keep.

He picked up the radio. “Targets will be flying the coop. Keep an eye on them.”

These Aegis bastards had the hotel locked down too tight. Flushing them out was stage one of taking control back.

Lacey huddled on the back bench seat of the SUV. The Kevlar vest swallowed her body and the helmet made her head sweat and blocked her vision. Shane had insisted she wear the full outfit.

She’d thought they were past this.

What had they said? Get home and everything would be fine.

But it wasn’t.

Josh was dead and someone—probably Marcos—was still after them.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

She should have spent the night on Josh’s couch, bemoaning how things ended with Shane, and talking about where she would go next. But that wasn’t what’d happened, and now she was sitting between two men cradling assault rifles as they rolled through an Atlanta suburb.

This was America, not some war zone in the Middle East. It was all so surreal and frightening.

“I don’t understand what’s happening.” Aanya’s shrill voice hurt even Lacey’s ears.

The guys had stopped answering her pleas for more information the moment Kyle said they were ready to go. Every so often, Kyle called out from the driver’s seat and the other three men would answer in a code that Lacey couldn’t figure out. She didn’t need a cipher to understand the tense atmosphere in the SUV.

Shane and the others were seriously concerned about an active threat to their safety.

The lead vehicle, driven by Adam, paused at a gated house. Two guards approached both the truck and SUV from each side.

She was willing to bet whoever these guys were, they were armed, too.

“We’re here. It’s going to be okay,” Shane whispered.

It was the first thing he’d said to her since Kyle’s order to load out. Those two sentences eased the knot in her throat, and she released her death grip on the seat in front of her.

The gate opened after a quick glance-over by the guards, and they were admitted within the gates. Adam’s truck stopped well away from the house, while Kyle drove around to the back and into a garage.

“Ladies and gentleman.” Kyle twisted to address the newlyweds and Lacey. “We’re going to ask you to remain in interior rooms without windows. This is for your safety. Please do not make us ask again. The FBI have confirmed they are sending people to us and understand the severity of our situation. Atlanta PD will also want to take notes on our visitor.”

“I want to go home,” Aanya said over Kyle.

“I understand that, ma’am, but it’s not safe for you or your family.” Kyle spoke softer, the compassion in his tone a balm to even Lacey’s frayed nerves.

Shane reached over and squeezed Lacey’s hand, but he didn’t look at her.

“We are guests at a friendly facility. Please act accordingly. The onsite staff will offer us minimal support, as they are conducting their own business and have plans to pull out shortly. If everyone would please meet in the dining room, we’ll set a schedule and sort rooms there. Load out.”

Kyle got out and assisted first Aanya, then Dev from the SUV while the others waited their turn.

The garage door rumbled shut behind them, blocking out the light.

“We’re going to get through this,” Shane said.

Lacey nodded and waited for Felix to climb out after the couple. Isaac was already inspecting the garage entrances.

“I was in Africa once, working with a team of herpetologists studying turtles. We wound up the guests of a local warlord.” She twisted and turned.

“How’d that turn out?”

“We made nice for about two days, letting him show us around, until some neighboring faction attacked their camp. We ducked out and ran like mad.” What she was feeling now, the fear and adrenaline at being boxed in, it was much the same.

“I’m here to protect you.” Shane squeezed her hand one last time and let her go. “You first.”

Lacey didn’t want to need Shane’s protection. If she needed it, then he was in danger. She’d already lost Josh. She didn’t want to lose Shane, too.

She climbed out of the SUV, Felix there to give her a hand, and proceeded through a utility room into the kitchen and then to the dining room. The rectangular space was cool, the lights dim—and most importantly, no windows.

Adam posted up at the far door and was already on the phone.

There was no sign of their hosts. She didn’t blame them one bit, given the threat aimed their way. She’d want to get clear of their group as well.

“What happened?” Aanya crowded Lacey into a corner, her eyes wide, fear creasing her face.

“I... I’m not sure. When?” Lacey cringed. It was her fault. If she’d just gone back to the room, if she’d have never gone to Jamaica...

“Why did we move? What happened?” Aanya demanded.

“Honey, they told us.” Dev grasped his wife by the shoulders. “Someone impersonated a police officer. They were trying to get into the hotel room.”

“Why are they still after us?” Aanya turned and buried her face against her husband’s chest.

Lacey slipped the helmet off and laid it on the buffet up against the wall.

She’d thought recording and documenting her captivity would lead to justice—and ratings. In her attempt to get one over on her captors, she’d created this mess. Shane and Aanya could preach all they wanted that she was a victim, that it wasn’t her fault, but no one had forced her to make those decisions. She’d done that all on her own.

“I know this has been a stressful morning, but we need to lay down a worst case scenario plan.” Kyle spoke with a smile, his voice warm and comforting.

“I just want to lie down,” Aanya said.

“I know, but if you’ll just hear me out—”

“My wife wants to lie down. Now.” Dev was getting some of himself back. Little shows of authority, finding himself.

“All right.” Kyle smiled. He really did have a gift for soothing frayed nerves and inspiring confidence in people. “If you’ll come this way, I’ll show you where you can relax while we sort out what happens next.”

Lacey watched them leave, exhaling only once the couple disappeared from view. She shoved a hand through her hair and turned toward the others.

“What’s really going on?” she asked.

“Someone impersonated a detective,” Shane said. “At least now we have a visual. Hotel security got several clear shots of his face and the car he got into.”

“What does all of this mean?” She paced the room. “You’re all operating like this is normal and I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Marcos and his guys want something—the video. Turns out your friend Josh posted a clip of some stuff from your abduction, said there was more to come. That’s what probably tipped Marcos off that there was more.”

“What?” Lacey gaped at Shane. “When were you going to tell me that?”

“There wasn’t a good time.”

“Oh my—oh, my God.”

“You really had no idea?” Isaac’s gaze narrowed and he tilted his head to the side.

“No. I mean, I video chatted Josh for five minutes so he’d know it was really me. We briefly discussed creating a web series—but I didn’t know.” Lacey glanced from Isaac to Adam to Felix. “You don’t believe me?”

“You make money off your videos. What better way to make money than get attention?” Isaac shrugged.

“You’re right.” Lacey swallowed. “In time, I’d have used the video to re-launch my site and channel, but not like this.”

“Leave her alone.” Shane turned, scowling at the others.

“You don’t get a vote in this,” Isaac said.

“The hell I don’t.” Shane clenched his fee hand into a fist.

“Just because you’ve slept with her doesn’t make her innocent. We have no idea if she’s telling us the truth or not.” Isaac pointed at her, but stared at Shane.

“Stop your hissy fit, boys.” Kyle stalked back into the room, glaring first at Isaac then Shane. “We’ve got bigger problems.”

The others turned to face Kyle, ignoring her.

“We will have minimal support after this storm blows through. Tonight, it’ll just be us. We’ve got to hash out how we’re going to defend this place. I tried to brief our clients but they aren’t listening. Just so we’re all clear, in the event of an attack, we exit through the patio doors. A reserve vehicle is positioned for a fast escape. Everyone got it?” Kyle focused on Shane. “I want a full report on the perimeter and a list of what we’d like to ask the FBI to supply.”

“On it.” Shane nodded.

“Take Felix with you, show him the ropes.” Kyle jerked his head toward the kitchen. “Go.”

Lacey sat in a chair, more knotted up and confused than before, while Kyle handed out jobs. In the end, it was just the two of them left in the dining room.

“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

“The FBI will be here soon. After they finish grilling you, if you’re up for it, review the tape. We need to know who to look for and what’s so important that it’s worth killing you over.”

Lacey swallowed and nodded.

“One other thing, and this is...personal?” Kyle leaned on the back of the chair next to her.

She glanced up at him. Kyle was so personable and friendly, it was easy to forget that under that smooth exterior he was a soldier, too.

“Shane’s been through a lot—”

She mirrored his pose, leaning back in her seat. The only difference was the tears stinging her eyes. She glanced away, unable to look at him.

“This is the what are your intentions toward my daughter speech?”

“More or less.”

“I’m not good for him.” Those words hurt, but they were the truth. Shane deserved someone stable, loving, gentle, who’d coax that smile out more often. Lacey had all the subtlety of a caveman with a club. She wanted him, but she also knew the damage she left in her wake, even when her intentions were good.

“I beg to disagree.” The corners of Kyle’s mouth curled upward. “You just put what’s best for him above yourself.”

She swallowed, her heart knocking against her ribs. Whatever Kyle was getting at, she wasn’t ready to acknowledge it.

“Report,” Marcos said into the phone.

“They’re inside, sir. Storm should hit within the hour. What would you have us do?”

“Dig in, keep your eyes on them.”

Marcos had done his homework the instant he’d known they were headed to Atlanta. All these security companies knew each other. Many of the men had served together, and considering the old dickhead who owned Aegis had been around since the dawn of time, it stood to reason he’d have connections. Once his targets moved from their secure tower and headed out, Marcos was able to narrow down where they were going.

They no longer had the benefit of hotel security. Police presence was, as of yet, nonexistent. Their targets had effectively painted a bullseye on their backs. Their bolt hole was far from secure. There were a number of entry points, ways onto the grounds, blind spots to hide their movements.

The tropical storm would hit Atlanta soon, and under the cover of storm and night, they’d go in. First, the Lacey Miles threat needed to be nullified, and then they’d focus on the targets. Marcos could pull a rabbit out of the hat yet.