“What the hell was that?” Emily looked back, peeking around the headrest. A stock and barrel came out of her go-bag, and she screwed them together. She exuded a badassery he couldn’t ignore because it was an unexpected turn-on. She was hot.

John laughed and checked the rearview. “Hell if I know.” He paused, glancing at the gun in her hand. “That’s probably unnecessary…illegal, even.”

She sent him a sharp look filled with reproach. “I’ll get your back, illegal or not, thank you very much.” Then she blew out a breath, relaxing a little. “Where we going?”

“We’ve got a tail. Black sedan; been back there since we pulled out of the neighborhood.” When she turned to look, he barked, “Keep down.”

“Calm down. I’m peeking. Hard to believe whoever is back there would open fire on the road.”

He started cutting back and over through downtown and then headed south. When he took the next one-way the wrong way, he finally lost the guy. A minivan honked at him, and he smiled and lifted his hands in that I’m-lost kind of way before pulling off the road on the next street. Then he headed toward south on 401 until he hit I-40 and put them on the route west to the Hawkins property.

“Call Hawk,” he said to his phone, and waited for his boss to answer. “We’re headed your way.”

“Either of you need a doctor?”

He glanced her way. “No, we’re both fine.”

“Pull around back, just in case.”

“Got it. Be there in twenty.” They worked the same scenario in emergencies. The team would debrief there. Malcolm would show up with his computer gear and use what Hawk had at the house. A plan would be set, if one was needed.

The biggest question: who in hell was shooting at Hawk Elite now?

“I never should have come here.” Her voice was so quiet, he almost didn’t hear her.

“We don’t know what’s going on, so let’s not jump to conclusions.”

She made a noise of disbelief.

He took Hawk’s exit in the silence, the road clear behind them until the last mile, when Malcolm’s motorcycle fell into line, down the long driveway and deeper into the valley. John reached the old farmhouse and pulled around back.

Emily had her door open as Malcolm roared in beside them and cut his engine.

A bird chirped in the chill of the air and a breeze blew through the tall trees at the edge of the yard, sending brown, yellow, and red leaves to the ground.

Stacy met them on the porch.

“Hawk’s waiting downstairs.”

John nodded. “Thanks, Stacy.” With a hand on Emily’s elbow, he led her down the hall to the familiar operations room in the basement. A panic room of sorts, it had two entrances—one from the kitchen and one from outside, fifty yards at the back of the house, deep under the cover of the surrounding forest.

He always thought the setup was on the side of paranoia.

But having worked with Hawk for so long, he understood the measures weren’t unwarranted.

Hawk sat at his desk in front of his voice-activated computer. “Just got off the phone with the local PD. They’ve got a man on site. They’ll want to talk to both of you. Emily?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The media picked up on your involvement this week.”

“Yes, sir.”

“People I know tell me Hassan is dead.”

“Yes, sir.” Her entire body was stiff with the discomfort of talking about her past. “I’ve heard the same.”

Hawk waited. “Truth is, no one wants to claim it. And no one’s seen hide nor hair of Hassan in over a year, not even for a funeral. No one’s seen his associates or his family, either. It’s as if they dropped off the map.”

“If you need me to step away from Hawk Elite, sir, all you have to do is ask.”

John crossed the room, took her go-bag from her hands, and set it aside with his own by the wall. “That isn’t going to happen.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Hawk said at the same time as John. “John recruited you. Because of that, your face has been smeared all over the news for the past two days, and now your life has been threatened. The problem is that at Hawk Elite, we don’t really believe in coincidence. So, my question for you is…have you had any contact with previous associates since you’ve been here?”

She shook her head. “If people are in danger because of me, I think I’d rather step down.”

“You’re safer with us,” John said, frustration rushing through his veins. He’d convinced her to join and then mostly convinced her to stay. “What about Eddie? Would he have said something to someone?”

“No.” She frowned at him. “Eddie’s the only person I completely trust right now. As far as I know, someone at Hawk Elite could have spilled the beans.”

“No way—”

“I’m looking into every possibility,” Hawk said her, shocking John with his admittance.

“This team is strong because we all trust each other,” John said.

“I know that. You know that. But for an outsider—or someone new—it’s not as easy. Craig struggled, same as Emily will. It’s only fair to ask around and check every possibility.”

Every possibility, meaning he would question the team.

“The timing is too close. You know that.”

“I’ll have to look at Tyler as well.”

John ran a hand through his hair. “Emily saved Tyler’s daughter. Why would he want to harm her?”

Hawk shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out.”

With a scowl, John went to the small kitchen, pulled a mug from the cabinet at eye level, shoved it under the Keurig drip, and pushed the brew button. Malcolm was there leaning against the counter, a grin on his face. “What are you smiling about?” John asked, not expecting an answer.

Malcolm shrugged, winced when he did so, then crossed the room to his black bag, where he pulled out his silver laptop and set up at the second desk.

“I really don’t want to cause this kind of trouble,” Emily said, her gaze following Malcolm as well. “I’d be safe at home. I should go home. I’m more hidden there, more under the radar than I’d be here.”

But John could tell that she’d packed her bags and was opening the café tomorrow morning, this little jaunt back into the business behind her. As if she’d given it a shot and was done.

“I guess it’s true, then.”

“What?”

“I kept thinking, all this time, that you needed a nudge, a hand up.” He’d been wrong, though. “You really are a quitter.”

A fire lit in her eyes. “This isn’t quitting. This is protecting innocent people. Coming back was scary, yes. But do you know what’s scarier?”

His eyes devoured that fire as he shook his head.

“Staying when it makes me as lethal as I was with a rifle in my hand.”

“Then stay,” he said. “Stay until we figure out what the heck is going on and put an end to this streak of bad luck that’s following you around.”

“No,” she said firmly. “It’s—”

Hawk came between him and Emily, when John hadn’t even realized they’d gotten close, hadn’t seen his boss stand up and move forward. “How about a compromise?”

John backed up and blew out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry. Our goals are the same,” Hawk said as he turned to Emily. “You’re part of the team now, Emily. You agreed, you came, and you’ll take the benefit of working with me, with John, with Hawk Elite.”

Worry covered her face as if she didn’t understand. “But what if—”

“We will find out what’s going on, and we will protect you.” Hawk made a half-turn to John. “How about a visit to Idaho?”

“Idaho?” Emily looked from John to Hawk and then included Malcolm in her inquisition. “What’s in Idaho?”

John grinned. “Home.”