Over the years, I had imagined different scenarios of seeing Kat for the first time. Her passing out and almost hitting her head was not one of them. But, she more than likely never expected to see her dead husband and dead sister again.

Antonio grabbed Kat from Zane’s arms. When Kat hadn’t answered the door immediately, Zane had gone around the house and picked the lock on the back door. He was walking up behind Kat when she collapsed and was able to catch her before she hit the ground.

“Someone grab a cold cloth,” Antonio demanded.

I ran into the kitchen to grab a cloth. There, I came face to face with a three-and-a-half foot mini Antonio. He was the spitting image of his dad.

“You look like my dead aunt. Are you a ghost?”

It took everything in me not to burst out laughing. The little guy was so serious with his question. He continued to look up at me with his crystal blue eyes.

“I’m your aunt, not a ghost. I need your help. Can you find me a rag?”

Little Antonio opened a drawer and handed me a dishcloth. I was still in shock over being an aunt, and seeing him in person was throwing me. After running the rag under the cold water, I reached down and drew him into my arms.

“Hey, buddy. Let’s head into the living room and check on your mom.”

“Okay.” He grabbed his blankie and walked toward the living room.

Since I was concentrating on getting back to Kat, I didn’t notice that the mini Antonio had stopped dead in front of me. I tripped and flew forward. Like always, my knight in shining armor was there to catch me. Could this man do nothing wrong? He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

When I was finally standing back up, I looked down to see why the little guy had stopped. He was staring at Antonio, and the big brute was staring back. It seemed like the big, bad Antonio’s eyes were glossy. I wouldn’t want to be the one to point out that the big, bad ex-military guy was close to crying.

I was close to crying, myself. It was one of the most beautiful sights—a son and his dad getting to meet each other for the first time. I wish Kat were awake to see this.

“You look like my dad, but Mommy said Daddy died.” His bottom lip was quivering. “What’s wrong with my mommy?”

Antonio squatted down. “I’m your dad. Your mommy was told lies. Why don’t you come he—”

The little guy flew through the living room and jumped into his dad's arms. I couldn’t hold back anymore and tears were running down my face.

When I looked at Antonio, he had tears running down his face too. He didn’t care how it looked. He had finally found his wife and kid. Under the tears, you could see the anguish from missing so many years with his family.

A grumble from the couch had everyone turning their eyes from the scene of a dad and son reunited.

“How…?” Kat choked out. She also had tears running down her cheeks. “You died in my arms.”

With his son in his arms, Antonio rushed over to where his wife was laying. “Hey, Kitty Kat.”

“He said you were dead, and I…” She was crying so hard that she couldn’t get her words out.

The reunion on the couch was intimate. I needed to look away. I felt like I was intruding on their private moment. When Zane wrapped his arms around me, it felt good to have someone there to comfort me. I would hold onto this moment for the rest of my life. Each time he wrapped his arms around me, it made it harder to walk away.

Kat finally calmed down and released her grip on Antonio. When her eyes swung to me, she lost it all over again. I couldn’t take it any longer. I ran over and wrapped my arms around my baby sister.

“Someone tell me what’s going on.”

At the same time of her demand, Brock’s voice came through our earpieces. The duped video feed was running low, and we needed to head out. Reworking the video feed would take too long. John could confirm the men next door were asleep from the laced food. They wouldn’t regain consciousness until tomorrow.

Antonio spoke. “We’ll tell you everything, but we are running out of time. I need you to get your stuff so we can leave.”

“I can’t leave. I need to take care of something tomorrow.”

“I lost you once. I will not lose you again. Let's get your things packed and get back to the hotel. We’ll discuss what happens next when we get there.” Antonio was using his authoritative voice on Kat.

Kat stood from the couch and turned her emerald eyes on Antonio. “Do not start with me. I will not put up with your demo—”

Before she could finish yelling, Antonio swooped down and threw Kat over his shoulder. Then he reached down and grabbed his son with his other hand. “Seems my wife has everything she needs. It’s time to head out.”

Antonio turned and headed for the door. Kat was pounding her fist on his back, demanding he put her down. The cute boy in his arms was giggling at his parents’ antics. Those two were perfect for each other.

“I’ll grab some clothes for both of them and be out in two minutes.” Not waiting for Zane’s reply, I headed down the corridor to the bedrooms.

* * *

Once back in the hotel, tension was high. Kat was still mad about being taken without a choice. Antonio Jr. was watching cartoons on the couch. Antonio seemed to always have an eye on his son.

“Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” Kat demanded.

“Where do you want us to start?”

“The beginning.”

Over the next hour, we told Kat where I had been and that I had been trying to get to her. How Sanchez was our uncle, which she already knew. Then how Sanchez faked Antonio's death and led him to believe she was dead.

By the time the story was done, Kat was sitting on Antonio's lap with his arm wrapped around her waist. In the couple of years I’d known him, this was the most vulnerable I had ever seen the man.

Brock’s face came across the computer screen. He was in his war room, surrounded by his team. His fiancée, Jessica, was sitting next to him. Before he could talk, Jessica chimed in. “Did you know that every year, eleven thousand Americans injure themselves while trying out bizarre sexual positions. That is my PSA for the day. Be safe.”

Whenever Jessica spit out facts that were basically useless, Brock’s face lit up with joy. He enjoyed listening to her.

“I think we have less time than we planned. I was watching the satellite feed on Kat’s house. A couple minutes ago, two cars arrived, and approximately six men headed into her house. They must have been tipped off. It won’t take them long to figure out where you are.”

“Fuck. We need to get you both back to Ft. Lauderdale now.” Zane was pacing back and forth in front of the screen, his hands clenched so tight that his knuckles were turning white.

There was no way I was going to jet off to safety and leave Zane to finish the mission. “I’m not leaving you.”

 “We need to figure out what Yermushin and Sanchez are up to at the charity event. I wonder if they are planning the trafficking sale at the charity event,” Zane asked. “Did you forget what I promised my brother? I need to hold true to my word. If you’re with me, I will be worrying about you and not concentrating on the mission. It was hard enough tonight, going on a mission I knew would come out okay. I can’t think about going on this one tomorrow with you there.”

Kat wrung her hands. “I know what they’re planning. That is why I need to stay. I need to stop them tomorrow.”

The room went quiet at Kat’s words, and everyone’s attention was on her. Since we had been back to the hotel, she had been listening to the conversations and not saying much.

“What are they planning Kat? You need to tell me. It’s the only way I can help. Then we can move on with our lives.” Antonio said.

“They're selling nuclear codes to the North Koreans.”

At her words, the room went even quieter. Everyone sat in stunned silence, wondering how the Director of the CIA could be so corrupt.

“Were you helping them?” Antonio asked.

“How dare you accuse me of that? No, and I shouldn’t even have to tell you that! Over the years, I’ve helped Yermushin with contract kills. I didn’t kill any one that didn’t deserve it. Each time I was given a mission, I researched as much as I could and decided how to proceed. I tapped Yermushin’s phone lines a few weeks back and listened to his conversations with Sanchez. They were talking about the exchange. After it was complete, my mission was to take Yermushin out.” Kat was vibrating with anger.

Antonio knew he messed up. “I’m sorry, Kitty Kat. Everything is so fucked up right now. I need you to be safe, or I won’t be able to do my job. You, Sophie, and Antonio Jr. need to head to the airport tonight. We will stay back and make sure the codes don’t get into the wrong hands.”

“I’m a contract killer. Don’t you think my skills would be useful?”

I couldn’t hold back the question anymore. The need to understand why she hadn’t killed Yermushin years ago was eating at my insides.

“If you are such a good killer, why didn’t you kill Yermushin years ago for killing our parents?”

Kat’s face went pale at my words. Antonio’s glare was full force.

“He didn’t kill our parents. Sanchez took that group out years ago. He told me he tracked them down.”

Was Kat too young to remember the man's face? When I closed my eyes at night, it still haunted me in my dreams. “Sanchez lied. Yermushin is the one that pulled the trigger on Mom.”

“I didn’t know.”

There was no way to fake the devastated look on Kat’s face. She had been led down the wrong rabbit hole, too.

“Do you have the recordings, Kat? If you have him on tape, I need them. This is what my brother needs.” Zane was right. Zack could use them to take Sanchez down. I also planned on going through my documents when I got home. Something else was not sitting right with me. I think I must have some information he doesn’t want me to have, and he is trying to get it back.

“Sorry to break up the lovely meeting,” Brock said over the computer, “but you have incoming guests.”

All the men in the room reached for their side arms. The air in the room became thick with tension. Not wanting to wait for Brock to give a step-by-step of the incoming, I reached for the laptop in front of Zane and switched Brock off. After a couple of keystrokes, I was in a private browser and had a connection that wasn’t traceable.

The hotel never changed the default password on the camera system. I got the hotel feed on the first try. The spare laptop on the table came alive with Brocks pissed-off face on the screen.

“Not cool, Sophie. I was about to give you guys the feed.”

“Already have it, and I’m pulling up the satellites as we speak. We didn’t need your ugly mug on the big screen. Zane and Antonio need to see the feed and get us out of here safely.”

Zane leaned over my shoulder. His muscular scent was intoxicating. “Can you pull up the schematics of the building?”

Before he could finish asking for the plans, I was into the hotel's primary server. I did a quick search, and the schematics for the building were on display. Antonio and Zane worked on studying the plans while I worked on tracing the incoming.

Two large SUVs pulled up in front of the hotel, and six large men dressed in military gear jumped out.

“Guys, we need to go.” I yelled to the room or anyone that would listen.

Zane ran his hand through his hair and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Antonio and John, take Kat, Sophie, and Antonio Jr. down the back stairwell and through here.” He pointed to a back alleyway. “I will distract the men at the front stairwell. After you get them to the airport and on the plane, meet me here.” He scribbled an address on a sheet of paper.

“No.” I wasn’t letting him go after six big military men with no backup. Kat was protesting too.

Antonio grabbed his son and walked toward the door. “Kat, so help me, I need you to work with me and get your ass moving. We will make sure the codes are not sold, but first, we need to get out of here alive!”

The amount of danger before us must have made Kat realize it wasn’t time to fight with Antonio. She grabbed her things and followed John and Antonio.

But Zane needed to learn. He had given me my sister back, and I would do anything to help protect him now. “Give me the spare gun. I’m coming with you.”

He didn’t have time to argue with me, and Antonio and John had already left. He was stuck with my help.

Zane grabbed his Glock from his ankle holster and handed it to me.

Grabbing the last of the things, we headed for the stairwell. The stairwell at night was creepy. Every little sound echoed. The thought of six ex-military assassins heading our way made this stairwell even more disturbing.

We made it down two flights before a door below us opened. The heavy stomping of men coming up the stairs was loud.

Zane leaned over the railing and aimed his gun. With a quick pull of the trigger, one man screamed. The men all fired up. Bullets flew everywhere. The sound of their guns echoed through the stairwell, causing my ears to ring. When the shots stopped, we heard the running of boots up the stairs.

The steps were getting closer. Zane motioned for us to exit out the door. We slipped out the door and closed it enough that only a crack was left. When the men were almost even with us, Zane swung the door back open, and three quick shots felled three men. Four down, two to go.

The sound of retreating steps had me puzzled. “Why are they heading away?”

Zane creeped to the door open and took another look into the stairwell. “Those are hired thugs. They are not trained killers. Follow closely and stay behind me.”

When we reached the first platform with the three men laying on the floor, Zane felt for the first guy’s pulse then looked in the man’s back pockets.

“Why are we not getting out of here? Can you stop feeling the guy up?”

“I’m looking for his ID to figure out who sent these men.” That made sense. I was glad the super spy was thinking. The copper smell of blood was messing with my nose and my ears still rung from the gunfire.

Five minutes later, we made it to the hotel parking garage.

The black Range Rover we picked up Kat in a couple hours ago was only a few parking spots away. The problem was that there was a thug dressed in military gear standing in our way. His shoulder-length hair was greasy. He was twitching so bad that the gun in his hand was shaking. Track marks ran up and down the crackhead’s arm.

I gripped my gun and pointed it at the man standing between us and our freedom. Close by, a car backfired, causing the crackhead to pull the trigger. The bullet was heading straight for me. Before I had time to move, Zane threw his body in front of me.

I heard the bullet hit flesh, and a groan escaped Zane’s throat.

At the thought of losing the man I might be falling for, I raised the gun and unloaded the clip into the crackhead. I felt no remorse, only the hollow feeling of losing someone else I cared about.