SATURDAY. ATLANTA RM Clayton Water Plant, Atlanta, Georgia.

Heidi hurt all over. It wasn’t just her feet and arms, it was bruising from the wreck and the rough way John and his cronies hauled her around. She leaned her head against the metal pipe sticking out of the wall next to her. The constant sound of rushing water had her bladder screaming for relief while a voice in the back of her head said she should speak up, try to talk some sense into John. What good would that do? He’d crashed a car into their SUV because he thought that was a reasonable thing to do. He killed people for the hell of it. How was she supposed to reason with a person like that?

She cracked her one good eye open and peered at John pacing the room.

The others who’d come here with them were gone. Some had passed through, pausing to speak to John for a moment before exiting. Heidi had passed out when the car stopped and only had vague impressions of where she was. How many people did he have here? And where was here?

They were alone for now, not that it gave her an opportunity to get away. She’d have to know where to run in order to make use of the chance, otherwise they’d simply keep a closer eye on her or tie her up. Once again, her best option was to wait and see.

A door she couldn’t see creaked open and footsteps thumped on the metal grate floor.

“Where is Julie?” John asked.

“Haven’t heard from them yet, sir.” A man stopped a few feet away from John dragging a woman at his side.

Cindy.

Heidi went still, her whole focus on the other woman.

“Put her over there.” John flicked his fingers toward Heidi, but he would no longer look at her.

The man turned, allowing Heidi to catch Cindy’s eye. Cindy looked travel worn and tired. Her color was pale and there was no doubt she wavered on her feet. She was still in better condition than Hedi. The man dragged Cindy over to Heidi then shoved her down on the ground.

Cindy blinked at her as though they’d never seen each other.

“Hey, are you okay?” Heidi asked. She reached out but Cindy jerked away.

“Don’t. I don’t know what they gave me.”

Heidi recoiled. She’d seen the kinds of things that came out of John’s labs and knew what they could do to people first hand.

“You look like shit,” Cindy said.

“At least you look better than me. Do you know what’s going on?”

“Not really.” Cindy watched John pace while the man who’d escorted her in dicked around on his phone. “We’re in a water plant somewhere. Where does Atlanta get its water?”

“No clue. My utilities are rolled into my rent.”

“What is he going to put in the water?” Cindy glanced at Heidi.

She couldn’t exactly say. During that last round in Peru, Léo had been most interested in strains that were highly contagious with a slow incubation and fast mortality rate. There were a few options based on the samples she’d seen, with similar results across the board. She wouldn’t wish that illness on anyone.

“Heidi?” Cindy nudged her with her shoulder.

“You don’t want to know.” Heidi swallowed. There was no way to know if what she’d worked on was the strain John wanted to release into the water. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good.

“It still doesn’t make sense.” Cindy watched John pace six steps, turn and pace again, muttering to himself.

“Yeah, I haven’t wrapped my head around it either,” Heidi said.

“Did you suspect him?”

“I actually thought it would be you.”

“I thought it was you.” Cindy glanced at Heidi.

They both chuckled.

“What now?” Heidi asked.

Heidi shook her head. Adam was out there, looking for her, but they’d moved three times since John had first absconded with her after the crash. The best thing for them to do given their injuries was to wait.

“Where’s the materials?” John whirled toward the other man.

“Crane said they’d be here,” the other man replied.

“Something not going according to plan?” Cindy called out.

John stopped in his tracks and stared at Cindy.

Heidi hunched lower, willing him to look away.

“You ungrateful bitch. Don’t you know what I’m doing for you?” John flung his hand at the wall as though they could see what was beyond it.

“We do,” Heidi said. She fumbled folding her hand over Cindy’s. This wasn’t the moment to pick a fight. They had to play their part. “We do—thank you. Thank you, John. Dad. Thank you.”

Heidi cringed at those words, but she wanted to live. She wanted to see Adam again, and that meant doing—and saying—whatever it took.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” John locked eyes with Heidi.

She cringed and glanced away, licking her lips.

“Answer me,” he snapped.

“Thank you. I said, thank you,” she blurted.

No, she’d said, thank you, Dad.

Those words were beautiful. When the others said it, he knew they were lying, but Heidi and Léo, they were his family. The ones who understood him. He couldn’t wait to bring them both back into the fold and then they could be one happy family.

She was coming around. She was getting it.

Léo had thought she was a lost cause that she’d never see what John could offer her—but she did. He crossed to the corner of the treatment lab and crouched in front of her.

“You see? You just needed freedom.” He grinned. This was the best part. She’d spread her wings and for the first time taste the gift he offered.

“You’re right.” Heidi nodded.

Cindy didn’t get it. She gaped at Heidi like she’d lost her mind when truly Heidi was the one who got it. Cindy would never understand true freedom because she’d never gone without.

“In a few hours we’ll set off and I can show you what the next steps are. You’re going to love it.”

“Yeah? What are you taking us?” she asked.

“I love hearing your questions, but first—I have some work to do.” John wagged his finger at Heidi.

He couldn’t wait to show her their future. Once he had Léo back, everything would be perfect.

Thinking of Léo...

John pushed to his feet and pulled out his phone.

No message from Crane or Julie. No word about Léo. Nothing from Williams.

John didn’t like this. He should have heard something. Without the final components they couldn’t begin.

“Oh, shit.” The man who’d transported Cindy to the plant turned toward John, his eyes wide. “Sir, we have to go.”

“It’s not time. Not without Léo. What’s going on?”

ADAM PROCEEDED ALONG the side of the water treatment tower closest to the water plant offices where the shadows were thickest. The radio Grant had taken off the guard posted at the road muttered the occasional sentence or two. Based on cars in the lot and how many it would take to secure the plant, he was willing to bet they were facing close to a dozen people devoted to John.

It was a clear, beautiful night. Not the kind anyone would expect to threaten the lives of millions.

“What’s the ETA on SWAT or the FBI?” Grant’s voice came from both behind Adam and through the ear piece.

“From the sound of it, they’re scrambling to get people there,” Zain replied.

“Why?”

“There have been three calls for SWAT in the areas surrounding your location, which I’m guessing is not coincidence. The rest is politics between departments.”

“Fuck,” Adam muttered.

“Looks like it’s just us then,” Grant said.

“Yeah, buddy,” Riley whispered.

Adam slowed as he reached the point where he could see the administration building.

“There’s a couple of hedges that’ll get us closer.” Adam leaned out a tiny bit farther and caught sight of someone in black pacing outside the side door. “I see at least one on this door.”

What he wouldn’t give for a whole team on the ground. They were three against twelve or more, maybe less. They had no idea what kind of fire power John’s people might be carrying or what sort of threat they posed. Given the fanatical mindset of the two they’d captured, Adam was worried about the lengths these people would go for their cause. Then again, they were dealing with people of a certain type. What were the chances they were all like Crane, Julie and the cackling bastard? What if they were up against the hired help, the mercenaries, and not John’s people?

“I say we use the beanbag rounds until fired upon,” Adam said.

If they could subdue the people, they could possibly end this without anyone dying.

“These people pose a risk to millions,” Grant said.

“Adam’s right. We want as many as we can get for the FBI,” Zain said.

Adam let his rifle hang from his shoulder and pulled the shotgun filled with less lethal beanbag rounds around to his front.

“I’m going to circle the tower, get into position to grab him when he goes down,” Riley said.

“Go,” Grant barked.

The moments ticked on.

Adam didn’t know if he should hope Heidi was here, or pray she wasn’t.

“In position,” Riley said.

Adam lifted the shotgun and stared down the barrel at the guy at the door. He was smoking. And was that...paintball gear? The guy pivoted, turning his front mostly toward Adam. He fired and a moment later the guy went sailing backward into the shrubs.

Grant rushed past Adam and Riley came out of nowhere, treating the downed man like some sort of timed rodeo event. The man was restrained and gagged before Adam reached the stoop.

Grant stood with his back pressed against the brick. Riley drew his shotgun and fell into line behind Adam.

“Ready?” Grant whispered.

“Go.” Adam was ready for whatever was on the other side of that door.

Grant yanked the door open and Adam took a step in, then one to the side and went to a knee, the other two men entering just as swiftly.

Two men stood in the hall, wearing what looked like paintball vests of some sort.

Not mercenaries.

Regular people.

Adam took aim and fired at the closest man’s abdomen and groin, below the protection offered by the vest. The man doubled over while the other one pitched backward. Adam rushed past them, leaving the restraining to Riley.

Ahead, someone yelled and other voices rose.

Adam and Grant both swapped their shotguns for the rifles dangling from their shoulders. Again, Adam approached the corer and went to a knee while Grant stayed on his back and high.

Five people in plain clothes grappled with some sort of metal container, dragging it across the tile.

They weren’t armed.

“Nobody move.” Adam took a step forward and to the side.

“Up against the wall,” Grant ordered. “Riley?”

“Right behind you,” he called out.

Adam and Grant herded the five up against the far wall.

“Are there any others?” Grant asked.

Adam wasn’t as nice. He grabbed the tallest man of the bunch by the shirt and hauled him closer.

“Where is John?” Adam stared into the fearful eyes of the man.

“I’ve got one over here.” Riley yanked a woman to her feet, cell phone in hand.

“Where’s John?” Adam shoved the man back into the line up and took a step back.

No one answered.

These people believed in a madman that killing people was the right thing to do.

Grant held out his hand, preventing Adam from lifting it.

He hadn’t gotten there yet, but damn, what were they going to do?

“Adam, keep a look out. This isn’t all of them,” Grant said.

Adam backed up. There was a set of glass double doors led out the front and a metal door at the end of the opposite hall. He went to the front doors and peered out.

“Is this the virus? Is that what this is?” Grant demanded, but no one answered.

They were fanatics. Reasoning with them wasn’t going to happen. At least they weren’t up against mercenaries or armed guards.

The stars twinkled merrily outside as though not a thing were wrong. But nothing was right. Heidi was in danger, the world could end, millions could die, he could never see his wife again, make things right, have the chance they’d always wanted.

“Zain, talk to me,” Adam said.

“SWAT is on their way, but that’s all I’ve got.”

“Fuck.”

Adam pushed the doors open and stepped outside. He was willing to bet on a normal night there were lights instead of all this darkness. Crickets chirped and—

“I hear an engine.” Adam crept along the side of the building toward a smaller one adjacent to what appeared to be the main offices.

Someone grunted, another person cursed.

Adam’s skin tingled. He didn’t dare to breathe.

“Where the fuck are you, Novak?” Riley asked.

He crept between the two buildings, and there—parked in the grass—was a SUV.

“Outside. SUV. They’re here.” Adam’s blood went cold.

A woman with short, red hair twisted away from her captor.

Adam lifted his gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet went wide, hitting the window behind the two. Glass shattered.

The man holding Heidi flung out his arms and staggered back. Another figure stepped out from the shadows and wrapped his arms around Heidi, the moonlight glinting off his silvering hair. The other man turned and sprinted away.

“Guys, I’ve got a runner and I’ve got John,” Adam kept his focus on the man with his arm around Heidi and a syringe in his other hand.

“Stay back. I will end both of us now,” John said.

“I see the runner,” Riley said.

“SWAT is a few minutes out,” Zain chimed in.

Adam reached up and took his ear piece out. He couldn’t listen to the others and watch a man who’d already killed an unknown number of people threaten Heidi’s life.

“Let Heidi go,” Adam said.

“Like you let my Léo go?” John barked a laugh.

“Léo’s waiting to see you. You put that syringe down, come with me, you can see him.”

“In prison? Not very likely.” John’s hand drifted closer to Heidi.

“Stop. Stop right there,” Adam demanded.

Heidi’s wide eyes caught his. She was afraid, hurt, and he hadn’t come for her sooner. He’d let her go. He’d failed her.

“You know what this is?” John asked.

“No...”

“This is enough to kill her and me, so—you’d best back off now,” John said.

Heidi shook her head.

Was she telling him to not risk it? Or that John was lying?

“Heidi?” Adam swallowed.

“Get back, now,” John demanded.

She shook her head.

“We’re leaving,” John said. He clamped his free hand around her neck, immobilizing her.

“Heidi, I love you.” Adam blew out a breath.

He pulled the trigger.

John spun.

Adam dove, catching Heidi around the waist and yanked her away from the older man, putting himself between them.

“It was insulin,” Heidi choked out.

Adam couldn’t speak, or breathe.

Insulin.

John was a diabetic.

“The virus? In the water?” Adam dreaded her answer.

“No, they were waiting on Léo.”

Red and white lights careened around the end of the street, headlights aimed straight at them.

The cavalry was here.

It was over.

MONDAY. ATLANTA VA Medical Center, Atlanta Georgia.

Heidi was fairly certain she didn’t want to see a hospital or a doctor’s office for another year. She squeezed Cindy’s hand as the team extracted another set of blood samples from her. The airmen were still dangerously ill. With any luck, Cindy’s blood would hold the key to a cure.

“That’s it,” the nurse said. She gave Cindy’s arm a quick swab and applied a bandage to the draw site.

The nurse bustled out, taking her precious samples with her.

Heidi gave Cindy’s hand one last squeeze, then let go and eased back in the arm chair.

“Are they letting us go today?” Cindy asked.

“God, I hope so.” Heidi blew out a breath.

It was all a blur, from the pump house to the standoff with John and the last twenty-four hours of medical observation.

The worst of it was that no one had—or would—tell her where Adam was. The FBI agents wouldn’t even look at her when they mumbled their answers. Heidi had even called the Aegis Group office and spoken with some woman named Merida who’d claimed she had to verify Heidi’s identity before she could discuss an employee with her. Adam was Heidi’s husband. She should know if he was okay or whatever.

“They said at least a dozen people died when they tried to rescue Léo,” Cindy said.

Heidi closed her eyes. One was bad enough, but a dozen?

“How did we miss this?” Heidi asked.

“We saw what was convenient,” Cindy replied.

There had to be more to it than that.

The door opened, and a nurse stepped inside.

Heidi groaned.

“There you are. If you keep running from me we’re going to have to put a lock on your bed.” Despite the threat, Heidi’s nurse seemed amused. “Just kidding. I’ve got your discharge paperwork.”

“Any chance I’m next?” Cindy asked.

“I’d have to ask your nurse, sorry.”

“Oh well.” Cindy sighed and glanced at Heidi. “Try to tell them I’d be more help out of this bed than in it?”

“I’ll do what I can.” Heidi stood, her goofy yellow hospital socks sticking to the tiles.

She followed the nurse back into her room down the hall where they went through the discharge instructions. She understood why they’d want to keep her, that testing and observation were crucial in these stages if she was infected.

Another set of yoga pants and a tank top waited for her. She’d never worn or owned this many yoga pants in her life, but now she loved them. Because Adam had brought them for her, and if they were here, maybe he was out there waiting for her?

Heidi finished dressing as the orderly arrived to wheel her downstairs. The woman with him was not the person she’d hoped for.

“Where’s my husband?” Heidi sat in the chair which had the unfortunate side effect of forcing her to look up at Abigail.

“About that...” Abigail fell into step with the chair. She glanced at the orderly and said nothing else.

“Where’s Adam?” The last Heidi had seen of him, he’d been fine.

“He was arrested,” Abigail said.

“What?”

“Everything is fine. It’s all in order, he’s just had to cool his heels a bit. We’re going to go pick him up.” Abigail glanced at the orderly who merely laughed.

“Best conversation I’ve heard all year. Don’t mind me,” he said.

They made it down to yet another SUV, this one free of broken windows, blood and bent panels.

“Have you and Adam figured out where you’re going from here?” Abigail buckled in and turned the vehicle on.

“Haven’t exactly had the time with him in jail and all.”

“Well, I hope things work out for both of you.”

Abigail caught Heidi up on the events that had transpired since the water plant. John and his people were in custody. They hadn’t managed to release the bio-weapon into the water. Léo had been released to the cops. With Léo’s help they were not only identifying other hot spots, but tracking the money back to criminals the world over. They weren’t just going to stop John, they were going to end many of his customers as well.

Abigail stopped the SUV at the curb of a brick building.

“I’ll be right back,” she said and got out without further comment.

Heidi frowned at the open door. That didn’t seem right.

A man slid behind the wheel and gently shut the door.

Heidi blinked at the side of his head.

Adam turned to face her and his mouth twitched into a slight smile.

Her stomach twisted into knots. Her heart swelled. Tears prickled her eyes.

He was here. With her.

“Where to?” he asked.

“Where the hell have you been?” She smacked his arm then leaned across to hug him, ignoring the ache in her arms.

“I didn’t want you to be worried.” His hands gently squeezed her.

“Well, I was worried. What the hell, Adam?” She sat back and resisted the urge to pinch herself and make sure this was really happening.

“Everything’s sorted, but...” He glanced out the window. “We should probably not stick around. Where to?”

“My apartment?”

“Sounds good to me. Navigate?”

She directed, he drove. Her apartment was all of fifteen minutes away, so before she knew it, they were there.

“Oh no...” Heidi patted her nonexistent pockets. “I don’t have any keys... And it’s a weekend. There’s no one here to let us in!”

All of her belongings had been lost in Peru.

“If you give me permission to get us in, I can take care of that.”

“What are you planning on doing?” Heidi narrowed her gaze.

“It’ll be our secret.” He killed the engine and circled the truck.

She blew out a breath and shook her head. This man made her crazy.

Adam opened her door and scooped her out of the seat before she could utter a protest. She rolled her eyes and held on. They’d survived. Everything could be okay.

“Which one?” he asked.

“Up stairs.” She pointed at her apartment.

Adam carried her up the stairs to her door then set her down. He went to a knee and pulled something out of his pocket.

“What exactly are you doing?” she asked.

“You don’t have a security alarm, do you?”

“No. Why?”

“No reason.”

“Are you picking my lock?” She bent over him, watching the tiny toothpick like tools in his hands.

The door swung open. He stood, scooping her up again. Eventually this being carried around business was going to get real old, but for now she was simply happy he was here. “I never got to do that after the wedding.” He set her down on the tile just inside the door.

There were a lot of things they hadn’t gotten to do, so many missed opportunities, but for now she was focused on their future.

Heidi went straight to the sofa and sat down, pulling her green, fuzzy blanket over her.

Adam proceeded slower, locking the door, peering into the kitchen, her bedroom and the bathroom. It was strange having another person in the apartment. She didn’t often invite people over, and yet she was glad for Adam’s presence.

He finally rejoined her in the living room. He dwarfed the space just standing in it. She pulled the blanket aside and patted the cushions.

They’d been so focused on running, stopping John and staying alive that they’d left a lot to figure out later. Later was now, and she was still at a loss for what they did next. There was no guide, no roadmap for people like them. She hoped they could figure it out.

Adam sat on the cushion next to her, causing her to lean toward him. She draped her blanket over his lap and leaned against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and she blew out a breath.

This still felt right.

They had separate lives, with different career plans and goals. Were they beyond the ability to have a future together?

Heidi feared the answer, and yet she needed to know.

“What happens next?” she asked.

“Food.” He pulled another of those tiny, crumpled boxes of lemon heads out of his pocket and offered it to her.

“And then?” She took the candy from him and snuggled closer, taking solace in these thoughtful gestures.

“Sleep.”

“What happens to us?”

“What do you want to happen?”

“I want a chance.”

“Me, too.”

“But that’s not going to work. You’re in Seattle. I’m here.”

“Let’s not worry about that right now.”

Heidi frowned up at Adam. He stroked her face, pushing hair behind her ear.

“What if we don’t work out?”

“Have a little faith in us?”

“We should...have a test. Try things out first. Like, A month or a couple weeks? To start?” That felt like an eternity.

“Whatever sounds good to you.” He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles.

“We both do our jobs and we go back and forth as much as we can.” She needed to know how this was going to work, when she’d see him, what her expectations should be. They’d failed once. She didn’t want that to be the case this time. “When do we start?“

“How about right now?” Adam squeezed her gently. “I figure we’ve both got at least three or five days before anyone expects us to surface. What do you say we order something to eat and just...see what happens?”

Heidi knew what she wanted. She loved this man, and she wanted that future so bad she feared failure.

SEVEN DAYS LATER. ATL, Atlanta, Georgia.

Adam handed the keys to the man at the desk.

This was it. He was finally saying goodbye to Atlanta. For now.

He stepped out into the early morning light.

Heidi stood leaned up against her tiny, compact car, phone out. Today would be her first day back at work. She kept saying she wasn’t nervous, but the signs were all there. The years hadn’t changed her all that much.

He crossed to stand in front of her. She kept looking at her phone, avoiding the goodbye.

“Still giving me a ride to the terminal?” He hadn’t really believed she would drive all this way just to bus him from Point A to Point B.

She finally dropped her hand to her side and squinted up at him. Worry lined her face and her teeth had left an indention on her lip.

“I don’t want you to go,” she said for the hundredth time today.

“Me, either.” He bent and kissed her forehead. He patted her hip. “Come on.”

Heidi got back into the car and he circled to the passenger side. Folding himself into the tiny vehicle wasn’t comfortable, but he made do.

“When will you know what time you have free?” she asked.

“It depends on our job schedule. I’ll let you know.” He’d explained their schedule to her over and over again, but given their history she no doubt saw it as an opportunity for them to fall apart again.

He kept the smile off his face.

Her worry soothed him. She wanted this to work, just like he did. At worst he figured in two weeks either he’d be back, or she’d come to him. It wasn’t ideal, but she’d set their trial at six weeks from today after a bit of going back and forth, and he was going to play along with it. After that, she’d better clear out some closet space because he was moving to Atlanta at least semi-permanently. He kept that tidbit to himself. For now.

Heidi eased the car to a stop at the curb and shifted into park. She turned to face him, her eyes so sad.

“It’s just for a week or two.” He reached over and took her hand.

“Promise?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” She blew out a breath and leaned toward him.

He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her lips, savoring the feel of them, how he could taste her emotions.

“Come back to me soon,” she whispered.

“I will,” he promised. “I love you.”

She smiled.

The moment was only slightly ruined by a car laying on its horn.

“That’s my cue. Call me after work?” He opened his door.

“At lunch,” she countered.

He couldn’t wait.

Adam climbed out, taking his bag with him, and stood on the curb, watching Heidi’s car fade into the traffic. Once she was out of sight he pulled out his phone and ambled inside, listening to the call ring.

“What do you want at this hour?”

“Morning, Mom. Leaving Atlanta.”

“How’d it go?” Her voice turned soft. Heidi was in all their hearts.

“If I hadn’t already married her, I’d tell you I was going to.” He glanced over his shoulder.

Adam could leave his heart in Atlanta, for just a little while. Six silly weeks and then he’d come home for good. Even if it was a tiny, one bedroom apartment. Being with Heidi was the only place he wanted to be.