Kat drifted. She dreamed of snow-covered mountains, of a little boy with dark eyes who laughed and called her Mama, and of a man with a hot gaze who stripped her clothes from her body and made her feel alive. She wanted to feel alive—but she never quite got there.

There was always a frustrating barrier, like the film on a pond that bugs skated across. She couldn’t see the barrier, but she felt it when she came up against it. And she couldn’t get through.

She didn’t know how long she stayed behind the barrier, but finally her eyes fluttered open. It wasn’t bright where she was. She let her gaze drift, trying to take in her surroundings. There were clicking and beeping sounds behind her and lines that went from her body to the bags and tubes nearby.

Hospital.

She was in a hospital, though she couldn’t remember why. She tried to sit up—and someone pressed her back down again with murmured words she didn’t really comprehend. Her throat was dry. So very dry.

“Water,” she said, but it didn’t come out sounding like that at all. That’s when she realized there was a tube in her nose. She started to scream, but someone held her down and everything went black again.

The next time she woke, the tube was gone. Her eyes fluttered open—and he was there. Johnny.

“Kat,” he whispered, and she reached for his hand as her eyes filled with tears.

“Johnny.”

“Yeah, it’s me.” His smile lit her world.

She tried to reach up to touch him, but her hand fell back to the bed, too weak to obey.

“You scared me,” he said.

“Scared me too.” Her voice cracked and scratched. So weak. “What happened?”

He bent down and ran a hand over her hair. He pressed his lips to her forehead, and she shivered happily. “I’ll tell you all about it when you’re better.”

She gripped his hand as hard as she could. She got the impression that it wasn’t very hard. “Don’t leave me here. Please.”

“I got work to do, baby—but I’m not leaving you. Promise. If you wake up and I’m not here, I’ll be back soon. Okay?”

What else could she say? “Okay.”

The world grew dim before winking out again.

* * *

Mendez took great pleasure in what he was about to do. He didn’t have his uniform to wear, but he wore the next best thing. Tactical gear, minus the weapons. He stood in the lobby of the luxury hotel near Red Square where Mark DeWitt was staying and waited while his name was sent up to the vice president’s suite.

Ian Black stood beside him, looking serious as a heart attack.

“It’s okay, Ian,” he said. “We’ve got him.”

“Yes, sir. I think we do.”

Mendez rolled his eyes. “Stop with the sirs already. You’re doing it to irritate me.”

Ian looked surprised. “I’m not at all. I’m just…” He hesitated. “Damn, I’ve been working this fucking case for so long I can’t believe it’s nearly over. And it wouldn’t be without HOT. Without you. I know you’re pissed at me, but I can’t think of another way this could go down.”

“Yeah, well, it isn’t over yet.”

An aide came and ushered them up to the VPOTUS’s suite where they were checked for weapons before being allowed in. DeWitt sat by a window, leg bouncing as he drank coffee and scrolled through his phone. His chief of staff, Gabe Nelson, lounged in a chair nearby. Both men looked up as he and Ian entered.

He looked puzzled at first, probably because he’d expected Mendez to be in cuffs if Ian was there. But he recovered smoothly.

“Ah, Colonel Mendez, how nice to see you again. And who is this gentleman?” Mark DeWitt asked politely.

“Cut the bullshit. You know who he is.”

DeWitt’s eyebrows climbed his forehead. “I beg your pardon?”

Mendez stalked over until he was close to DeWitt’s chair. “I suggest you clear the room. Sir,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

DeWitt’s brows drew low—and then he jerked his head at his staff, who started moving toward the exits.

“Mr. Nelson should stay. And your Secret Service protection, of course. If you want them to hear this.”

DeWitt looked at the men in suits who stood nearby. “Outside, if you please.”

When everyone but Gabe Nelson was gone, DeWitt turned an inquiring eye on them. “What the fuck is this about, Colonel?”

“I think you know.” Fury lashed through him, coating him with ice and hate. But he had to do this right or it wouldn’t stick.

“No, I don’t. What do you want?”

“My command. I want my command back and my name cleared. And President Campbell’s name by association. Your plan won’t work, Mr. Vice President.” Because no matter how much he might despise the man in the office, he respected the office itself. This man was the veep. For now.

He turned to Gabe Nelson. “We know where the false information on HOT’s servers came from. It came from a computer belonging to Mr. Nelson. He used his clearance—your clearance—to access the SIPRNet and download the program that Sergei Turov’s Open Sky network designed for you. You implicated me with your lies—and you compromised one of my teams.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” DeWitt said. “This is madness.”

But he didn’t look comfortable.

“Is it? My people have the evidence. The data entry point comes from Mr. Nelson’s IP address. I’m going to guess that you had him do your dirty work—and I imagine he’ll have the opportunity to say so in front of the congressional committee investigating HOT’s transgressions.”

DeWitt visibly paled. Gabe wouldn’t look at his boss, which told Mendez all he needed to know. The man would turn evidence if his back was against the wall.

“It’s unfortunate,” Ian added, “that Sergei Turov has been taken into custody by the Russians. I’m sure he might have some things to say about your association. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s going to all come out once the government manages to go through the paperwork and computers they’ve seized from his home and businesses.”

It wasn’t enough for Mendez, knowing what Turov had done to Kat, but it would have to be. If there was any justice, Turov would get a death sentence for his crimes.

“You’re a mercenary,” DeWitt hissed at Ian. “You don’t know anything.”

Ian shrugged. “Yeah, you’re right. You should totally take that chance.”

“Here’s what you need to do, Mr. Vice President,” Mendez said. He waited while DeWitt focused a hate-filled stare on him. “Resign.”

DeWitt sputtered.

“I suggest you do it soon,” he added. “It’ll create a scandal, sure. But not as big a scandal as endless hearings and a jail sentence. Which you will get, I assure you.”

“I’m not resigning,” DeWitt ground out. “I’ve worked too hard to get where I am.”

“Your choice,” Mendez told him. “My guys are combing through Turov’s databases as we speak. What happens when they find out how he managed to intercept and capture a HOT squad on a top secret mission? He didn’t get lucky. He got information from someone with SCI access. That would be you.”

DeWitt didn’t look so good at the moment. He reached for his water glass and took a long drink. The ice clinked more than it should as he trembled. He set the glass down again. Folded his hands.

“You can’t prove any of this. It’s wild speculation—and I’m popular with the voters.”

“Yeah, you’re popular with the voters. But giving away the location of American soldiers to the Russian mafia? Allowing them to be captured? I think maybe that’s something even your base won’t forgive.” He shrugged. “Your decision though. I’ll be taking the evidence my team’s uncovered to the president and the justice department. What happens after that is up to you.”