Ryan glanced up and down the street at the corner coffee stand. The meeting spot was too open for his tastes. Anyone driving on the road could see them sitting here plain as day. They hadn’t gotten to pick how and where she was taken into custody. If he had to bet, there were a few plain-clothes police spotters watching them now. That didn’t make him less nervous, knowing the guys were also out there did.

He pushed the cup of coffee toward Carson. She’d barely eaten her breakfast or touched her cup. Ever since she’d gotten off the phone with her parents she’d been in a sort of daze, staring off into nothing.

Stress did odd things to people. Not everyone responded the same. He was used to women crying and men going straight to angry when their lives were threatened. The silence was the worst. He couldn’t let her shut down on him. They were going to get through this.

“Talk to me,” he said.

“About?”

“I don’t know.” What’s something they hadn’t talked about? Something to get her mind off this moment? “Have you talked to Jessica? That’s her name, right?”

“She’s good. I think.”

“Does she know...?”

“I told her we hung out, that it got intimate. It was a little weird.” Her gaze shifted to his face, but she wasn’t quite focused on him. “What do you think my parents are going to say when we get there?”

“They’re going to realize that you love them and you were stuck in a tight spot. You made the choice to protect them to the best of your ability.”

Now if the plain clothes cops would just get here.

The plan was for an SUV to pick up her family and bring them to this coffee stand at a busy intersection. They’d enter a dry cleaner, go through to the market next door and leave in an unmarked van to a safe house where they’d spend several days going stir crazy.

Ryan didn’t like being out of the action, but he didn’t trust Detective Blew or this Agent Walker to put Carson’s safety first. That was why Ryan had to stick close to her rather than go hunt the terrorists down. He couldn’t trust anyone.

So far he hadn’t heard from Zain, which was to be expected. Ryan was a little concerned about going solo on this. It wasn’t like Carson had hired them. Yesterday their team had seen someone in distress and did what they were good at, rescuing people. Now that Carson was safe, how much support could Ryan get if it came down to it? Aegis Group didn’t work for free. They did good where and when they could, but they were still out to pay their bills. He couldn’t ask his friends to stick their neck out for him.

A dark SUV rolled up and stopped next to their table.

“About damn time,” Ryan muttered.

Carson’s hand tightened on his.

A tall, graying man got out from behind the wheel, leaving the vehicle idling.

That wasn’t a cop.

The hair on the back of Ryan’s neck rose.

This wasn’t the plan.

“Miss Adair, I was hoping we wouldn’t meet like this,” the man drawled. He sounded like one of the small town highway patrolmen Ryan had to negotiate his way out of a ticket with when he was younger.

A second man got out of the passenger seat and came to lean on the front of the vehicle. He put his hand on his hip, flipping his jacket back to reveal his sidearm. It wasn’t a casual gesture. It was calculated and intentional.

Ryan didn’t scare that easily.

“Where’s her family?” he asked.

“Agent Walker—”

“They’re not coming,” the man replied.

Agent Walker.

That meant the other was Agent Johnson.

Now it all made sense.

Carson gripped his hand tight.

“What do you mean, they’re not coming?” Her voice wavered as she spoke.

“I mean, the FBI has taken over this investigation and we are not offering protection for you or your mixed nut family.” Agent Walker planted his hands on his hips and peered over the top of his sunglasses at her.

Ryan had squared off with men like him before.

They thought they were more important. They lorded their power over others. They didn’t work for the general good, only their own sense of ego.

Ryan hated those pricks. They went against everything Ryan had fought to protect.

He pushed to his feet and stepped in front of the FBI agent.

“Let me get this straight, you have a terrorist on the loose and you know this woman’s life is in danger, but you don’t want to do anything about it?” Ryan stared at the man. He was willing to bet Carson was bait. The FBI would sit back and wait for their targets to crawl out into the open to go after Carson while the FBI snapped the trap shut.

“She was an unfortunate bystander in a murder. She’s not in any way part of our investigation. We have no reason to believe she’s in danger.” Agent Walker held up his hands.

That was bullshit and reckless. This man was playing with the lives of others. It wasn’t right.

Ryan took another step toward the agent, then another.

Walker straightened.

Carson’s phone began to ring.

“You pulled their protection detail, didn’t you?” he asked.

“You mean the unit sitting outside the Adair house wasting tax payer dollars? Of course I did,” Walker replied.

“You’re a sick bastard, you know that?”

“Just doing my job.” He tipped his chin up.

Ryan wanted nothing more than to haul back and punch that brittle, old jaw.

How many good people had he churned through? What had he cost in terms of life and blood in the name of serving a higher authority?

This wasn’t justice, it wasn’t right and Ryan wasn’t going to allow this to go forward.

“Ryan?” Carson’s voice wavered.

Something was wrong.

“Get the fuck out of here,” he said.

Walker glanced over his shoulder at Carson.

“You two have a good day, ya hear?” he said in a drawl before turning back to his SUV.

Ryan didn’t wait for the man to climb into the vehicle. He went straight to Carson.

Her face was drained of blood, her eyes wide. The phone was still pressed to her ear.

“What is it?” He crossed to her side.

She shook her head and covered her mouth with a hand.

Ryan snatched his phone out of his pocket and hit dial. He hooked his hand under her arm and guided her to her feet, then to his Mustang.

“Talk to me,” Gavin said through the phone.

“I need you to trace whatever number just called Carson, and I need back-up. Now.”

Shit was about to get real and the sharks were circling.

CARSON DIDN’T LIKE being in the open like this. She wanted her family to get here so someone could whisk them away to safety. So she could beg for forgiveness. Anything was better than sitting here doing nothing.

An SUV so dark blue it looked black pulled into the parking lot next to the coffee stand.

She froze, staring at the vehicle.

Her stomach knotted up.

Carson knew that SUV.

“About damn time,” Ryan muttered.

She gripped him tighter and opened her mouth, but couldn’t make words come out.

That wasn’t the police.

Agent Walker got out of the driver’s seat, his partner no doubt remaining behind and out of sight. He fastened the top button of his jacket before ambling toward them.

Where was her sister? What about their parents?

She could feel the security of Ryan’s plan slipping away from her.

Agent Walker wasn’t going to give up his goals without a fight.

“Miss Adair, I was hoping we wouldn’t meet like this.” He came to a stop at the other side of their circular table.

Ryan’s hand spasmed around hers.

“Where’s her family?” Ryan’s suspicion dripped from each word. It wasn’t just her.

Carson leaned forward. Maybe she could get him to see reason? “Agent Walker—”

“They’re not coming,” he said over her.

“What do you mean, they’re not coming?” She’d done everything he asked of her and more. Even when she knew it wasn’t right, she’d done it. And this was how he treated her? How he played with her family?

The terrorist wouldn’t be after her if it weren’t for Agent Walker. He was the true threat to her family and their safety.

“I mean,” he spoke slowly, as if she were a small child and didn’t understand the situation, “the FBI has taken over this investigation and we are not offering protection for you or your mixed nut family.”

Mixed family?

Carson glared.

Her sister was black. Her mother was Hispanic. She and her dad were white. They were a colorful bunch. So what?

Ryan pushed to his feet.

Agent Walker had never come out and spoken his prejudice, but it was always there. Just under the surface. Knowing what she knew now, that Frankie was never in danger of being deported, Carson couldn’t help but hate the man.

Ryan placed himself between Carson and Agent Walker. Both of Ryan’s hands were clenched to the point that his knuckles were white.

“Let me get this straight, you have a terrorist on the loose and you know this woman’s life is in danger, but you don’t want to do anything about it?” Ryan’s voice vibrated with rage.

“She was an unfortunate bystander in a murder. She’s not in any way part of our investigation.” Of course Agent Walker would act blameless. He wasn’t.

Carson’s phone it up with Frankie’s face. She had this tilt and her lips were curled into an annoyed, forced smile.

Shit.

Carson snatched the phone up. “Hello? Frankie, I am so sorry.”

“Frankie is indisposed,” a man with a thick accent said.

That voice...

She’d heard that voice before.

She could see him, staring at Ben like a bug right before he’d ordered the murder.

“W-where’s my sister?” Carson gripped the edge of the table and shut out the drama happening a few steps away. Except she needed her hero. The guy who was in her corner despite all the odds and everything she’d done. “Ryan?”

“Your sister is fine.”

“My parents?”

“They’re here, too.”

“What is it?” Ryan was there at her side.

She shook her head.

“I’m going to speak very slowly and I need for you to listen. Your family is unhurt. They are my guests, and will not be hurt because you and I are friends. Friends help each other. Right? Carson?”

“R-right.”

Ryan urged her to her feet then guided her toward his car. He was already on the phone talking to someone else, but it was too late.

“Keep him talking,” he whispered.

“What-what do you want me to do?” Carson had seen enough TV dramas to understand what Ryan wanted.

“I want what is mine. Nothing more,” Kawa replied.

Ryan opened the passenger door for her and handed her in.

“That’s going to take time. Ben made it sound easy.” She glanced up at Ryan who gave her a thumbs up before closing her door.

“We don’t have time.” Kawa’s voice went cold.

“It’s not an instant process like normal.”

“You’re a smart, resourceful girl.”

“That doesn’t matter to a system with rules in place. I can’t just break a banking system. I’m an accountant, not a hacker.”

“We all have friends.”

Ryan got behind the wheel and turned toward her. “Speaker?”

She lowered the phone and tapped the button.

“How long can you give me?” she asked.

“Tonight.”

“That’s not possible.” And who would she get to help her with something like this?

“Tomorrow,” Ryan whispered.

“Tomorrow,” she said louder.

Silence.

Carson cringed.

“You want your money, we want the Adairs back. If you give us time, we can make it happen.”

“Tomorrow morning. I will call with further instruction.”

The call ended.

“Oh my God.” Carson sucked down a breath.

“Did you get that?” Ryan asked his phone.

“The signal just shut off. I’ve got the location just outside the Adair’s home.”

“They won’t be there when we get there.” Ryan glanced at her.

“What about the cops? The ones who were at the house?” And what about her parents? Had they been injured?

“Gavin, call Seattle PD and Owen King. Get them to the Adair’s house.” Ryan ended the call with one hand while the Mustang peeled out of the parking lot.

“How am I going to get the money? What am I going to do, Ryan?” she stared at his profile as he drove.

“You aren’t. Either they’re stupid enough to believe you can get the money, which tells me they’re not as big a threat as we thought. Or their end goal isn’t to get the money and they really want to shut you up.”

“I’m going to be sick.” Carson pressed her hand to her stomach.

“None of that now. You’re fine.”

She caught sight of a dark SUV in the mirror and turned to look.

“I see them,” Ryan said.

“Why are they following us?”

“Because you’re bait. That fuck face is using you and he doesn’t care what happens to you or your family. When we get your family back, I’m going to dig up so much dirt on that asshole. He’ll dig himself a grave.”

Five minutes later they pulled up in front of her parent’s house. The minivan was there along with Dad’s car.

Carson climbed out before the Mustang came to a complete stop.

“Mom? Dad?” She jogged up the walk.

“Carson? Carson—wait.” Ryan ran after her.

“Frankie?”

He grasped her around the waist and pulled her away from the house.

“Carson,” he snapped.

“Get out of my way.” She shoved at him but he didn’t budge.

“You can’t walk in there.” He stared down at her, serious to the point it struck a chord of fear in her. “They could still be here. Let me go first.”

That hadn’t occurred to her.

She nodded.

He let go of her and reached up under his shirt, drawing the weapon he’d secured to his belt before their arranged meet with the police that never happened.

She glanced up and down the street, but Agent Walker’s SUV was nowhere to be seen.

Of course he wouldn’t be around when they really needed help.

Ryan walked up to the porch and peered in through the front windows. Carson stood in the yard, arms wrapped around herself.

She’d grown up here. This was where she healed and became whole. This was a good place. It should have never been touched by this kind of evil, and yet here they were.

Ryan pushed the door open and craned his head to look inside.

“Hello?” he called out.

No answer.

“Carson, check the cars on the curb for the cops?” he asked.

He was giving her a job that kept her from going inside. She wasn’t blind to his tactic.

She turned and stalked to the sidewalk then the next car. Up and down the street she squinted into windows, not sure what she was looking for, but glad when she didn’t find it. By the time she checked all the vehicles on the street Ryan had emerged from the house. She met him on the front walk, wishing for good news.

“They’re gone,” he said.

Carson covered her mouth.

He couldn’t be serious.

“Mom? Dad? Frankie?” She darted past him toward the front door.

She took the stairs two at a time and bolted into the foyer.

A vase lay broken on the floor.

The heavy arm chair between the living room and entry was turned over.

Ryan pulled her back to his chest and held her.

“They probably came in when your family wasn’t expecting them. Surprising them like that gave those guys the advantage, but your family fought back. There isn’t any blood so I don’t think they were hurt. We’ll get them, Carson. I promise. We’ll get Detective Blew in here and we’ll find something.”

How could he say that? What could she do to get them back? What if she lost them? What if the last time she spoke to them was to tell them their lives were at risk?

Carson would never be able to forgive herself.

RYAN KEPT ONE HAND on Carson’s lower back as he guided her out of the elevator and back into the Aegis Group offices. Last night he’d thought they would undoubtedly be ensconced in a safe house making awkward new boyfriend talk with her parents. That was before he’d realized how much the agents didn’t give a fuck about who got screwed in their investigation.

Merida was already sitting at her desk, frowning at her monitor, hands working furiously on the keys.

“Morning,” Ryan said.

“Ian has everyone in the command room waiting for you,” Merida said without skipping a beat.

His second phone call after reaching out to Detective Blew had been to contact the office and bring the guys up to date. Yesterday when Carson had been clearly kidnapped from the gas station down the street from his house, there’d been no doubt about their team jumping in to save her. A victim only had so many hours to live once they were taken. They couldn’t waste a single minute.

Today was different.

They’d handed the case over to the cops, who in turn were relieved by the FBI. This was no longer an Aegis Group job. They weren’t getting paid for it and there was no monetary reason for anyone to stick their necks out on Carson’s behalf. Ryan didn’t know what they were walking into, but if he had to go this alone, he’d do his best. The system had failed Carson, and she deserved better. Agent Walker saw her as bait and not a human being. Ryan didn’t know what the guy’s deal was, but Agent Walker’s actions could very likely lead to the death of the Adairs.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” he muttered, as much for her sake as his.

They walked down the hall and into the large, rectangular room that served as their central command space. Though Zain’s office was considered a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, they’d begun the process of extending that security here considering the recent contract they’d landed with the Department of Defense.

Ian turned toward them as they stepped through the doors. Ryan’s other housemates were spread out, some sitting, a few frowning at monitors, but mostly—there when they didn’t have to be.

“You can’t give us one easy day, can you?” He smiled, but it was a tense expression.

“Never a boring day.” Ryan nodded at the list projected on the wall of everything they knew. “Thanks for this. I know none of you have to do this—”

“Don’t thank me yet.” Ian sipped his coffee. “With the new contract for Troy Team, it’s in our best interest to keep the government’s ass from hangin’ out. I verified that with top brass. Whatever the fuck this Agent Walker has goin’ on isn’t good.”

“Whatever the reason is, thank you,” Carson said. It was the first sentence she’d managed without some kind of wavering.

Ryan was damn proud of her. She wasn’t accustomed to anything more stressful than tax time and she was finding her feet. He was nervous about what came next. Ian glanced at him. He didn’t say anything or make a move, but Ryan got the drift. Carson didn’t need to hear what came next.

“Miss Adair?” Merida appeared as if from nowhere.

Carson started and turned to blink at the woman.

“Sorry.” Merida smiled and gestured at the door. “Will you come with me? We put together a few line ups of the other men I’d like for you to look at.”

“I never saw their faces. Except the driver.” Carson frowned. “I forgot he wasn’t wearing a mask.”

“We never got a clear shot of them,” Ian said.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help.” Carson straightened her spine.

Ryan felt both pride and pain for her. She was holding herself together so very well, but he was afraid of where this was going.

“I’m going to stay here. Go over things with the team,” he said.

“Okay.” Carson glanced from Merida to Ryan.

“We’ll be down the hall. Not far.”

Carson nodded then followed Merida out of the command room. The latter shut the door behind them, sealing the team in.

Now they had to have the tough talk. The things he couldn’t say in front of Carson.