It had been a long time since I’d been shoved into the room and told to sit down and keep my mouth shut. The only reason I’d done what I was told was because I couldn’t miss the look on Colin’s face. I didn’t need to hear his words to know he wanted me to follow directions. It took everything in me not to provoke the men further; I would rather they kill me now. I was trying to be strong, but panic was setting in. This was my worst nightmare come true. My biggest fear. Not only that, I was afraid they were going to kill Colin. I believed the man when he told me he’d slice me up in front of Colin before they killed him. I couldn’t do that to him.

I was sitting on the concrete floor, praying for a quick death when the door was swung open and two men dragged a badly beaten Colin inside. I started to stand but stopped when one of the men told me not to move.

“Here.” A third man set down a bucket and dropped some rags on the floor.

Once Colin’s handcuffs were secured to another chain, the men exited the room, and I crawled over to his prone body.

“Colin? Can you hear me?” I whispered.

I was so thankful when a faint grunt hit my ears.

“I’m so sorry.” I didn’t know what I was apologizing for but I didn’t know what else to say.

I dipped a rag in the bucket of water and started to clean some of the blood off his face. There was so much of it I had to clean the cloth after every pass. It took several attempts to wash away all the red liquid before I could find the source of the flow. I put pressure on the largest gash, trying to stop the bleeding. His moans cut me to the quick. I was having a hard time even looking at his battered face. I was afraid to lift his shirt and see what wounds there needed care. The sight would be more than I could handle.

I felt his hand on mine, and his eyes opened into tiny slivers. “You’re doing great.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are. I know this is hard. I’m proud of you.”

“Shhh. Don’t try and talk. You need to rest.”

His eyes closed, and I went back to rinsing out the blood-soaked rag. This was bad. Really bad. With Colin hurt, I didn’t stand a chance. After a long bout of silence, during which I’d thought Colin had either gone to sleep or had passed out, he started to speak again. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“I need you to promise me something.”

“What?”

“No matter what happens to me, you stay quiet.”

“I can’t—”

“You can. Someone will come and get you, and I need you to be in one piece when they do.”

“I’m not going to let them do this to you again.”

“You don’t worry about me. I need you to promise. Right now Warren and his guys have no idea what you mean to me, if they did, they’d exploit it. We need them to think I’m nothing more to you than a bodyguard. If I have a chance and I think I can keep you safe, I’ll make my move. But when I do, I need you to make yourself as small as possible. Stay out of the way. And, Erin, no heroics. Do not try to help. If your dad sends in a team to get you, get down and let them do their job. No helping.”

I understood what he was saying but I couldn’t stay quiet if they started hurting him in front of me. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I knew myself too well. I was already on the verge of breaking. If I saw Colin being beaten to death, I’d try and stop them. But I didn’t tell him that. Instead, I gave him what he needed to hear, my acceptance.

“Okay.”

“I’m serious. I have to know you’re walking out of here even if I don’t. My dying wish, Erin. You alive and in one piece.”

Dying wish. I wanted to scream at the unfairness, cry at the desperation of our situation. He couldn’t die. Not when we’d finally found each other.

“Okay. But, Colin, you’re not going to die.”

“That’s the plan, sunshine. The next time they take us out of this room, you stay quiet and let me figure out a way to get us out.”

That part I could do.

“Okay.” I lowered my head to his ear and whispered, “I love you.”

“You, too, Erin. So fucking much.”

I pulled his shirt up the best I could, angry red welts dotted his torso.

“I’m sure it looks worse than it is.” I doubted that very much but kept my thoughts to myself. “Did you see how we got here? Where we are?”

“No. You passed out, and when you were pulled off me, one of the guys stuck me with a needle. When I woke up, I was tied to the chair in the other room and you were chained up. That guy immediately started telling me all I needed to do was tell my dad to sign some documents and I’d be free to go. Do you know who he is?”

“Yeah. The former director of the CIA. Your dad fired him about a year ago. But he and Zane have had issues for many years. The man is a lying scumbag, but I never thought he’d go this far. I can’t figure out how he came to work with the NSA. There’s no way your dad would’ve allowed that.”

“What if my dad didn’t know?”

“Your dad knows everything. And I mean everything.”

“Could he be working as an independent contractor? Would my dad know then?”

I didn’t know all the ins and outs of government contract work, but a friend from college had gone to work for a computer company that had been awarded many contracts.

“I’m not sure. But I know the man who brought you into this room is Charles Warren.”

“Does he hate Zane enough to really want to kill you?”

“Fuck yes.” His answer made me flinch, and I was rethinking this forthright version of Colin. Maybe he’d been right all along, and it would’ve been better to be kept in the dark. The truth scared me even more. “The good news is, Zane Lewis makes Warren look like a fluffy kitten.”

“Not sure that’s making me feel better.”

“It should. It means no one is going to let us rot away in here.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you for taking care of me, sunshine.”

“I’m sorry you’re hurt so badly.”

My apology sounded stupid even to me, but I wasn’t sure what to say. The fear from being captured was threatening to take over. I wanted to be the brave, strong person Colin thought I was. I wanted to prove to him he had a reason to be proud of me. But it was hard and getting harder by the second. Seeing him bloodied and broken scared me more than the men outside the door. If they could do that to a big, strong warrior like Colin, I hated to think what they could do to me.

“This is a walk in the park. Trust me, I’ve had worse.”

“That’s really not making me feel any better,” I grouched.

“Lean down here and give me a kiss.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Kiss me!”

“Okay.”

I leaned down and, as gently as I could, placed a soft peck on his cut lips. I didn’t care I could taste blood, I needed the connection. His love was the only thing that was going to get me through this.

“You taste like sunshine and a fresh summer breeze.”

“Is that why you call me sunshine?”

I could never figure out the silly nickname but never wanted to ask.

“No. I call you that because you’re the sun in my otherwise dark life.”

Now was not the place, but when we got out of there, I was going to ask why he thought his life was so dark. I didn’t think it was. He was a good man with a big heart.

“What happens now?”

“We wait.”

“Okay.”

Waiting was the last thing I wanted to do but it seemed we had no choice.

The door banged against the drywall as it flew open, and I jerked awake. I couldn’t believe I’d fallen asleep.

“Time’s up, princess. Let’s see if daddy signed the papers.”

“Time’s up? It’s been twenty-four hours?”

Colin twitched his arm, reminding me to be quiet.

“Nope. I knew it would only take a few hours. He won’t hand the documents off to the courier until he sees your precious face one more time. Up you go.”

Shit! I didn’t want to go anywhere without Colin but I didn’t want to draw attention to him.

“All right.” I stood on wobbly legs and tried to get my bearings.

“You, too, asshole. This is gonna be fun.”

Colin groaned but made no attempt to move. He was hurt but he’d been able to talk just fine before I’d fallen asleep.

“Get him up,” the man I believed was Warren said to the two men behind him.

Yes, this had to be Warren. He not so nicely grabbed me by my bicep and tightened his grip until I came up on my toes. “You’re going to be a good girl, right? Sit in front of the camera and smile big for daddy. I’m warning you, one wrong word and Colin will watch you bleed.”

“Yes. I’ll be quiet.” Those were the words I’d spoken, but in my mind I was telling him to screw off and die a slow, painful death. The spineless bastard still hadn’t taken his black mask off.

The two men hauled Colin to his feet. They’d unchained him from the wall, but he was still cuffed. Now that we were in the brightly lit room with the computer and chair again, I could see the bruising on Colin’s face. I pinched my lips together and did my best to stop the tears from falling. He was right, if they knew how much I loved him, they’d go harder on him. I had to stay quiet, for him.

I wasn’t tied to the chair this time. Warren simply shoved me down to sit and opened the laptop. I looked over my shoulder in time to see Colin’s hands being chained above his head. His eyes were mostly closed, and he was being extremely compliant. Was it possible he was hurt more than I’d thought? I tried to think of different ways I could negotiate Colin’s release, but I’d promised not to give away our secret. Anything I said would only make things worse. I remembered the man holding us had been the director of the CIA, he wasn’t a stupid man. So instead of begging for the man I loved to be spared, I remained silent, sitting and staring at a blank screen like a coward, doing nothing to save myself or Colin. I didn’t know how much more I could take. How much further they could push me before I broke and begged them not to hurt Colin any more than they already had.

“You don’t have to say a word. Just sit here and keep your mouth shut. Once your dad hands the documents off, you’ll be free to go,” Warren told me.

I nodded my false agreement, saying nothing, hating him with all my being, and wishing he’d rot in hell. I’d never thought I was capable of taking a life. But right here, right now, I knew I was. If I had the chance, I’d kill the man in front of me. The disgust I felt for him far outweighed any sense of morality I’d once had. Within the span of a few seconds, I understood how and why Colin did the job he did. How easy it would be to kill a man as vile as Warren and feel no remorse.

Warren stepped away, and another man dressed in all black hit a few keys on the computer. Once the camera was turned on, he stood by my side.

My father’s angry face filled the monitor, and I was taken aback. I’d seen my dad mad before, or I thought I had, but I’d never seen look this angry. I felt like I hadn’t seen him in years instead of weeks. I desperately wanted to tell him how sorry I was for the way I’d acted over the last year. All the arguments we’d gotten into over what I thought was him being overprotective. It seemed he’d had a good reason to worry.

“Where’s the reinstatement?” the man asked from beside me.

My dad held up a slip of paper, the presidential seal easy to see and my father’s scrolling signature at the bottom, but I couldn’t make out what the body of the document said. My father hadn’t taken his eyes off me. They didn’t drift over my shoulder where I knew Colin was chained up. He didn’t look around the room at the two other men dressed in black. He simply gazed at me, his features were hard, and his expression was cold. A look I’d never seen on the man who’d tucked me in at night and read me stories. The gentle dad who’d taught me to ride a bike and hugged me tightly when I fell. I didn’t know the man staring back at me.

“Erin, I want you to get on your knees and pray God forgives me for what I’ve done.”

What? My dad was not a religious man. He believed in a higher power and was spiritual but he’d never requested prayer before.

“Okay, Daddy.” The tears I’d been holding back fell, and I couldn’t help but to speak even though I’d been instructed not to. “I’m so sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. You just do as I say and kneel in prayer.”

“Enough already with the praying bullshit!” the man beside me shouted. “We get it. There’s a stain on your sanctimonious soul. We’ll call you in an hour and tell you where you can retrieve your daughter.”

He slammed the lid on the laptop closed and then picked it up, smashing it on the cement floor. Shards of computer parts scattered across the room. “How long until it’s up and running?” the man asked Warren.

“Everything’s in place. Should be just a matter of minutes once the SAP order reaches the NSA. Angel will be back online immediately.”

“Good. My team will take the girl to the drop and leave you here to take care of your business. We’re even now, Warren, no more favors.”

“Favor? Is that what you call this? I did what your boss was too much of a pansy-assed coward to do. Tom Anderson has two weaknesses. His wife and his pretty little daughter. He was never going to cave with stupid pictures and handwritten threats being sent to him. Do you know how many threats come in daily? Hundreds. No one takes them seriously. There are thousands and thousands of pictures of both Erin and Clarissa Anderson floating around the FBI. Every crazy person with a cell phone takes a picture of one of them and threatens any manner of the most psychotic shit you could imagine. This was no favor. Your boss owes me for this. Me taking out one of Zane’s operatives is a bonus. One less asshole to hunt you down. I’ll be in touch, and I fully expect to be compensated.”

I hoped Colin was conscious and paying attention to what Warren was saying. Maybe there was something valuable in what he said. My mind had spiraled as soon as he’d mentioned there were thousands of threats against me and my mom. No one had told me that. I mean, I knew people threatened politicians and their families, I wasn’t that stupid. But no one explained that people took pictures of me and threatened me every day. Did my mom know? Did my dad? Or was this one of the things his people took care of so he could concentrate on running the country? What the hell?

Warren and the other man continued to bicker back and forth when Colin’s movement caught my eye. He’d reached up and was holding onto the chain holding his arms above his head. I was pretty sure earlier he’d let his hands dangle loosely. His eyes were also opened a little wider, and he was watching the three men in the room carefully. Warren and one man stood next to me, and the third was still by his side.

The room suddenly shook so violently ceiling tiles started to fall. Fight, flight, or freeze. I’d heard the saying before, however, never had I experienced it. I froze in place and watched with fascination as Colin swung his legs and brought them around the man’s neck. With a jerk of his thighs, the man’s neck snapped with an audible crack. The other two men rushed Colin, and I remembered my dad’s plea, get on your knees and pray, suddenly his words made sense. He knew help was here.

I crawled under the table and waited, but when no one immediately came through the door and Colin’s grunts got louder, I couldn’t stay there. I looked on the floor for anything I could use as a weapon. A shard of the laptop’s case was within reach. I picked it up and, without thinking, ran full speed at the man who now had a gun pointed at Colin. The man turned but before he could do anything, I thrust the plastic spike as hard as I could into the side of his neck. He stumbled, and we both fell to the floor. My head smacked the concrete so hard it bounced and we rolled. I needed to get up and get the gun but I couldn’t move I was so dizzy.

With a roar that rivaled the sound of the explosion back at Abe’s cabin, Colin had the chain free from the hook that was holding him hostage and had it wrapped around Warren’s neck.

“I told you I’d kill you, motherfucker!” he yelled.

Warren fought and kicked at Colin, trying to get free, but the chain was too tight around his throat for him to do much.

“See you in hell.”

Colin lurched back, and Warren’s feet came off the floor. With a sickening snap, Warren went limp, and Colin dropped him unceremoniously on the floor. The door slammed open and two loud bangs rang out. I turned to see the man I’d stabbed drop the gun that he’d been pointing in my direction.

With his hands still cuffed and dragging a chain, Colin stalked toward me.

“Clear!” someone yelled from inside the room.

Colin didn’t seem all that worried about the new arrivals, so I remained on the floor, still too dizzy to move, and now with the added ringing in my ears it made standing damn near impossible. He stopped at my side and held his hands out.

“Get these fucking things off me,” Colin growled his orders to one of the men dressed in black.

Black gloved hands worked the lock on Colin’s handcuffs. Once his hands were freed, he knelt next to me and picked me up. Standing didn’t seem to be a problem for him. He lifted me as if he hadn’t received two severe beatings in the last few hours.

He looked down at me, and our eyes locked. “Is it over?”

“Yeah, sunshine, it’s over.”

My body quaked in relief, and I buried my face in his chest and sobbed, too overcome with emotion to say or do anything else. He was alive. We’d both made it.

It was over.