“Excuse me, Mrs. Kumar.”

I turned to Casey. There was a look in his eyes that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

“May I have a word with you?” He glanced toward the guards stationed at the door.

“Sure. Leo, Aston, would you mind closing the door?”

They nodded and left me alone with Casey.

The second the click of the lock engaged, Casey spoke. “Before I begin, I am going to say I highly advise you against doing anything rash.”

I frowned. “You do realize that only means you already know how I’m going to react?”

“Yes. I trained you.”

“Not sure what that has to do with anything, but go ahead. What’s going on?”

“Kartik Khan believes he’s located the holding spot for Ms. Kamini.” Casey passed me surveillance images and a map. He pointed to an area about a two hours’ drive north of Karachi, Pakistan. “There has been intense movement along the roads in this area, and locals have mentioned a blond-haired Caucasian woman living in the mountains.”

“That section of the mountains is controlled by Fahad Awan. He’s into arms, not human trafficking.”

“It looks like he’s decided to diversify.” Casey showed me a few more images of Awan moving trucks filled with women and children into the area he controlled. “Kartik’s sources say Awan is looking to unload a special package for the right price.”

“Ameera.”

Casey nodded. “I think our constant surveillance is taxing his resources. Plus, with a third-party interest in the auction, it only means there is a greater risk for him to be discovered.”

“What are you saying?”

“Awan wants to meet with us. He says he’s willing to trade his American package for double what his original buyer was willing to pay.”

“When does Awan want to meet?”

“In two days’ time.”

“Then I guess I’m going to Pakistan.” I pushed my rolling chair back and stood.

“I need to express my concern for you leaving while the president is at the summit. There’s no way to guarantee your safety.”

“Your concern is noted. This is the first solid opportunity to get Ame back. I’ll be damned if I’m going to wait around anymore. Get the plans in motion. We’ll leave in two hours.”

A little before four forty-five in the morning, my flight touched down at a remote landing strip an hour and a half north of Karachi, near the Hub Dam Wildlife Sanctuary. The property we were using as base camp was owned by Kartik Khan, a retired agent who happened to be part of one of the more influential families in Pakistan. His frequent travel schedule made it easy for access to and from his estate without drawing undue attention.

It had been two years since I last stepped foot on this property for my mission to save the American girls and nothing had changed. Sitting alongside the runway were a series of bunkers, and a fortified metal fence stretched for as far as the eye could see.

The area looked deceptively rural and barren but behind the façade was a military compound protected with the latest technology. Kartik liked to say no one could sneeze on his one hundred thousand acres without him knowing about it. He’d grown up looking over his shoulder so it made sense he wanted a safe place to call his own.

I gathered my day backpack, throwing it over my shoulder, and glanced at the two men Casey had assigned as my protection. They were both Solon agents who worked for the Secret Service.

“Is everything ready?” I asked Kartik the second I deplaned.

He handed me a map. “They are holding her here.” He pointed to a bright-yellow-circled section of a small village near his estate. “There is a compound hidden near the cliffed section of the mountains. We believe she’s in there. Awan and a group of his men were spotted leaving the area with their convoy about fifteen minutes before you touched down.”

“How many do they have in the compound?”

“Our best guess is around twenty. He also left his best general behind.”

Awan was known for keeping his top men with him at all times. If he left a general to oversee his territory, that meant he was leaving something very valuable behind.

Ameera.

“Where am I supposed to meet him?”

“I’ve arranged for a meeting at noon today at a café near Frere Hall in Karachi. Your decoy will check into the hotel near there in—” he glanced at his watch, “—exactly two hours and twenty-three minutes.”

“Good. Make sure she doesn’t leave the hotel until right before the meeting. This will give us approximately six hours to maneuver up the mountain, get into the compound, free Ame and get back here.” I motioned for my protection to follow the other agents prepping for the mission and then strode toward the bunker that led to an underground tunnel into the main house of Kartik’s mansion. “I’ll need twenty minutes to freshen up and then we leave.”

Kartik followed after me and said, “You can’t go in. I won’t risk you.”

I stopped and turned a glare at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If anything happened to you, I could never look Ashur in the eyes again. I’ve known him for longer than you have. That man loves you.”

I’d forgotten Ashur and Kartik had met while studying at Harvard. They’d been part of a group of students who’d joined together to create a bitcoin farm. By the time they were in their senior year, all of their group had amassed such a high valuation of bitcoin that they were essentially billionaires. Thankfully they’d gotten out of the market before the bust and bought real estate in exchange for the high dollar value of their bitcoins.

“My relationship with Ashur has nothing to do with getting Ameera back.” I scanned my eye against the bunker entrance and walked through, once it activated.

“It has everything to do with it. I was there the day the air force medevac brought him and Veer back to Germany after they’d gone missing. Ash thought he was going to die, and he didn’t ask for his parents or his sister. He asked for you. He wanted to see you.”

My steps faltered, and I braced my hand on a near wall.

He asked for me.

“Then why didn’t anyone contact me?”

I knew the answer as soon as I asked the question.

“Minesh Kumar,” was all Kartik said.

Minesh had tried to keep Samina from Ashur, so why would he allow me to see him?

My stomach hurt. All those times Ashur had said he’d never stopped wanting me or that he’d waited years to get me back, he wasn’t just saying those things. He’d meant every word.

“I can’t tell you how to handle any assignment, but I can voice my objection. If anything happened to you, it could cause more problems than anyone could ever imagine. No one outside of Solon knows you aren’t in the US. Will you not consider coordinating from the trucks and let your team go in to get Ameera? She’d be the first to tell you not to come in guns blazing.”

“I’ve never stood by while my team was in the line of fire. How can you expect me to watch from the sidelines?”

“You aren’t only valuable to the men and women who you lead. You belong to Ashur and your country. Your loyalty can’t exclusively belong to Solon or your causes.”

I almost denied his admonishment, but then stopped.

He was right.

For so many years, Solon and my law practice were all I had. My identity was tied to my role, to the lives I saved, to the innocent people I defended. My safety was a mild concern compared to those I saved from human trafficking.

Oh God, what had I done? I let my worry about Ameera cloud my judgment and put myself in a position that could not only destroy Ashur personally but also his position as president if it got out.

I glanced at Kartik, who watched me with knowing eyes. As if he’d had to make the same realization I’d just come to.

He gestured to the hallway and then said, “It isn’t easy, but sometimes it’s worth letting others take the lead if it means protecting the ones you love.”

“Is that why you retired?”

Kartik had been one of the top agents in Solon. He was a legend. The countless lives he’d saved was a goal all of us had aspired to reach. Then one day, I was sent a report that Kartik had resigned from active duty status and would only work in a limited capacity of his choosing.

“I had to learn from my mistakes. The exact ones you are making.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you remember when I had my accident?”

“How could I forget? Tyler and I were the ones who found your shot-up car.” I ducked under a low-hanging electrical wire and made my way to the door leading to the main house, but before I pushed it open I waited for Kartik’s answer.

Whatever he had to say wasn’t for anyone but us.

“I loved what I did for Solon. It gave me a purpose, but while I was getting my next fix of adventure—” his face grew grim, “—I lost Tazia, the woman I was going to marry. She couldn’t handle knowing the next time I left could be the last time she saw me. After my accident, she broke our engagement and is now with another man, the mother of his children, and living on the other side of the world.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but he lifted his hand and continued, “Ashur is a good man, and he deserves better from you. Just as Tazia deserved better from me. If you can’t leave Solon, there are other options.”

“It’s not that easy. I can’t be part of Solon and first lady.”

“Yes, it is, but you refuse to see it.”

My fingers closed around the levered handle of the metal door, and I closed my eyes. Could I do both roles?

I shook the thought from my head.

Kartik saw my reaction and shook his head. “Stubborn.”

Pushing open the door, I entered into the kitchen of the house and was bombarded with the scent of simmering food and spices.

It always felt so comfortable here. Kartik had turned this place into a home. A home for all the agents who constantly passed through, with a hot meal and a comfortable bed available at all times. He’d lost the only woman he would ever think of marrying and the consolation was a hodgepodge of men and women from all over the world he cared for as his family.

I’d heard the longing in his voice when he’d mentioned Tazia, and it felt like as if his words were a foreshadowing of my future.

A life without Ashur made my stomach hurt and a wave of nausea bubble up.

“Kar?” I said.

“Yes.”

“I guess it’s too late to go back home?” I knew the answer but asked anyway.

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll do as you suggested. I’ll coordinate from the trucks.”

“I’m glad you came to your senses. I’ll relay the change to the team. You have exactly eighteen minutes to get changed and grab a bite to eat before we make the drive to the monitoring point.”