I POUNDED up the stairs three at a time, too frantic to wait for the elevator.

Carrie had warned me, just before I went undercover, about forgetting who I was. And the whole time I’d been in the mansion, I’d been worried she was right: was I forgetting I was Hailey? Was I turning into Christina?

But I’d had it wrong. That whole time, I’d been me. It didn’t matter what I was called or what I looked like. The person who’d fallen for Konstantin had been me. And it had been me he’d fallen for. And the one time I’d gone against who I was, the one time I’d ignored my gut and tried to be a hard-nosed FBI agent, was when I’d arrested him.

I’d betrayed the man I loved and now he was going to jail for the rest of his life for something he didn’t do.

No he isn’t. Not if I have anything to do with it.

I burst out of the stairwell and sprinted along the hallway. Found the correct room and threw open the door without knocking. Calahan was at a desk, being debriefed by two other agents. All three of them looked at me.

“I need you!” I blurted, my voice raw and shaking.

The other two agents scowled at being interrupted. “It’ll have to wait,” said one. “We’re in the middle of a—” He was cut short by Calahan pushing back his chair. “Agent Calahan, you can’t just—” Calahan got up. “Goddamn it, Calahan, don’t you dare—”

Calahan walked out, shutting the door behind him. Then he turned and looked down at me, ready to help. God bless this man. I led him downstairs and out to the garden: It was the only semi-private place in the whole building. A cold wind was whipping across the open space, sending anyone not in a coat hurrying for shelter. But Calahan stood unflinching, one hand on my shoulder. “What is it?”

I took a deep breath. “Konstantin isn’t behind the assassination. Someone’s setting him up.”

It was the last thing he expected to hear. So many emotions crossed his face in just a few seconds. Shock. Then disbelief. Then anger, that Konstantin had fooled me with a lie, and pity for me that I’d believed it.

“Hailey…” he said gently.

“No! Listen to me! It’s not him! Someone else is behind it and they’re framing him!”

Calahan shook his head. “Then why doesn’t Konstantin just tell Carrie that?”

“Because she’d never believe him! No one will! Except me.” Calahan gave me a look. “I know how it sounds, but I know him. He wouldn’t just murder someone in cold blood, not even one of his rivals.” The wind blew my hair across my face and I shoved it angrily back. “He’s better than that!”

“Hailey, all the evidence points to him. Hell, you found it! You saw the emails he sent to the assassin. You even delivered the money for him. You saw Grigory getting hold of the gun and heading off to deliver it, all on Konstantin’s orders.”

“That’s just it, it’s too perfect! You really think someone as smart as Konstantin would leave that trail? Emails right there on his own laptop? Really?!”

Calahan crossed his arms and scowled. But one thing about Calahan, he’s a champion for the truth. He doesn’t gloss over something just because it’s inconvenient. “No,” he said at last.

“Someone else organized this whole thing.” I told him. “They played us. We were meant to find this evidence, but we were meant to find it after the assassination had happened.”

He glared. I was getting through to him, but he still wouldn’t buy it. He’d had too many years fighting bad guys to side with one. He was willing me to back down. And a month ago, I would have. But a lot had changed. I’d changed. I crossed my arms and stared right back at him. “He’s done plenty wrong,” I said. “But he didn’t do this.”

Calahan narrowed his eyes, rubbed his stubble..., and finally sighed. “Even if you’re right, what can we do? The assassination’s going to happen in less than two hours! We’ve warned Malakov and Baroni that there’s a possible threat to their lives: that’s all we can do.”

“We need to stop it happening! We need to clear Konstantin’s name! The only way to do that is to find out who’s really behind it and that means….” I hesitated. “We’re going to need Konstantin’s help.”

Calahan’s face fell as he realized what I was suggesting. He grabbed my shoulders. “Are you fucking insane? Helping a prisoner escape: that’s not just your career over, that’s federal prison for the rest of your life!” He shook his head. “You can’t even be sure you’re right. What if he is guilty?”

He glared down at me, determined to make me change my mind. His hands were unconsciously squeezing my shoulders and I could feel that protective need rolling off him in waves, like all he wanted to do was pull me to his chest and wrap his arms around me.

I looked up into his eyes. “Sam,” I said, my voice shaky. “I love him. And I know that means I’m compromised. But it also means I know him. And he wouldn’t do this.”

He glared. This was about more than just wanting to protect a friend. There was jealousy in his eyes, too. I was asking him to put his career, even his freedom on the line, to help the other man. My stomach knotted. I hated asking him to do it, but there was no other way.

“Please,” I whispered. “I can’t do this without you.”

Calahan scowled and looked away, cursing. I held my breath….

“Fuck it,” said Calahan at last. “Carrie’s been trying to fire me for years. Might as well go out with a bang.” He sighed and met my eyes. “What’s the plan?”