“That’s bullshit,” Cody hissed into the phone. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure he was still alone. He’d awakened an hour ago, feeling more relaxed than he had in a long time. The remnants of the dream had completely faded, and Miranda had been sprawled beside him on her belly, her arm flung over the pillow. He’d wanted to wake her and do a repeat of last night, but the truth was that he wasn’t sure she’d agree.

She’d said she knew what she was doing. That she wasn’t going to regret the fact they’d fucked when they barely knew each other. In his experience, very few women were wired for one-night stands. They got emotional even when they said they wouldn’t.

Instead of waking her, he’d let her sleep and gone outside on the porch to enjoy the early-morning desert air after he’d made a cup of coffee in the Keurig. It had been pretty enjoyable until Viking called him a few minutes ago.

“Sorry, Cowboy,” Viking said. “But you have to bring her in. She’s not operating on a sanctioned mission. She has a personal beef with Victor Conti—she was going to kill him, not infiltrate his organization.”

Cody’s stomach churned with anger and denial. “She could have killed him at any point—why try to worm her way into his operations to do it? It doesn’t make sense.”

Except that she’d carried a gun to her meeting with Conti when she wouldn’t carry a phone. A suicide mission? Miranda didn’t strike him as suicidal.

Viking blew out a breath. “I know that—but it’s not our call. Mendez has been on the phone with high-level contacts half the damn night. She’s wanted, Cody. The evidence against her is pretty strong.”

“What about this Badger guy? He knows something. What’s he saying?”

“We don’t know his identity for security reasons—but what he’s saying through our contacts is that she’s a good agent. He also says she’s been different since her mentor, this Mark Reed guy, was killed a few months ago.”

“I don’t like any of this. We said we’d help her.”

“And we will. It’s all any of us wants. Bring her in and she’ll get the help she needs. Samantha Spencer promised to look after her and keep us informed.”

His gut was churning harder now. Samantha Spencer was a CIA agent that HOT worked with quite a bit, and she’d always been completely trustworthy. Hell, she was rumored to be hooking up with the skipper. And Mendez was certainly no fool.

So was Miranda lying? Was she obsessed with Conti? It was possible, sure. And yet Cody didn’t see it that way. If she’d wanted to kill Conti, she could have shot him in the lobby of the Venetian. Yeah, she might have been caught—but if she was truly crazy and hell-bent on revenge, she wouldn’t have cared. It was also possible, being a highly trained operative, that she could have gotten away if she’d timed everything just right.

There was also the fact she hadn’t shot him yet. If all she’d wanted was to kill Conti, she wouldn’t have let anything stand in her way. She’d have taken Cody down the first chance she had and then doubled back to her target.

No, there were smarter ways to go about eliminating a high-value target like Conti. And Miranda wasn’t stupid. If that had been her goal, she’d have gotten the job done.

“Cowboy?” Viking said when Cody stayed silent.

“When and where?” he asked from behind gritted teeth. Because he couldn’t disobey a direct order. It would be treason to do so. How the fuck was he going to get out of this?

“Tonight. Ms. Spencer is flying into Vegas. Take Miss Lockwood to the airport, and Ms. Spencer will take it from there.”

“Jesus H. Christ,” Cody said. “I don’t like this, Viking. It’s not right.”

“If she was HOT, would you stop Mendez from doing what needed done?”

His temples throbbed with a fresh headache. If Miranda was in the military and a member of HOT, no, he wouldn’t stop Mendez from taking care of business. But he knew Mendez. Trusted him. He didn’t know Samantha Spencer very well, and he damn sure didn’t know the CIA brass who wanted Miranda to turn herself in. All he knew was that Miranda didn’t want to go. That she was convinced she’d end up dead if she did.

But maybe that was an act—or maybe she really was in need of help. Christ, what a mess.

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Same thing, man. The spooks have their own chain of command just like we do.”

He blew out a harsh breath. Golden sunlight spilled over the sand and scrub, making everything seem beautiful and new. Hid the ugliness and unfairness of what he had to do to the woman still sleeping in the bed they’d shared last night. Damn it, he wanted more time with her.

But he wasn’t going to get it.

“Yeah, all right. What the fuck am I supposed to tell her?”

“Tell her we’re helping her solve her problem.”

* * *

A buzzing noise sounded near her head. Miranda swatted at it, thinking it was a fly or a mosquito—and then she came fully awake when she realized what it really was. The burner phone sat on the bedside table. Ringing.

It shouldn’t be ringing. She’d blocked the number before she called Badger. She snatched it up, considering whether or not she should answer. But curiosity overwhelmed her, and she pressed the button.

“Miranda?” a female voice said. “Are you there?”

“Who wants to know?” She didn’t recognize the voice, but clearly the woman knew who she was. And knew the number to call.

“It’s Samantha Spencer.”

She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it for a moment. “How do I know that’s true?”

She knew who Samantha Spencer was. She’d been on the Middle East bureau for quite some time, and she was legendary. Then she’d left and presumably returned to Washington. Miranda didn’t know that for certain because she wasn’t acquainted with Samantha. Mark had known her though.

“I was a friend of Mark Reed’s,” she said, almost as if reading the direction of Miranda’s thoughts. “We worked together several years ago.”

“If you were his friend, then tell me his childhood nickname. The one he hated.”

“What makes you think we were that close?”

“If you don’t know it, I’m hanging up.”

There was a sigh on the other end. “Really, darling, you shouldn’t go off half-cocked all the time. That’s what gets good operatives in trouble. And his nickname was Bubba. Which, yes, he despised. His sister told me at a party once.”

Miranda closed her eyes. “What do you want, Ms. Spencer?”

“Call me Sam. Right now that handsome SEAL you’re with is being told to bring you in. He’s not going to want to do it—but he will in the end.”

There was a sharp pain right behind her eyes at that news. Yes, they’d had one hot night together—but they still had jobs to do. Cody wasn’t going to risk his career for her—just like she wouldn’t risk hers for him if the situation were reversed. A prickle of doubt slid down her spine, but she shook it off.

No, of course she wouldn’t risk her career for him. She didn’t even know him. Not really.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I need you to understand what I’m about to ask of you.”

“If you intend to ask me to harm Cody, I’m not going to do it.”

Sam laughed. “Hardly, my dear. It would be a waste not only of a sexy man but of a damned fine Special Operator as well. There aren’t enough of them to toss away so casually.”

Miranda felt herself grinding her teeth. “Then what?”

“I need you to betray him before he betrays you.”

The pain behind her eyes intensified. “And what do you mean by that?”

“I mean that if you want to live, if you want to get out of this mess you’ve gotten yourself into, then you need to do exactly what I tell you to do. No matter how difficult. Understood?”

Miranda’s chest ached. For what? For a man she’d known only a few hours? A man she’d had fantastic sex with, sure, but what more was there between them? Nothing, that’s what. They were strangers, nothing more. No matter how he’d held her close when she’d been upset over the way her life had imploded. He’d been nothing but kind. Helpful. Loyal.

And yet this was her life. Her career. She couldn’t go down without a fight. She had to get the evidence to bring down Conti’s organization. It was justice for Mark’s life and his sacrifice.

“It’s not only you in this mess,” Sam said, as if sensing her inner turmoil. “You’ve dragged Cody into it. He could be in danger too if you don’t follow my instructions.”

She thought of the man who’d touched her so sweetly last night, and determination filled her. No way could she let him be in danger because of her. “Tell me what you want me to do.”