YVONNE WASN'T FAMILIAR WITH the structure of the secure server. It was slow going, but so far she'd known all of her brother's security questions at every checkpoint. It was nice to know that he didn't have blind access to everything after a single log-in. She was disappointed that there was a way around the two-step authentication process. Then again, being able to get through that with an answer about ice cream was potentially saving their lives.Their.Plural.Her and the baby.It was crazy how fast her thinking was changing. Like she'd been absorbed into a team or something."How much longer?" the group's leader demanded. His patience was beginning to wear thin."I'm getting closer. Want to watch?" She glanced up at him standing in the doorway."No." He turned and stalked out of sight.She kept at it.The codes would be stored deep in their system under layers of security. She knew they changed, but not how often. With any luck, the security system had alerted The

Saturday. The Madison, Washington, DC.SAMUEL WAS GOING TO pull this off.He checked his reflection in the mirror, ensuring the stack of towels concealed his gun.The men already upstairs had confirmed that there were only two cops on the floor where the family was staying.This would work."Everyone is in position," Karuki said."On the move," Samuel whispered and headed out of the staff area and toward the service elevator.The remaining team echoed Samuel's comment.In five minutes they'd all converged on the all. Two wrangled a maid trolley. One had a luggage cart.The two cops sat outside the suite, looking at their phones.Too easy."Now," Samuel whispered.He dropped the towels and lifted the gun.Two shots rang out from behind him, the bullets hitting their targets. Both cops toppled over. The silencers made the shots quieter, but there was no mistaking the sound to the trained ear.Samuel reached the suite door, knelt and pulled a keycard from th

Saturday. Private Recovery Facility, Bethesda, MD.NOLAN MET GRANT AND the others in the lobby of the recovery facility. He'd practically walked a hold in the carpet runner, his mind ping-ponging from the paused conversation he'd been having with Yvonne to the disappearance of her family."Do we know where they are?" Nolan asked.His gaze skipped over the guys.Melody was missing. She'd been left with the family. He had no doubt that it was Samuel Ito come calling to protect himself. He'd hit at the perfect moment, too."No. Zain and Gavin are on it. The FBI want answers." Grant stopped toe-to-toe with Nolan. "We need to know what's really going on here. No more lies."Yvonne knew, but she was still fragile."Come on." Nolan turned and strode toward the elevators."How is she?""How do you think?"They filed into the elevator. Nolan used their code to gain access to the floor. The nurses on duty gave him the stink eye, but they'd been doing that since Yvonne had

Sunday. Private Recovery Facility, Bethesda, MD.THE ACHES AND PAINS had set in. Yvonne's head hurt. The night nurse had encouraged her to take some pain pills. Yvonne had declined. It was already too hard to stay awake.She turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on her face. The icy needles shocked her awake again. She straightened and looked herself over in the mirror.Boy, she was a sight.The lump on her head was going down, thanks to whatever miracle cream the nurses had given her. There wasn't anything that could be done about the bruising. It looked far worse than it felt. The electrical burns on the other hand hurt far worse. But she would heal. The physical hurts always did.It was the ones she couldn't see that worried her.Nolan hadn't called her back. There was no word except for a short phone call from Dad. She had no idea what happened where they all were. With the early morning hours creeping onward, they were probably sleeping.Yvonne turned the l

Three Months Later. Krieger Inc Company Garden Party, Los Angeles, CA.YVONNE ADJUSTED THE FLOWING shawl she'd draped around her torso and glanced around the entry to the party. Her baby bump was only noticeable because she'd dressed to show it off. Today was, after all, Baby Day.The calendar she kept on her desk at work had a secret code countdown to this weekend. By some magic, she'd found the perfect candidate to replace her. The woman was a whiz, handled Theodore like a champ and didn't back down. For the last month Yvonne had mostly been warming a seat, doing a pittance amount of work, while wanting to be anywhere else.Her mind was made up, and she had no reservations about today.A warm hand came to rest on the small of her back. She glanced up at Nolan and smiled. He and Vaughn had flown in at three that morning straight from a job he still wasn't ready to talk about just to be with her."Okay." Tabby strode through the doorway leading to rooms closed off for toda