Someone had just exited the elevator, and she hurried over to stop the doors just before they closed. She stepped inside and reached out to press the button for the tenth floor. Her hands were shaking, and her heart was pounding like a bass drum in her chest, but she was ready.

As ready as she would ever be, anyway.

Ding. Charlotte composed herself before the doors whispered open and stepped out of the elevator.

She pressed the button next to the glass door and waved at Kelly when she looked up from her desk.

Kelly was the executive assistant for one of the other board members. Her desk was on the left side of the room, near her boss’s office. Helene’s was on the opposite side of the room, in front of Pennington’s office.

Charlotte mouthed the words, “I forgot my badge,” and rolled her eyes.

Kelly smiled, held up one finger, then there was an obnoxious buzz .

Charlotte pushed the door open. Act natural.

“Sorry about that. I forgot my badge downstairs.”

“No biggie, I’ve done that many times before,” Kelly said.

“How have you been?” Charlotte strolled over to her desk, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Well, let’s see. I’ve gained fifteen pounds, Billy and his new wife are fighting me for custody of the kids, and this job barely pays enough to cover my attorney’s fees. Other than that, things are great.” She laughed it off like she was joking, but she wasn’t.

Kelly was one of those people who never seemed to be happy.

“I’m here to see Mr. Pennington,” Charlotte said.

Kelly glanced around, then leaned forward.

“There’s something going on with him today.” Another quick check over her shoulder toward his office. “He’s asked me to get ahold of that creepy Kimball guy so many times this morning that I’ve lost count. Mr. Pennington is flipping out that I can’t find him.” She checked again that no one was around. “He got so mad he threw that expensive, fancy pen of his across the room.”

“Why are you dealing with this? Where is Helene?” Charlotte asked, because it would’ve been strange not to.

“I have no idea where she is, and frankly, I’d be fine if she never came back here again.” Rumor had it, Helene had put the moves on Kelly’s ex. “That woman is a nightmare on heels.”

“Why was he looking for Mr. Kimball?” Charlotte whispered, knowing full well why he was desperate to talk to him.

“I have no idea.” Kelly shrugged. “And he’s been out here at least three times asking about you.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “Are you sure you want to go in there?”

No.

“Yes, I need to discuss something important with him.” Charlotte thought about what day it was. “I think today is cookie day down in the third-floor break room. Why don’t you go down there and take a break, and I’ll see if I can figure out what’s going on with him.”

“Cookies? Seriously?” She rolled her chair back away from her desk and stood. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Charlotte gave her a little wave as Kelly stepped into the elevator.

“Ms. Cavanaugh.” Pennington loomed in the doorway like a tall, thin thundercloud just waiting to dump on her.

She was shocked by his appearance.

He was usually neat as a pin, his three-piece suit freshly pressed, his gray hair slicked back, not a strand out of place. Today, his tie was loosened, his vest unbuttoned, and he had definitely been raking his fingers through his hair. And the shadows beneath his eyes were very pronounced.

Charlotte had a sudden thought—if he were to attack her, could she defend herself? In the few seconds it took to close the distance between his office and Kelly’s desk, her mind raced through multiple scenarios. Conclusion? This lecherous old skinbag had never had to fight for anything a day in his life, so yeah, she could hold her own against him.

“After you.” She got to within a few feet of him, swept her arm toward his office, and waited.

No way was Charlotte turning her back on this snake.

He huffed, stomped into his office, and dropped into the big leather chair behind his giant, intricately carved desk.

“Please, have a seat.” He indicated the chair in front of him.

That was the most courteous he’d ever been to her.

Charlotte sat on the front edge of the chair.

“I’ll get right to it.” She didn’t want to be around this guy any longer than absolutely necessary. She couldn’t look at him and not think about the awful things he’d done to children. “As you know, I came across the list.”

“List? What list?” He laced his fingers together on his desk and tried to bluster his way through a denial. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“So that’s how you’re going to do this? What a shame.” She pushed up from the chair. “I guess we’re done here.”

“Wait!” He stood so fast, his chair rolled back and banged into his fancy credenza. A framed picture of his wife teetered and fell over. “Okay, yes, I heard about the list from Mr. Kimball, but he didn’t give me any details what was on it, just that it was damning.”

He reached behind him, grabbed the arms of his chairs to roll it forward, and lowered himself into it.

“I don’t believe you, Ambrose.” She sat back down, enjoying the way his gray brow lifted at her use of his first name. “Last night, your Mr. Kimball and three of his goons tried to kill me, simply because I found that list.”

His prominent Adam’s apple moved up and down on a swallow.

“You don’t seem surprised.” She cocked her head to one side. “Why is that?”

“You can’t possibly think I’m involved in something that terrible.” He placed his hand on his chest with manufactured umbrage.

“ Think you’re involved? Don’t be silly. I know you’re involved.” She was sick of this game, of his denials. “You wanted me dead because you knew what would happen if that list ended up in the hands of someone like, oh, let’s see”— she tapped her chin as if pondering—“Jeffrey Burke, perhaps. You could lose everything. Your family’s fortune, your reputation.” She pointed to the tipped-over picture of his wife. “Your marriage. And let’s not forget about your freedom—you would definitely lose that.”

“Again, I have no idea why my name is on that list. I would never do any of those terrible things to anyone, let alone a child.” He reached out and nervously adjusted the wooden holder where his fancy pen usually rested, unnecessarily straightened a stack of papers. “And I most certainly had no knowledge of a scheme to murder you.”

“If you’ve never seen the list, and Kimball didn’t give you any details, how did you know what kinds of terrible things were being done to children?” She couldn’t believe he walked himself right to the edge of that metaphorical cliff.

“That’s … I …”

One at a time, Charlotte rattled off all of the other names on the list.

“Every single one of you sexually abused and tortured children repeatedly.” She made no effort to hide her utter contempt and disgust. “Children that this organization was tasked with helping.”

“You … you can’t prove anything.” Sweat beaded on his brow, and his hands clenched on his desk.

“You are so wrong, Ambrose.” His days of freedom were numbered. “The authorities took Helene and Kimball into custody last night, after his failed attempt on my life.” Charlotte glanced at the antique clock on his credenza. “By now, they’ve probably picked up Leonard Everett, too.”

At hearing that news, his narrow shoulders slumped.

“Were you even aware it was Helene who put that list together?” She tsked and gave him a pitying look. “And Kimball, well, that guy has been talking up a blue streak all night.”

“I’m going to lose everything.” He propped his elbows on his desk and held his head in his hands.

“The smart thing to do would be to turn yourself in, sooner rather than later.” Charlotte stood. “Because, if you don’t, the media will get wind of this, and boy, would that be embarrassing for you. Am I right?”

She turned and walked toward his door.

“I’m afraid I cannot let you leave.” A drawer slid shut behind her.

Charlotte swung around and Pennington was pointing a shiny silver revolver at her. It reminded her of the kind gamblers in the Wild West would have stuffed up their sleeve.

“Fuck!” Hawk saw the pistol, grabbed the lanyard, and bolted out of Charlotte’s office. He almost plowed into a woman coming out of the break room.

He’d seen her on the button camera.

“You’re Charlotte’s boyfriend, right? She’s awesome, by the way. I work up on the tenth floor, and she’s the one who told me about the cookies down here.” She held up a giant cookie with a bite out of it.

Like all good office gossip, the news of his relationship with Charlotte spread quickly.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me, I was just on my way to the men’s room.”

“Oh, sure.” She took a bite from the cookie and headed over to one of the cubicles.

“Killing me isn’t going to solve anything, Ambrose.” Charlotte’s voice in Hawk’s earpiece had a slight tremble to it.

“Stop calling me that!” The guy was losing it. “You will refer to me as Mr. Pennington!”

Hang on, Sweets, I’m coming.

Hawk left the office, dashed by the elevators, and banged against the metal bar to open the door to the stairwell. His footsteps echoed through the space as he took the stairs two at a time. He stopped at the door on the tenth floor and checked the narrow window before pushing it open and hurrying over to the glass door. He pressed his back against the wall next to it, snuck a peek, and caught a glimpse of Charlotte.

She was turned to the side, her hands up, and she was standing in the doorway of what he assumed was Pennington’s office.

“We’re going to walk to the elevators.” Pennington’s heavy breathing came through Hawk’s earpiece.

Charlotte spun toward Hawk, and her gaze connected with his. She took a few steps, and Pennington appeared in the doorway. He was close behind her, holding a small revolver pointed directly at her.

She started to lower her hands, and Pennington jammed the end of the barrel against her lower back. “Put them back up!”

Hawk stayed out of sight as best he could and still be able to see her.

“Where are you taking me?” She was doing a great job keeping her voice nice and steady.

“Shut up and move!” He slammed his palm between her shoulders and shoved her forward.

Charlotte lost her footing, started falling, and the sound of her head hitting the edge of the desk sent chills throughout Hawk’s entire body.

Son of a bitch!

“Get up.” Pennington bent over and grabbed her elbow to drag her up.

Charlotte remained motionless.

Hawk pulled his Glock from his holster, tapped the badge to the reader, and burst into the space.

“Drop your weapon!” He raised his weapon and sighted-in Pennington’s head.

The guy stood and shakily lifted his gun toward Hawk.

“NO!” Charlotte planted a hand on the side of the cabinet and stood. Blood had begun to ooze from a gash at her hairline. She swayed a bit, started to fall forward, and swung her hand down against Pennington’s wrist. The pistol dropped out of the asshole’s hand, landed on the floor, and slid beneath the desk.

Charlotte collapsed to her hands and knees.

“You bitch.” Pennington made a move toward where she lay on the floor.

“You even twitch another inch in her direction, and I will happily blow you away.” Hawk had closed the space between them and held the gun to Pennington’s head.

He looked down at Charlotte. “Are you okay, Sweets?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She crawled away from Pennington and leaned back against Helene’s desk. “You seriously messed up, Ambrose .”

Down on the ground and lock your fingers together behind your head.” Hawk glanced over at Charlotte. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine.” She reached up but stopped short of touching it.

“Sit tight while I deal with this asshole, then I’ll take a look at that.” Hawk unclipped a cord from the bottom of a phone and yanked the other end from the wall. He squatted down and pressed his knee into Pennington’s back.

“Owww! Get off of me this instant.” Pennington still thought he was in charge.

“Shut the fuck up.” Hawk exerted a bit more pressure with his knee. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you for pointing a gun at her and making her bleed.” He leaned down, close to his ear. “But there’s still time.”

He wrapped the cord around each of Pennington’s wrists, then down around his ankles, and knotted it. He grabbed the box of tissues off the desk, moved over to Charlotte, and squatted down next to her.

She started to reach for her head again, and he stopped her.

“Here, let me.” Hawk popped a bunch of tissues from the box.

Blood had begun to track down her temple and forehead, and he gently wiped it away before it ran into her eyes.

Her face contorted with pain, and she sucked a breath in between her clenched teeth.

“I’m sorry.” He lifted the tissues to look at the cut. “Looks like you might end up needing stitches.”

“Hawk, I’m okay, really.” She was actually comforting him . “And just think, I’ll have a great story to go with my new scar.”

Hawk tilted her away from the cabinet and carefully wrapped her in his arms.

“I’m going to get blood on your shirt.” She tried to pull back.

“I don’t care.” He closed his eyes and held her. That was too fucking close. “Jesus, when I saw that gun—”

“I’m okay. I promise.” She squeezed him, then lifted her head from his shoulder to look him in the eyes. “I know this is probably the absolute worst time to say this, but I’m going to anyway. I love you, Hawk. So much.”

“God, Charlotte, I love you, too.” Hawk gave her a gentle kiss. “I should’ve told you sooner.”

“Me, too,” Charlotte said.

“From now on, I’m going to tell you so often, you’ll get sick of hearing it.” Hawk dabbed the tissues near her wound.

She curved her fingers around the back of his neck. “Trust me, I will never get tired of hearing you say you love me.”

He tossed the wad of bloody tissues into the nearby garbage can.

“Please tell me we got all of that on camera,” she said. “I want to make sure it didn’t cut out when I fell.”

“We got what we needed.” Hawk was not ready to let her go just yet but had to call Cole with an update.

“Wait … you … you’re wearing a … a camera?” Pennington twisted his neck and struggled to look over at them.

“I sure am.” Charlotte tapped her shirt, near the button camera. “And this is going to make for great TV.”

Pennington started quietly crying behind them.

Leonard swallowed the last of his Bloody Mary and stepped out of the shower. He set the glass on the counter, reached for his towel, and started drying himself off.

The hot shower helped reduce the throbbing in his head, and the Bloody Mary helped the rumbling in his gut.

He had his towel on his head and was drying his hair when he thought he heard someone pounding on his front door. He stopped, waited, and the pounding started again.

He wrapped the towel around his waist, raked his hair back from his face with his fingers and walked into his bedroom. He checked the clock on his nightstand.

“That was fast.” Knowing it was Vince there to tell him about last night, he dropped the towel on the floor and grabbed his bathrobe.

The pounding became louder.

“Christ almighty.” He started down the hall, wrestling his damp arms through the sleeves, then pulled the front together and tied the belt in a knot.

“What the fuck, Vince?” He swung the door open and was nose to nose with the business end of two semiautomatic rifles. The men holding them were dressed in black tactical gear and dark glasses, and their faces were covered.

“Leonard Everett, you are under arrest.” One guy forced him to shuffle backward into the house.

The second guy followed them in, and he was so fucking tall, he had to duck to get through the doorway before he slammed it shut behind him.

“What do you mean, I’m under arrest?”

What the hell is going on?

“Your good buddy Vince told us everything.” The first guy spun him to face away from them and zip-tied Leonard’s wrists together.

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” They’re full of shit.

Vince would die before ratting him out.

“Does the name Charlotte Cavanaugh mean anything to you?” The giant dude moved to stand in front of him and lowered his face until it was right in front of Leonard’s. “He told us you sent him out there to kill her last night.”

“Yeah, we gave him the choice between protecting you or his girlfriend, Helene, and he chose her.” The other guy whipped him back around to face him again.

“Nah, no. No way.” He shook his head. “I don’t believe you. You’re lyin’.”

“Tell you what, Everett.” The tall guy wrapped his fingers around Leonard’s elbow and started hauling him toward the door. “We’ll arrange for you to share a cell with him, and you can ask him yourself.”

“Great idea.” His partner opened the front door, grabbed Leonard’s other elbow, and they led him outside.

There was a shitload of cops standing around four cop cars with their lights all flashing. A bunch of his neighbors were gathered at the end of his driveway or in their front yards, watching the spectacle taking place in their neighborhood.

“What the fuck?” Leonard tried to pull back inside, and the two guys tightened their grip to stop him. “Can I at least get some clothes on?”

Neither one of them said another word as they led him down his porch steps and across the front yard. His bare feet got wet as he left footprints in the dew-covered grass. They paraded him down the sidewalk in nothing but his robe, weaving their way through the neighborhood lookie-loos, until they stopped in front of a guy wearing a suit with a gold badge attached to the front of his belt.

“He’s all yours, Detective Westmore,” the tall guy said, then he and his partner released their hold on his arms.

“Thanks.” The detective clamped onto Leonard’s elbow and opened the back door of an unmarked SUV. “Get in.”

Leonard lifted one leg to climb up onto the seat. His robe gaped open, and there was nothing he could do about it. He lifted his other leg in and faced forward while the seat belt was clipped into place across his chest and lap.

If humiliating him was their goal, they’d been successful.

The detective swung the door shut, walked around the back of the car, and climbed in behind the wheel. He started the engine, picked up the radio handset and said something Leonard couldn’t decipher, then they started moving.

Leonard twisted around as far as he could and looked at his house through the caged back window. He stared at it until it, along with all of his big plans, disappeared behind them.