Page 97 of Lessons in Power

“Execution,” came the correction. “They don’t just want the dove dead. They want it sudden and public, and they want the blood on my hands.”

Priya had been ordered to give herself up, to deliver Daniela, to deliver me. She’d known that, in all likelihood, she would be surrendering her life.

“When we make it back to Hardwicke,” I said, trying to process the reality of the situation. “When we go in …”

“I’m to make an example of her.”

“With the FBI and SWAT team watching?”

Daniela gave a slight nod.

“Won’t they shoot you?” I asked.

Daniela looked at me with an expression somewhere between detachment and pity.

That was when I realized: “They won’t shoot you if you have me.”

I could see how this would have played out, if Daniela hadn’t told me the meaning behind the message. I’d have been prepared for an attack, but I wouldn’t have expected it to come from her.

Neither would Priya, I thought.

The dove has always wanted to fly to Madrid.

“Why tell me this?” I asked the woman Walker Nolan had loved, the terrorist operative he’d never really known.

“You told me your truth,” Daniela Nicolae replied. “You wanted my trust. You claim that we are family, of sorts.” Shelet that sentiment hang in the air a moment longer than the ones that had come before. “My people, the organization I work for—they have been my family. I was taught, from the cradle, to protect that family.” She laid a hand on her stomach. “I would have died for our cause. But I will not allow my daughter to do the same.”

There was a noise in the hallway—footsteps, then a shout.

“Do you have a plan?” I asked Daniela.

She smiled again, that same subtle, chilling smile. “Do you?”

CHAPTER 60

Two minutes later, the door to the cell opened.

Priya stepped in and shut the door behind her. “We’ve got company,” she said. “Tess, you and I need to get out of here. Now.”

“What kind of company?” I asked.

Priya grabbed my arm, and as she pulled me out of the cell, she met Daniela’s eyes. “You stay here.”

I’d known that it wasn’t my job, or Priya’s, to get Daniela out. But after the past fifteen minutes—and especially the last two—my gut rebelled against the idea of leaving Daniela behind andhopingthings went according to plan.

We need Daniela. Without her, we don’t stand a chance.

“Stay behind me,” Priya said softly, as she guided me down the corridor. “And do exactly as I say.”

The two guards who’d been there when we arrived were still just outside the door, but they’d been joined by a third—and all three were slumped on the floor. Unconscious.

What happened?I bit back the words, suddenly sure that I didn’t want to risk making any unnecessary noise.

Priya caught the look on my face as she glanced back over her shoulder at the men. The look onherface clearly said,Don’t ask.

We rounded the corner, walking at a brisk pace. We continue at that pace until a group of men turned the corner at the end of the hall, walking toward us.

Not good.