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Geezus , she was already off the rails, and he’d only been with her for five fucking minutes. She’d been nothing but trouble since the second they met, even if they hadn’t spent much time together. But she had bagged a real, solid lead, and he couldn’t fault her for it. In his head, he kept swearing one cold-edged curse after another, and he wished he could get that guy alone and beat the answers out of him.

But that wasn’t how SEALs operated in the Navy, and part of him knew he had to do what it took to find the intel they needed. Still, he was bound by rules, including the Geneva Convention.

“Could you watch this guy for one moment?” Skull asked the guards. “I need a private moment with my partner.” His words didn’t faze her in the slightest. God, she was a piece of work, and not in the way she thought. She stared back at him, and a frisson of something, something that hit places he was trained to ignore raced through him. He was going to stay professional if it killed him. He took charge for a living, and he was damn good at it. Steeling himself, he cleared his throat.

Hummingbird looked at him with a cold, impassive expression. Only her blue eyes betrayed anything, hard and frosty like a frozen winter lake. No five-foot-and-next-to-nothing blonde was going to intimidate him. He grabbed her arm and set off, taking long, sure strides so that she had to double-time it to keep up. Once they were out of earshot of the guards and the man who was still gasping in pain, a real lightweight, he bent down close to her face, his voice low and urgent.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? First off, this guy isn’t going to fit in my car. I only have two seats. And secondly, you’re not allowed to work on US soil. Did you not get that memo? Call your people and get them out here to transport him?—”

She chuckled and scoffed. “I’m not exactly a memo-reading gal. I’m more like a cross between a dominatrix—the boots are to die for—and an executioner without a cool mask. I kick ass and get information, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“What about his rights?” he demanded. As a professional warrior, a steward of the American flag, he and his brothers operated under strict guidelines. They had rigid rules of engagement, and without a clear weapon in hand, he couldn’t engage. If he hurt an unarmed hostage or killed him in custody, it would be assault or murder, a violation of the UCMJ that could lead to court-martial.

“He doesn’t have rights here. He’s not an American citizen, and he just admitted to kidnapping two of our own. One of them is a fed, one of them is your brother. Do I have to sugarcoat this for you?”

“I’m a hardened veteran, and I don’t need sugar coating. As much as I’d love to get answers out of him, he’s protected by law, regardless of his status.”

“You have to play by those rules. I don’t. I live and work in the dark realm, and the people who lurk there don’t play nice. I strive to be the most dangerous badass I can be. Nobody fucks with people like that. I always let an asset know I’m their best friend unless they fuck with me, then I become worse than their worst nightmare. All over the globe there are places with no moral absolutes. You know that, don’t you? That’s all they understand, and like you and your team, I don’t go on missions to fail.”

“And if you get caught, how is that going to help Hazard and Leigh?” he pressed.

She chuckled again. “Get caught?” she said as if those words didn’t compute. “You really don’t know who we are, do you?”

“What does that mean?”

“Cooper, we’re ghosts, elusive and invisible like shadows in the night. It’s where we engage our enemies, and all our actions are our business. The agency has given us carte blanche, complete anonymity, and free rein. If I want to disappear this guy, no one will bat an eye, and I’ll sleep just fine at night.”

“What exactly are you going to do with him?”

“You don’t need to worry your pretty head about that. Not you, not Anna, not Iceman, and definitely not your team.” Her voice dropped to a soft, cold tone that brooked no argument. “You have your rules of engagement. I understand you’re Navy, military, bound by orders and rules. That was hammered into you through brutal, intense training. That’s where we differ.”

“You have no oversight?”

“I wouldn’t say that. We have Shadowreapers who hunt rogue Shadowguard, but what I’m about to do here won’t ring their alarm bells.”

Silence fell between them, a tension so thick he could practically taste it. Shadowreapers? He’d never even heard about this. He knew it was going to be one hell of a long day, one long, black-ops style mission day. Behind that petite, powerhouse blonde lay a dangerous operator with no holds barred. It took one to know one, he thought, as he reminded himself that he was bound by the Navy’s rules while she was free to follow her own dark agenda. There was something both courageous and noble about that.

Yet he had to wonder where the core woman was inside her, and who, if anyone, was there for her besides her Shadowguard partner. His heart squeezed tight at the thought of her facing the darkness alone. Even though he had his brothers, he knew she might carry a loneliness he understood all too well. He would never admit it out loud, and she probably wouldn’t either.

Skull followed her as she marched the guy they had just taken down, posing as a federal agent, no less, out of the small airport and toward his Boxster. She talked a mile a minute on her cell. He stopped a few feet away and folded his arms, curious to see what she would do with her limited options. He certainly couldn’t drive with her in his lap.

“Open the trunk,” she ordered as they neared his two-seater.

He was struck dumb. This was serious black-ops territory if she planned to shove this guy into his postage-stamp-sized trunk. He let out a slow breath. She might be a ghost, but he was not. The man was bleeding, and soon his DNA would cover his car’s trunk. He’d be screwed—if that wasn’t enough, he’d be taking an Uber.

“I can see those rule-follower wheels turning. Don’t worry about your car. I’ll take care of it.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” His jaw tightened as her words set off a bad, edgy feeling he hated.

“We don’t have time to argue. This is happening. Either open the trunk or get me another ride.”

Anger coiled in his chest. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

She turned, her eyes cool and resistant, every line of her body saying she wasn’t backing down. The cold look returned, and he knew she could deliver a heart-stopping dose of big, bad danger at a moment’s notice. “We’ll talk about that later,” she said flatly, the edge in her voice as sharp as a knife. “Open the damn trunk.”

He pressed his key fob, watching her carefully. She wasn’t bluffing. She would get an Uber if she had to. She pushed the man, who suddenly started resisting. Skull understood why. He began to struggle, but she pressed a spot on his neck, and he went white, his chest heaving as his resistance faded. “Channel a sardine,” she ordered. He grunted and groaned as she shoved him into the small enclosure, stuffing him in so that his knees ended just below his chin, and slammed the trunk shut.

She leaned over, her voice low. “The tip of the spear and the velvet fist of the shadow world.” Her hand brushed his jaw with a quick, electric swipe. “You fit into both.” Her touch was light but sparked something deep inside him. “I’m a back-alley fighter warring against any force that threatens us. Sometimes I work solo, and sometimes our own sense of right and wrong gets undermined by the need to stop enemies who have no scruples.”

“I get it.” And he did. People might be outraged by what the CIA did abroad to preserve their society, but they weren’t in the trenches. They didn’t see the threats, the breathtaking possibility of annihilation, or the need for vengeance, retribution, and desperate acts of violence. There was nothing else to do.

“It’s all about perception,” Skull said. “I think your agency is one of the least understood and most mistrusted organizations. The reality on the ground, both outside the wire and in our own country, is a persistent threat that must be met with force to keep us safe. Those of you who shoulder this responsibility are resourceful, intelligent, capable, and care deeply for our country. You know the stakes. You know that if any of us miss one crucial piece of the intel puzzle, everyone is at risk for a terrible tragedy.”

Her mouth opened slightly, as if in shock that he would say that. She blinked, the surprise on her face melting into something that looked a whole lot like respect. She looked away for a moment, but he caught a flicker, a purely feminine reaction, and for a brief second, he wished he had kept quiet. He convinced himself he was just trying to figure her out. In some ways, he realized he was earning her trust whether he wanted to or not, and he wasn’t sure if that would come back to bite him.

She met his eyes again. “Wow, you sure do get it. I shouldn’t have been dismissive of SEALs in general. You are much more than the tip of the spear.”

Her compliment sent a jolt through him, urging him to do something, anything, about it. The sexual tension between them fogged his mind, even as he reminded himself that they were on a mission. He had enough to handle with the task at hand and the torrent of emotions swirling inside him. They had a job to do, and that had to take priority.

Guilt swept over him, deep, terrible guilt for even thinking about all of this when Hazard and Leigh were out there enduring who knew what.

“I’ll drive,” she announced suddenly. “I know where we’re going.” Before he could protest or even move, she was in the driver’s seat. He realized with a surge of anger that she’d somehow gotten his keys during their exchange. A frisson of rage sizzled through him as the door locks clicked into place. She started the engine and roared out of the parking lot.

But he had to stay focused on what was at stake here. Hazard and Leigh’s lives were on the line. Anger boiled hot in his veins as he forced himself not to lose control. For a brief, weak moment, he thought about Archer and how devastating it would be to lose him, and about how hard Leigh had fought for her life, even battling PTSD without backing down. It tore him up, but he refused to let fear or helplessness in. He had been a rock for his father, and he would be a rock for his teammate and the woman he loved. They were a package deal.

Through sheer guts and brains, Hummingbird had figured out where the van was headed. Unfortunately, they’d been too late to stop the kidnappers from flying Hazard and Leigh out of the country. From what little they got from the wounded prick Hummingbird had already subdued, he suspected she was right. They hadn’t dismantled the Alzate Cartel, they’d just battered and bruised them, and now they were out for blood.

That suited him and his team just fine. The cartel had killed two valuable members, and as the cartel had learned with Angel, payback was a bitch.

He swore softly, feeling like an idiot, hoping she might actually be genuine. And fuck it—he was the one taking an Uber.

Walker felt only a twinge of remorse as she maneuvered Skull’s amazing car to the safe house where she and Eva could have some privacy with the bastard. She had to cut Skull out of the picture. This job was hers, and she would never expose him to their kind of interrogation tactics that might cost him his trident or his freedom.

She parked outside the house, and the moment she got out, men showed up in a truck. She handed them the keys and they drove the Porsche into the truck, climbing inside.

Eva opened the door and smiled. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“That’s good. I do like to keep people on their toes and guessing. I would hate to be boring and predictable.”

Eva nodded and closed the door behind them. The house was empty, and Walker led the man into a bare dining room where a tarp lay over plastic. His face went a bit white beneath his dark skin, especially around his mouth and eyes.

“This can go easy, or it can go hard,” Walker said as she tied his hands and feet to a chair. “Just tell us what we want to know, and you’ll be on your way to a cushy cell and three squares for the rest of your life.” He stared at her with a stony expression. “Okay, I guess it’s the hard way.”

“You will know soon enough what to expect,” he spat.

Ten minutes later, after some unpleasantness, the man still wouldn’t talk. Walker approached him and slid a knife to the waistband of his pants. He froze.

“Information or the family jewels?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and keeping her expression neutral. “Your choice.”

His jaw flexed and his eyes widened. He swore in Spanish. Walker knew that no one could resist torture forever. Everyone broke, some faster than others, some only after more brutality, but in the end, they all did.

She sliced through his belt buckle, and he whimpered. “I’m not going to ask again.”

“Get down!” Eva shouted, jumping on Walker and knocking her to the floor. There was the sound of glass breaking, then a high-velocity round struck their prisoner in the forehead. His head snapped back, and pink mist dissipated in the air. Adrenaline shot through Walker, and before the man’s head could slump forward, she was out the door with Eva close behind. They raced through alleys and streets as if on rocket fuel, marking the spot where the sniper had fired. They reached the house just as the man scrambled out a window.

Walker bore down on him and he turned to fire, but his aim was off because he was running and twisting. Her aim remained true, his ejected bullet whizzing by her, a sting on her arm that she ignored. Her round hit him in the back, and he spun before falling into a kiddie pool, displacing a big purple inflatable dinosaur.

She was pissed she hadn’t gotten the information she needed, and Hazard and Leigh’s location was still unknown. But these two bozos were not going to stop her from getting to them. It was a setback. That was all.

When Skull got home, his Porsche sat in the driveway and the keys lay in the mailbox. When he opened the trunk, the lining was as pristine as the day he bought the car. She knew where he lived—of course she did. Fucking CIA.

Still pissed about the way Hummingbird had ditched him, he closed the trunk just as his cell chimed. He was being called in.

At base, as he entered the ready room, everyone looked edgy and dangerous. It was a good thing the man they captured at the airport was with Hummingbird.

Everything got real when Anna cleared her throat, both she and Iceman looking grim. What had happened?

“Hummingbird captured a guy responsible for taking Hazard and Leigh. He wouldn’t give us any specifics about their whereabouts, but he said we will know soon enough what to expect.” She looked at him and at Hummingbird. Skull noted that Hummingbird had a bandage on her arm, and he stiffened. She’d been injured, and he didn’t like that one bit. What the hell had happened? “Good job, you two. Unfortunately, the guy was killed by a sniper, and we’re still in the dark.” Anna looked terrible, guilt and remorse written all over her face. Skull gritted his teeth, rage burning at this dead end.

Anna’s cell phone rang, and she picked it up from the table. She frowned and connected the call. “Hello?” Her face hardened and she scowled. “Who is this?”

She pressed a button and set the phone down. A female voice with an accent spoke, “You will know soon enough who I am, and I suggest you listen very carefully to what I have to say.”

“We are listening. What do you want?” Anna snapped.

“You have taken too much from me. You got involved in something that was none of your business. My father died in your prison. It is your fault. I hold all of you accountable.”

“Who is your father?”

“Ignacio “Nacho” Siachoque.”

A pin could have dropped in the room as Anna’s jaw hardened. Her voice was strained. “He committed crimes against the United States. It was within our authority to consider him an enemy of the state.”

“Maybe, but I am within my rights to hold the government and special forces responsible. And now you have my husband under the death penalty, and I cannot tolerate that. You will return him to me. You have seven days to deliver him. If you don’t, there will be no need to find your people as I am sure you’re planning to do. We will leave their dead bodies on the outskirts of Bogotá.”

Skull’s gut clenched at the captor’s dispassionate words. Anna’s face contorted in outrage and concern, mirroring every face in the room except Iceman’s, who remained cool and calculating. He was already planning his next move. Whoever this woman was, she was going to regret taking their people. Regret it terribly.

Anna’s voice was terse. “We want proof of life.”

“The man is unconscious, but the woman can talk. I know because she’s had plenty to say.” There was weariness in the voice. “Speak, woman.”

“It’s US Attorney Leigh Waterford to you.” Leigh’s no-nonsense tone cut through the tension. If there was anyone who did talking well, it was Leigh. Hazard never stood a chance against her, and it hurt Skull’s heart that their buddy was down for the count, injured, possibly in grave condition, and that bitch wasn’t doing a thing to help him.

A slap echoed somewhere. “Speak to your colleagues.”

“Anna, I don’t know what you can do for us, but Hazard is…he’s bad off.” Anxiety laced her words. “He needs medical attention, but they refuse. I’m not sure what’s going to happen if you don’t?—”

The anxiety in Skull’s gut intensified at the sheer desperation in Leigh’s plea, a voice soaked with her love for Hazard. The woman cut her off and came back on the line. “There is your proof. You know what we want, and you have your deadline. You’ll have no one to blame if the man dies before your time is up. That I don’t care about, but they will surely be dead within seven days.”

Anna’s expression set. She leaned her hands on the table, her voice unyielding. “Who is this?”

“Lucia “Pincho” Siachoque Alzate, the true leader of both cartels. Return my husband or suffer the consequences.” The line went dead.

A cold sensation spread through Skull’s middle as his insides knotted hard. He wanted to charge in and save them from the hell they were about to endure until they either found them or their suffering ended. Shutting down his emotions, he mentally listed everything he had to do before that C-130 lifted off.

The room fell quiet. Pain, concern, and determination filled every face. A woman leaned over to Anna and whispered something. Anna nodded, the pale skin around her mouth and eyes revealing her strain, but her determination shone through. “Put him up on the screen and ask the two agents to wait.”

The screen flickered on. Anna smiled as she said, “Lieutenant Jackman, thank you for responding to my inquiry.”

Anna had an idea of who was on the other end of the line. Hummingbird had spotted that angel tattoo. Just as the guy on the screen nodded, Hummingbird’s partner, Strekoza, walked in with grim determination. She nodded at Anna and pressed her back against the wall.

Skull noticed a blood stain on her collar, though her hands looked clean. He remembered that blow to the head. The woman was lethal with that blackjack. He wondered if their captive had met the same instrument.

Strekoza turned to the screen. “This is Lieutenant Elias ‘Joker’ Jackman from Alpha. His team took down Nacho and his Sombre gang in Costa Rica.” She then faced the screen again. “Could you give us the information on that operation?”

Jackman nodded. “I will defer to one of my team members. I was injured during the mission to capture Nacho.” A tall, dark, imposing man stepped into the frame. “This is Sam “Buck” Buckard.”

Buck nodded and drawled in a thick Midwestern accent, “Howdy. We got intel that Nacho was holed up in Nicaragua, close to the Costa Rican border. It turned out to be a dry hole. He escaped somewhere between reports of our target’s whereabouts and our landing. With so much money changing hands, we couldn’t be sure who to trust.” He leaned back and rubbed his ribs. “We got shot down and, long story short, ended up on a coffee plantation called the Good Earth, where the DEA rescued us. The family there saved Joker’s life. Later, that same family was implicated in a sting to find out who sold us out. We discovered that the gang supporting Nacho—the Sombre—had a man inside the plantation pulling the strings. Their gang leader ended up kidnapping two of the owner’s daughters. Sombre flew them to the coast right where Nacho was holed up. We tracked the youngest daughter’s smart watch to that location and nailed Nacho. He was taken into custody.” Jackman handed over a file to Buck who opened it. “According to the official record, he was tried, convicted, and sent to Pelican Bay State Prison—a supermax on California’s North Coast where the big baddies go. He pushed his luck and got shanked by a rival cartel three months into his term.” Buck took a deep breath. “We’re gutted to hear about your people in the hands of Nacho’s daughter. We had no idea he even had a kid. Let us know if there’s anything we can do.”

“Thank you,” Anna replied. “We will.”

The screen went blank for a moment, then flashed back on with a man and a woman seated at a conference table. Skull recognized NCIS Special Agent in Charge Kai Talbot and CGIS Special Agent Davis Nishida.

“Hello, sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances,” Kai said.

“Thanks for making the time. Could you give us information on how you tracked and found Angel Alzate?”

“It was a bloody road that started with the murder of Petty Officer Mayta Mosquera. Her dad mistakenly texted her info about a shipment coming into San Diego. The body count rose from there, including a federal drug task force and even a US senator who was linked to the head of the Los Esmeraldas gang, the armed wing of the Alzate Cartel. After we got that text, Davis and I headed to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where the bloodshed escalated. Local law enforcement, civilians, and DEA agents were murdered in cold blood. If it wasn’t for Hummingbird and Strekoza, we would have been casualties too.” Kai met Hummingbird’s and Strekoza’s eyes before continuing. “The main takeaway is that these people are ruthless and have backup from a local gang. I would narrow down who this gang is and remove the threat, especially their leader. That would be your best bet on intel and a possible lead to Leigh and Hazard. I hope you get to them in time. Our thoughts are with you, and our expertise is at your disposal. Take care.”

“Thank you,” Anna said, her voice tight as the screen went blank once more.

She turned to Iceman and nodded. “Wheels up in thirty. We’re going to get our people back,” Iceman declared firmly.

Low murmurs of conversation filled the room as Skull pushed back his chair and rose. They filed out while Boomer called out, “You teamed up with our little birdy and left us totally out of the action. Not very brotherly.”

“Things moved fast,” Skull said, glancing at Hummingbird as she joined Strekoza and headed for the exit.

“I bet they did,” Kodiak remarked. “You sweet on those ass-kicking, blackjack-wielding spooks?”

“The blonde most likely,” Preacher said. “I see the way she looks at our Lord of the Underworld.”

GQ looked grim and preoccupied. “With Hazard and Leigh out there, I think we have better things to do than comment on your love life.”

“I don’t have a love life.”

“Hmmm, that may be about to change,” Breakneck said sagely.

Skull gritted his teeth and stalked through his agitated team toward the door, eager to escape their speculations, especially Breakneck’s knowing expression. That guy was usually spot on, and it didn’t bode well for Skull’s resolve to steer clear of any intimacy with that enticing little glitzy, many-faced, ass-kicking, sarcastic spook.