Page 2

CHAPTER 1

Columbus, Ohio

Present day…

Shadow sat in the booth farthest from the door of the hole-in-the-wall diner where she waited. Moving her gaze in a casual yet constant and purposeful swivel, she kept a watchful eye on the diner’s entrance, the other customers inside, and what she could see of the small parking lot through the large window on her left.

The waiting sucked. Hard. Waiting meant she had no choice but to sit alone and think. And right now, especially given where she was and why she was here, granting her mind permission to wander was some sort of next-level type of torture.

She thought about her mother—her whole reason for upending her life to come here. She thought about her father and the note she’d left where he’d be sure to see it. The words she’d written still lingering between her every thought…

Dad,

I found the man who killed Mom. If the guys need help, call Rawlins. He knows I’m leaving town and has agreed to handle things until I get back.

Please don’t try to stop me. You know this is something I have to do. Tell the team to stay safe and I’m sorry.

I love you,

~A

Shadow’s heart squeezed as she thought of the team she’d abandoned to follow her quest for personal vengeance. The four-man team of highly trained, private hostage rescue specialists wasn’t merely a group of voices she spoke to through her state-of-the-art satellite comms system.

Garrett Morgan, Ethan McAllister, Beckett Stone, and Slade Garrison. Those were the names of the members of Tac-Ops. Though to her, they were better known as Falcon, Apollo, Bones, and Digger.

Digger.

A different kind of hold grew tight around her heart, but she pushed it away, refusing to give it even a second’s worth of conscious awareness. Regrets of any kind had no place here. Especially when what she was feeling had nothing to do with her job or this mission.

Why waste time regretting something that never had a snowball’s chance in Hell of ever happening in the first place? Or fantasizing about a man who had no idea who she really was?

Why waste time, indeed?

Just because Digger’s deep voice always seemed to reach her on a level no one else ever had meant diddly squat. So did the fact that, on the rare occasions his picture just happened to pop up on her computer screen, his crazy intense eyes seemed to stare straight into her soul.

Digger or Slade, it didn’t matter which name she used for the sexy beast of a man. The fact was they’d never met and probably never would. And right now, her focus needed to be on her mission and nothing—or no one—else.

Period.

Shadow brushed the distracting thoughts aside just as the door to the diner was pulled open. Her lungs quickly filled with a breath of relief when she realized the man she’d been waiting for had finally arrived.

Tall and muscular, the happily married former Navy SEAL looked even more formidable in person than he did from her computer screen. Having only ever seen him on a few video calls the two had previously shared, she took advantage of the opportunity to study him closely as he casually made his way toward her.

His hair was black with a generous amount of silver strands mixed evenly within. Longer on the top and short on the sides, the salt-and-pepper locks matched the well-trimmed beard covering his chiseled jaw.

Dark, impressive tats lined the length of his arms, the permanently etched artwork adding to the silver fox’s whole stay-the-fuck-away-from-me vibe. Shadow’s focus, however, wasn’t on the muscles or the hair, but rather the set of jade eyes staring back at her.

“Thanks for coming.” She sent Baker Rawlins a flash of a smile as he slid into the empty bench seat across from her.

“Sounded important.” The former Navy SEAL settled himself against the cushion. The burgundy vinyl upholstery creaked beneath his solid form.

“I wouldn’t have called you if it wasn’t.” She held the tech genius’s tense gaze. “You want something to eat or drink? My treat.”

“Nah, I’m good. But thanks.”

A symphony of conversations between the other customers filled the small diner. Shadow not only welcomed the constant humming of noise but counted on it to drown out what she and Baker needed to discuss.

“Listen, Baker…I know we don’t know each other,” she began. “And I get that the whole face-to-face thing isn’t really your jam, but given the reason we’re here, I thought it was better to be safe than sorry.”

“Safe.” He huffed out a sardonic breath. “Darlin’, you and I both know that’s a bullshit word people use so they can sleep at night.”

The man wasn’t wrong. The world was filled with many forms of evil, and monsters were very, very real.

“Either way, I appreciate you agreeing to meet,” she told him sincerely.

“You’re just lucky I was still on the mainland when you called. Though I have to say, it took me by surprise. Given who your boss is and that you work for Tac-Ops, I would have thought they’d be your first line of defense.”

Guilt assaulted her as she once again thought about the team of badass operatives who often risked their lives regularly for people they didn’t even know. And the way they’d gone balls to the wall when it was their soulmates’ lives on the line.

Those were the jobs that stressed her out the most. Those were the missions that were often the most dangerous.

If there was one thing Shadow had learned from serving as the team’s overwatch, it was that the men of Tac-Ops would do anything—risk everything —to protect the women they love. And this last time…

I wasn’t there to help them.

“The team’s had a lot on their plates lately,” she muttered low.

“Ah, yes. The recent rescue involving Bones’ fiancée. That was a close one, for sure. But thankfully, it all worked out in the end.”

Fiancée?

A jolt of hurt sliced through her before she could school her expression. “Bones and Evie are engaged?”

It was well known amongst her and the team that their medic had been bitten hard by the love bug. But thanks to her abrupt departure, Shadow had apparently missed out on the exciting announcement.

“Sorry.” Baker’s brows dipped inward. “I figured you knew.”

She swallowed her guilt, hating that she’d had to choose between the team and finding justice for her mother. “I knew Evie had been rescued…again.” Her lips curve into a brief smile. “I just feel bad that I wasn’t there to offer my support. If anything had happened to a member of the team?—”

“Owens would have sent me to find you long before you reached out.”

Her head dipped in a slow nod, knowing he was probably right. “Thank you, by the way. For stepping into my place to help them when I couldn’t.”

Like her, Baker often worked behind the scenes, using his wicked computer skills to help other special ops teams save the innocent and destroy the enemy. Most recently, he’d put those skills to use aiding Tac-Ops on their mission to save the woman who’d stolen Bones’s heart.

“No thanks needed,” Baker rumbled. “Although, I did tell your boss he owes me one.”

Boss, father…same difference.

“I’m the one who owes you, Baker. Not Owens.” Shadow sipped on the same glass of iced tea she’d been nursing for the past half-hour. “If it wasn’t for your help, the guys?—”

“Would have figured something else out.” He shot her a knowing look.

Sighing, she asked, “When do you go back home to Hawaii?”

“Soon as I leave here.”

Better get to it, girlie.

“I won’t keep you, then.” She leaned in, resting her elbows atop the shiny wooden table. “Were you able to find anything useful?”

He leaned to the side, the vinyl sounding off once again as he reached for something behind his back. When his hand returned, she saw that he’d retrieved a vertically folded manila folder.

“Depends on what you consider useful.” He put it on the table and slid it her way. “But if a smoking gun’s what you’re hoping for, it’s not in there. To be honest, there’s not much of anything in there.”

“You didn’t find anything? ” Shadow frowned as she picked up the envelope and released the thin metal clasp.

Holding it between her midsection and the table’s edge, she lifted the flap and reached inside. She pulled out the thinner-than-expected stack of documents.

“The guy’s clean, Shadow. As in, his ass probably squeaks when he walks.”

“That’s impossible. No one is that clean.” She quickly scanned what she could of the first few pages, being careful not to expose the intel to anyone other than herself. “Especially a politician.”

But even as those last muttered words fell softly from her lips, her heart sank, and her stomach grew heavy with a fresh dose of disappointment and dread. From what she could see of the intel Baker had brought her, he was right.

There’s nothing here.

“What about his financials?” she asked as she continued to skim through the pages.

“Everything seems to be in order. The guy even pays his taxes early. Every. Fucking. Year. I’m tellin’ you, Shadow…” Baker’s expression was serious. “ If something’s there that we aren’t seeing, whoever hid it is as good as either one of us.”

“You’re wrong.” The ends of her long, blonde ponytail brushed against her lower back with a confident shake of her head. “Whoever covered the bastard’s tracks is better than us.”

Which meant this was going to be even harder than she thought. Shadow was admittedly one of the best hackers in the country. Baker was even better than her. But the person who’d managed to cover her target’s tracks as well as they had…

“It’s someone he used to work with,” she whispered the words more to herself than him.

Someone within the CIA helped him cover it all up.

She hadn’t shared her theory about her target being former CIA. Not with Baker or her father.

Like everything else up to this point, she had no solid proof. Accusing someone of murder was one thing. Speaking in conspiracy theories and hypotheticals about traitorous spies took it to a whole new, tin-foil-hat-wearing level.

“Listen, Shadow.” Baker finally spoke up again. “Whatever’s going on with this guy is none of my business. And obviously, you don’t have to tell me what it is, but…I really wish you would.”

“I don’t want to get you any more involved than I already have,” she responded honestly.

“You let me worry about me.” He shot her a pointed look. “You’re out here all on your own digging up who knows what kind of shitstorm, and if things start going south with this guy, you’re going to need someone in your corner.”

“It’s…complicated.”

His whiskered chin dipped low. “Complicated, I get. Complicated is something I can understand. But going down a road like this one… Sweetheart, this has suicide mission written all the hell over it.”

“You don’t even know what I’m planning, Baker.” Shadow brought her blue gaze back up to his. “And I promise you I’m not looking to die.”

“Then what is it you are looking for?”

“Justice.”

He held her stare a moment longer before motioning to the folder in her hands. “What did he do to you?”

“It’s not about me.” Shadow secured the thin flap before placing the envelope back onto the table. Keeping her voice low, she told him, “I want justice for my mother.”

“You’re mother?” Baker’s salt-and-pepper brows dipped in the center. “What did he?—”

“He killed her.”

Her chest grew tight, the familiar pain making sure she never forgot. Not that she could, even if she wanted to. And she’d tried.

Silence filled their booth as she let him process the bomb she’d just dropped. Seconds later, a soft, airy whistle escaped Baker’s bearded lips as he sat back against the cushion behind him.

“When? How?”

“Twenty-six years ago.” She answered his questions in the order they were received. “A bullet to the back of her head while she was sleeping.”

Sympathy poured from his gaze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“No reason for you to know. And, before you ask your next question, let me save you the trouble. I know he’s the man who killed my mother because I…” Shadow worked her throat before clearing it. “I saw him do it.”

“Are you serious?” He shot back up to the table. She could see the wheels turning in his brilliant brain. “Twenty-six years ago. That means you would’ve been about?—”

“Six.” She frowned and looked away. “Yeah. I know. But it was him, Baker. I know it in my gut it was him; I just…” Her shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath and slow exhale before she met his stare again. “I need to find a way to prove it. The only way I can think to do that is to get a confession, and the only way that will happen is if I can figure out a way to?—”

“Blackmail him into agreeing to a meeting,” he finished for her.

Shadow’s head dipped with a single nod. “I thought about going to the cops or the press. Telling them what I remember. Try to convince them to take me seriously. But I know how that whole scene plays out.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was six, the house was dark. It was the middle of the night, and I’d just woken up. The man who shot her was wearing a mask, and he ”—she pointed to the folder—“conveniently had a rock-solid alibi for the time of her murder. One that screams cover-up, by the way.”

“Damn.” He looked back at her with a mixture of disbelief and awe. “Owens said you love a good challenge. Sounds like this one’s right up your alley.”

A challenge was right. She’d have to tread very, very carefully.

“I thought about going a different route,” she explained. “I was going to try to get hired onto his staff, then charm my way up the ranks until I finally got close enough to the asshole to make my move. But a plan like that could take several months. Maybe longer. And by then?—”

“The election will be over.”

And it’ll be too late.

Shadow took another sip of her tea, rolling her lips inward to keep the watered-down iced beverage from dripping onto her chin. “He makes it into the Oval Office, it’ll be nearly impossible to get close to him.” Her blue gaze lifted to his. “Can you understand now why this is so important to me and why this can’t wait?”

He nodded. “I do. But that still doesn’t change my assessment of the situation. As it stands, there’s no way you’re getting behind closed doors with that man. No matter what you have planned.”

“I plan to kill him,” she stated bluntly. “I want to stand over his bleeding body and watch the life drain from his cold-hearted eyes. But for now, I’ll settle for a one-on-one.”

Baker’s slightly widened gaze quickly scanned the immediate area around them. “Jesus, Shadow. This isn’t some dark web chat room. You can’t go around saying shit like that in public.”

She followed his cue and glanced around the diner. The booth behind Baker was empty. On the flip side, almost every one of the bolted swivel stools running the length of the counter to her right was occupied. But none of those people—or the two employees she could see—were paying them any mind.

Even if they were, I never said the man’s name, so they’d have no idea who it is I’m planning to kill.

“Don’t worry.” Shadow brought her focus back to Baker. “I don’t plan on giving the man a heads up.”

“Let’s just hope you haven’t already.”

The unexpected comment gave her pause. “What do you mean?”

“You said it yourself. No one’s record is that clean. Given who the man is…” He let his words trail. “If you’ve been watching him for the past couple of weeks, there’s a possibility his people have noticed you, too.”

“I’ve been careful,” she assured him.

“Going after a guy like him for murder.” A quick shake of his head. “All I can say is good luck proving it.”

“I don’t need luck, Baker. I need something concrete . Leverage I can use to force his hand into a private meeting. That happens, it’s all but done.” I know I can get him to talk. “The problem is, I keep coming up against nothing but a bunch of dead ends.”

The brilliant former SEAL studied her closely before a look of understanding flashed through the greens in his eyes. “That’s why you want the face-to-face.”

Shadow’s nod was her only response.

Hell yes, she wanted a confession. One the entire world could hear. Then they’d know what kind of man he really was, rather than the wholesome family man he claimed to be.

“What’s Owens’ take on this?”

Baker’s deep rumble brought her out of her thoughts. Clearing her throat, she pushed her shoulders back and jutted her chin.

“He’s not here, is he?” One of her brows pulled to a point.

A sliver of guilt from the way she’d left things back home still pressed heavily against her shoulders. She’d carried it around for a few weeks, its weight coming and going in waves.

“Again, not my business, but the man seems to care about…your team…a lot more than the average boss. If he isn’t backing you on this one-woman mission, I’m betting there’s a damn good reason.”

That reason is he doesn’t want me dead.

“If Owens has a problem with me doing the right thing, Baker, he can fire me. Aside from that, I’m an adult. When it comes to my time away from Tac-Ops, I don’t have to answer to anyone.”

Because there isn’t anyone outside my time with the team.

It was a truth she had no intention of sharing and a problem for another day. For now, there was only one goal in sight. Only one thing that mattered. And that was getting to the truth, once and for all.

The server brought over the check, and Shadow settled up with cash. Her generous tip for the iced tea made the older woman smile as she said, “Thank you,” and walked away.

“Sorry I couldn’t be more help,” Baker offered sincerely. “You need anything else from me before I head out?”

The corners of her lips turned slightly upward in an appreciative smile. “No.” She slid from the booth and rose to her sneakered feet. “Thanks again for coming. And…for trying.” She held out her right hand and waited.

Baker stood, his large hand swallowing hers in a firm yet gentle shake. “Anytime, Shadow. And I mean that. You need anything at all?—”

“Just be there for my team.” Shadow released his hand and let hers fall back to her side. “Just until all this is over.”

“I’ve got their backs, don’t worry.” He put her mind at ease. “But if you don’t mind me asking, how long do you plan on being here?”

“As long as it takes.” She held the man’s green stare.

With a fair enough tilt of his head, Baker reminded her, “You have my number. Use it if you need it.” And then, with a parting, “Stay safe out there,” he turned and walked away.

She watched him go, waiting until he was out the door and walking across the lot before picking up the manilla envelope from the table and heading out herself. Shadow folded the envelope vertically in half, and then…as Baker had done…she shoved it into the back pocket of her jeans.

The hem of her black leather jacket was just long enough to keep the envelope hidden, as well as the holstered pistol she carried at her hip. She made her way down the tiled aisle between the booths and the bar stools, her head moving from side to side as she walked out into the night in search of her car.

When she’d first arrived, Shadow had purposely parked as close to the diner’s entrance as she could. Even backed into the space in case the need arose for an expedient getaway.

Baker wasn’t wrong to be concerned, nor was her father. But what neither man understood—what they couldn’t possibly comprehend—was that until she took down the man who’d murdered her mother, Shadow would never truly be able to find peace.

I will get justice for you, Mom. Even if it’s the last thing I do.

A sudden breeze lifted her ponytail into the air, whipping its thick ends around from behind her shoulder. She secured the unruly locks with her left hand while retrieving the key fob from her jacket pocket. Pointing it toward her car, parked several feet away, she pressed the button to unlock its doors.

Technically the vehicle wasn’t hers. It was a rental that had been secured under a name other than her own.

Shadow opened the door and slid behind the wheel before locking herself safely inside. Her hand reached for the button to fire up the ignition, but she paused at the last minute when Baker’s words from earlier rang through her mind.

Sweetheart, this has suicide mission written all the hell over it.

She shook her head with a huff, brushing off the notion that she was in any actual danger. “No one even knows you’re here.”

Pulling in a long, deep breath, she exhaled slowly and pushed the damn button. The car’s engine came to life with a gentle roar without a single sign of impending doom or danger. With a mental reminder not to let paranoia screw with her head, Shadow put the car in gear and drove away.

The no-tell motel she’d chosen for the duration of her stay was only a few miles down the road. After the short and sweet drive there, she was grateful to find the empty parking spot directly in front of her door.

Not that she’d have had far to walk if it wasn’t. The rathole, two-level establishment wasn’t that big, and it had most definitely seen better days.

But it was cash only, no questions asked, and there wasn’t a single camera in sight. Normally, those things would be huge ass red flags she’d avoid at all costs. In this instance, however…

No cameras plus no payment trail equals no proof I was ever here.

It was the best kind of math for someone in her situation. And since she wasn’t much for sleeping these days, Shadow figured it didn’t matter much where she stayed.

Right on cue, a yawn parted her lips as she opened her door and climbed out of the car. Damn. Maybe tonight would be different, and she’d finally be able to get some rest.

Feeling hopeful—and emotionally drained—she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the room-specific key. Stepping up onto the sidewalk lining the building’s front, Shadow walked the few steps to her room.

She stopped, checking that no one had entered her room in her absence. When she saw the tiny scrap of paper was still stuck between the door’s bottom right corner and the frame, she felt confident the coast was clear.

With the white plastic number plate dangling from the metal ring, she inserted the key and gave a turn of her wrist. As expected, the door unlocked with ease.

Shadow stepped inside the unlit room, more than ready to call it a night. Tossing her room key onto the bed positioned a few feet away, she turned around and started to push the door closed when a man’s hand came into view.

What the…

A set of masculine fingers wrapped around the door’s edge, preventing her from closing it all the way. The reality of what was happening sank deep in an instant, and she rushed to try to slam the door shut.

A deep grunt reached her ears, and a second later, the jerk pushed against it with far more strength than she could hope to possess. Shadow lost her footing, stumbling back a few feet, but she still had the wherewithal to reach for her gun.

Her hand went to her hip. She pulled the weapon free from its holster, regaining her balance before swinging the pistol up and around.

“Don’t!” The shadowed man growled, swinging an arm out to block her.

The unexpected contact caused her to lose her precious grip, and the gun went flying out of her hand.

No!

Shadow’s pulse spiked with fear when her only real means of defense landed feet away, hitting the carpet with a disheartening thud. Refusing to give up, she dove forward, toward the fallen weapon.

Pain shot through both her knees as they hit the floor not far from where it lay. She reached out, her fingertips meeting with the pistol’s cool metal handle. Just a little farther, and she’d be able to?—

The man’s warmth and weight surrounded her as his muscular form hovered over her in his efforts to grab the gun. Shadow screamed out loudly, kicking and bucking with all her might. And in one particularly satisfying move, she jammed her elbow back into the side of the face she couldn’t see.

He grunted again, and for a second, she thought she might actually win. But just as the tendrils of hope began to flourish, she was flipped over onto her back with the man straddling her at her waist.

“Dammit, Shadow, stop! It’s me, Digger!”

The world around her came to a screeching halt. That voice. She knew that voice.

I’ve had fantasies about that voice.

But that’s all they ever were. Fantasies. Because until this very moment, she and the mouthwatering man had never actually met.

“Digger?” Shadow stared up through the moonlight with a what in the ever-loving hell expression. “Is that…really you?”

Slade “Digger” Garrison was the stoic leader of the Tac-Ops rescue team. He was also a man who should be in Charlotte, North Carolina, not?—

“Yeah, princess. It’s really me.” The broody man sounded as grumpy as he did over the comms their team used in the field. “Now do you promise to behave yourself if I let you up, or are you gonna keep trying to shoot me?”

A rush of emotion she didn’t expect blurred her already strained vision. She blinked several times, refusing to cry in front of this man, even if her tears were that of relief.

“I’m good,” she managed to say, praying he hadn’t heard the thickness in her voice.

But the former SEAL remained completely still, his muscular thighs and hands continuing to hold her in place. Through the touch of moonlight that had seeped in from the still-open door, she could barely make out his features…and the eyes that were laser-focused on hers.

Shadow’s heart kicked hard inside her heaving chest. Minutes before she’d believed she was seconds away from death, and now…

I could stare into those eyes forever.

But rather than grabbing onto his shirt and pulling his mouth to hers—which is what she really, really wanted to do—she added a quipped and sassy, “You can get off of me now, Dig. Unless, of course, you plan to stay on top of me the rest of the night.”

Oh, the fun we could have.

As expected, the surly Tac-Ops operative muttered an unintelligible curse before releasing her wrists and rising to his feet. Upright once again, Digger did the gentlemanly thing and offered her a hand.

Obstinate enough to refuse the help, Shadow rolled to her side and pushed herself back into a standing position. “What the hell are you doing here?” She brushed her hands down her front as a show of regained composure. “Better yet, how did you even find me?”

“The ‘how’ is irrelevant.” The deep timbre of his voice seemed to fill the air around her. “As for the other…” Those shadowed eyes seemed to bore straight into hers. “I’m here to bring your sweet ass back home.”