Eve snatched the file out of his hand and scanned his employment record. A sick feeling began in her stomach and inched its way higher. No wonder he’d looked so damn familiar. “Cross and Roberts were in on this together.”

“Looks that way,” Ryder said slowly.

Eve shook her head. “I don’t believe it. ADD Roberts can’t be the mole.” She glanced toward Zane at her side. His grim expression said anything was possible.

“Let me tell you something about Ian Roberts,” Ryder said, drawing her attention again. “He and I went to school together, and even back then, he was a son of a bitch who cared about only two things: power and money. He has the first at the CIA—if he gets the promotion he’s looking for—but that’s a big if when you consider he’s been passed over twice already.”

Eve had no idea Roberts had been passed over for promotion already. But then, she never paid much attention to what went on above her.

“This deal started well over a year ago,” Ryder went on. “Even if he is in line now for the deputy director position, he’s got to either go through with the deal or cover up all the evidence. And when you start looking at the body count in this thing, the last option seems like the simplest answer.”

Occam’s razor. The simplest answer was usually the right one.

Eve’s mind spun as she thought about everything that had happened. But still, in her gut, she didn’t believe Roberts was the one at the root of it all. Though he might be the only person able to shed some light on the truth.

At her side, Zane rested his hands on his hips. “I’m thinking we need a sting operation to catch Roberts in the act.”

From his spot at the end of the table, Miller scrubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “I didn’t catch a whiff of Cross when I went after Wolfe’s sister. Trust me, I was looking. For all we know, the fucker’s already been hard-boiled.”

Marley’s gaze narrowed on the picture. “Finn Tierney’s a dead ringer for Cross. We put Tierney in a hat and sunglasses, from a distance, he could totally pass for Cross.”

“Who’s Tierney?” Eve asked.

“Another operative,” Ryder said. He focused on Marley. “Tierney’s Irish accent will give him away.”

“So we coach him. Plus, Miller has Eve’s cell phone. I bet if we scroll back through the messages, we’ll find Cross’s voice. It should be enough for me to play with. I could create a recording.”

Ryder crossed his arms over his chest and chewed on his lip. “It’s ballsy.”

“Aren’t my ideas always?” She peered up at him over her glasses. “And am I ever wrong?”

He frowned, then brushed his hand over his mouth, still thinking.

“Look,” Marley said, “the longer we wait, the bigger the case the CIA will build against Eve and Zane.”

Several long seconds passed before Ryder looked toward Zane. “What do you both think?”

Zane’s eyes hardened. “Tell me what you need from me. I want to bring this fucker down.”

Ryder’s gaze slid to Eve. “Wolfe?”

“I—”

“Holy shit,” Miller muttered at the end of the table.

Eve’s gaze darted his way, and when she realized he was looking past her, toward the archway that led to the entry, she turned. Then drew in a relieved breath.

Olivia stood in the doorway, her shoulder-length blonde hair tousled around her face from the blow dryer, her skin clean and fresh. And she was wearing the jeans and green V-neck sweater Eve had left for her in the bedroom.

The jeans were a full size too big, and the sweater seemed to swallow her whole, reinforcing how much weight she’d lost in such a short amount of time. But even with the bruises still evident around her right eye, for the first time since she’d walked into this house, she looked like the Olivia Eve remembered.

She went right to her sister and hugged her tight. Told herself not to take it personally when Olivia tensed in her arms. Keeping one arm around her sister’s waist, she ushered Olivia into the room and introduced her to Zane and the others.

Zane shook her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Officially. Eve’s been worried sick about you.”

Olivia slanted Eve a look, and Eve couldn’t help but remember the last time they’d seen each other, at their dad’s funeral, and the argument that had followed. She gripped her sister’s waist tighter, hoping to bridge the gap, wanting to make up for so many things she’d done wrong.

Ryder offered his hand too. “You gave us all a little scare.”

“Not me.” Marley turned in her chair and rested a hand on the back while she smiled up at Olivia. “I always knew Miller would find you. He’s the best of the best.”

Slowly, Olivia’s gaze slid to Miller at the end of the table. His eyes were locked on Olivia, and the look that passed between them . . .

Eve had seen that look before. The one that said, I won’t let anything happen to you. From the man on the other side of her sister. Her gaze drifted to Zane. And she saw it now as he stared over her sister’s head toward her.

Her heart picked up speed. Perspiration broke out along her spine. Tearing his gaze from hers, Zane smiled, looked down at Olivia, and said, “How about some food? I think we could all use some fuel right now.”

He stepped by Eve, squeezed her hand, and moved into the kitchen. And Eve hissed in one calming breath, then let it out. She definitely needed fuel. Because what she now knew she had to do tonight would take every last bit of strength she had left.


If someone had told Zane a month ago he’d be camped out at Tate Kendrick’s mountain lodge with Evelyn Wolfe and Jake Ryder, tipping back a bottle of wine and laughing about old times, Zane would have thought they were nuts.

No, he would have thought they were fucking high.

“So Archer’s cable snaps,” Ryder said. “It’s like this random, fluke thing, but of course, it happens to him. And he’s got a hold of the zip line with two hands. Luckily he’s wearing gloves, but at this point he’s barely hanging on. And he hears this noise and glances back, and here comes Tierney, barreling toward him at top speed, screaming at the top of his lungs to drop. ‘Drop! Drop! Fucking drop!’ in his Irish accent. And Archer hollers back, ‘You fucking drop, you psycho!’ ”

Everyone at the table laughed except for Olivia.

Eve glanced Zane’s way. “This sounds like some team-building experience. What did you do?”

“I fucking dropped.” More laughter. “If he’d hit me at that speed, I would have lost an arm. As it was, I only broke a leg.”

Eve’s eyes widened. “You broke your leg?”

He shrugged and reached for his wine. “It was a pretty long drop.”

“He was off for two months,” Marley said. “It was right after we’d hired him. And then four months after that he was injured in that raid in Guatemala.” She glanced Ryder’s way and tipped her head. “I’m thinking he’s costing us an awful lot in insurance. Are you sure you want him back?”

Ryder’s dark eyes narrowed on Zane. “He and I have some shit to discuss about his risk assessment.”

Marley chuckled. Miller lifted the beer in his hand toward his lips. “You’re in trouble now.”

Olivia pushed back from the table. “I’m tired. If you all don’t mind, I’m just going to go to bed.”

Miller immediately stiffened. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She pursed her lips. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just . . . tired.”

But she wasn’t. They could all see it. The last week was catching up with her.

Eve immediately jumped to her feet. “I’ll go with you.”

“Eve, I don’t—”

“Humor me, would you? If I stay down here, Archer will start telling stories about stupid stuff I’ve done to get the focus off of him. And trust me, I’m not in the mood.” She smiled Zane’s way, and her voice was relaxed, almost a soothing tone, but something was off. He knew she was just trying to make Olivia feel at ease, but Zane sensed something was bothering Eve. He’d sensed it all through dinner. Even before that really. Since they’d made love.

Something in the bottom of his gut tightened. A familiar warning shot of fear he knew all too well. “Don’t go far, beautiful.”

Eve rolled her eyes and headed for the stairs with her sister. “Where would I go all the way out here? There’s no need to handcuff me since we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

True. It’d be virtually impossible for her take off on her own. But with Eve, impossible was never a word he used lightly.

When they were both gone, Ryder lifted his brows. “Handcuff?”

Zane’s cheeks warmed. He downed the rest of his wine in one swallow. Pushing back from the table, he said, “Law enforcement technique.”

“You were never in law enforcement, dumbass.”

Zane grinned. “Whatever works, right?”

Ryder stood. “Let’s you and I get some air, Archer.”

Marley rose as well. “Miller, that means we’re on dish duty.”

“Aw, Mom,” Miller groaned. “Do I have to?”

She smiled and moved into the kitchen. “We’ll make a game out of it. For every Ryder joke you can come up with, I’ll clean two dishes to your one.”

He bolted from his chair. “Done.”

Ryder shook his head. “See the shit I put up with?”

Zane couldn’t help it. He smiled.

The cool mountain air felt good against Zane’s skin, and as they stepped out onto the back deck that overlooked the black lake, he filled his lungs with sweet, mountain air. The rain had stopped, and breaks in the clouds filtered just enough moonlight to shimmer like ribbons of silver across the surface of the lake.

Ryder leaned his forearms against the railing. “You think Wolfe will go along with our plan?”