Sean’s shoulders shook with laughter. “I might have threatened to.”

Marlene made a disgruntled sound.

“Can I see her?” he asked.

Marlene opened the door wider. “Of course. Come on in. She’s in the kitchen. I made her put an ice pack on those bruises.”

Sean scowled at the mention of those bruises. It made him want to go back over and bruise Matt Winfree’s face.

He followed Marlene into the kitchen and braced himself for Rusty’s belligerence. But when she looked up, he saw no sign of anger or hostility. She looked ... young and extremely vulnerable.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

She leaned against the kitchen sink and let the hand holding the ice pack fall away. “I’m okay. Thanks to you.”

She sounded subdued. He almost preferred her mouthy and obnoxious. He didn’t know how to take the quiet and beaten-down Rusty.

“I just came by to tell you that you don’t have to worry about Matt Winfree causing you any more trouble. And school won’t be a problem. He won’t be running his mouth.”

Her eyes widened in surprise and to his extreme discomfort tears shimmered on the surface.

“What did you do?” she asked hoarsely.

He shook his head. “What I did isn’t important. What is, is that he won’t be a problem for you. And Rusty? If you ever need me, you call, okay? You seem to think that no one is on your side and that you can’t depend on anyone. By now you should know that isn’t true. The Kellys stand by you, and so do I.”

Her eyes held the faint glaze of shock as she stared wordlessly at him. Marlene’s phone rang, breaking the growing silence that followed his announcement. She picked it up and he listened as she said hello and then broke into a wide smile.

“Sophie’s had her baby!” she said over the mouth of the phone.

Sean smiled. “That’s great. Tell Sam I said congratulations.”

Marlene spoke on the phone a few more seconds and then hung up, beaming from ear to ear.

“Why don’t I drive you two up to the hospital to see Sophie and the new baby?” he offered. He glanced at Rusty as he spoke. “Seems to me this is a good time to be surrounded by your family.”

A smile hovered over her mouth, the corners lifting as her eyes lightened.

Marlene looked over at Rusty and then reached out her hand to squeeze Rusty’s. “What do you say? Want to go up and see the newest addition to the Kelly clan?”

“I’d like that,” Rusty said in a soft voice.

“Well come on then. I’ll give you code-three treatment,” he said with a grin.

CHAPTER 17

“MEXICO? What the hell is she doing in Mexico?” Garrett demanded.

Donovan rubbed his hand over his hair and yawned as he stared with bleary eyes at his computer. “Yeah. A cargo pilot gave her a ride. She paid him a bundle.”

Garrett’s eyes narrowed. “Apparently not enough to buy his silence. How’d you dig this up so quickly?”

Donovan lifted one eyebrow. “Like I’m going to tell you. You and Sam just think you run this operation. Neither of you could manage without me.”

“Feeling unappreciated, Van?”

“Fuck you.”

Garrett chuckled. “I think Sam and I are both well aware of who’s the brain in this camp. It definitely ain’t me. So give me everything. Jesus, but I had no desire to go back to Mexico anytime soon.”

“Want me to go?” Donovan offered. “I’ve had time to rest up. You can stay here and watch over KGI while Sam makes goo-goo eyes at his new daughter.”

“Hell, no.”

Donovan raised an eyebrow. “Why not? Besides, how’s it going to look for the beach bum who saved her ass on Isle de Bijoux to show up in Mexico? There ain’t no amount of explaining that’ll make her believe in that big of a coincidence.”

“I’m going to have to lie.”

“Yeah, that’s going to go over real well.”

Donovan wasn’t telling Garrett anything he didn’t already know. He’d wrestled with his conscience ever since Sarah bolted. He knew he’d gained her trust, or at least some degree of it while they were on the island. He was going to have a damn good explanation for showing up again. One that didn’t get the door slammed in his face and didn’t have her bolting again at the first opportunity.

Garrett pushed out his breath in an angry huff. “I’m going to tell her Lattimer sent me. That he wanted me there all along. It’ll shock her enough that she’ll buy it because no one’s supposed to know. I was with her a lot on the island. I don’t think she’s in constant contact with Lattimer so I think it’ll buy me some time. And if she talks to Lattimer, and her asking about me draws him out, all the better.”

“It’s a good plan,” Donovan said. He stared thoughtfully at Garrett. “So why does it have you so pissed off?”

“Because I hate lying to her, goddamn it,” Garrett exploded. He dragged a hand over his head to the back of his neck and shook his head. “She’s already been fucked over once. I hate the idea of lying to her, of using her, even if the end justifies the means.”

Donovan nodded slowly. “Yeah, I get it, man. My offer still stands. I can go. She doesn’t know me. I can stash her someplace and we can lay a trap for Lattimer sans Resnick. You get the girl. Uncle Sam gets Lattimer. Everyone’s happy.”

“No. I go. You find me a place I can safely stash Sarah. I’d feel better if we pulled in a few team members and send them ahead to the safe house. I may have to lie to Sarah, but that doesn’t mean I won’t protect her with everything I have.”

“I’m going to say this and it’s probably going to piss you off, but I think you should stay the hell away from this one, Garrett. It’s personal with Lattimer and now it sounds personal with Sarah. I can do this with a clear head. You can’t.”

“You aren’t going near Sarah.”

Surprise flashed in Donovan’s eyes. Garrett cleared his throat in disgust and refused to say anything else on the matter. Donovan wasn’t stupid. He knew Garrett was ass-deep in some uncomfortable shit. But that didn’t mean his brother was going to get all chatty about it.

“It’ll take me an hour or so to make the arrangements and get the jet ready,” Donovan said.

“I never unpacked so I’m ready to hit the road as soon as you give me the green light. While you do all that, I’m going to run by the hospital to say good-bye to Sophie and see our niece. I’m also going to drop by Ethan and Rachel’s on my way back over so Rachel won’t worry.”

Donovan offered a snappy two-finger salute to which Garrett responded with his middle finger. He was almost to the door when Donovan’s voice stopped him.

“Be careful, Garrett. This obviously goes deeper than we know. Get down there and do whatever you have to do to get her to trust you. Then you need to grab her and get the hell out of there.”

Garrett turned, his hand gripping the doorframe. “Yeah, I hear you. And thanks, Van. I appreciate this.”

MARCUS Lattimer stared coldly at the man standing in front of him. Two of Marcus’s men flanked the dirty, bloodied traitor, their guns pointed at his sides. Marcus’s lip curled in distaste. He had no use for disloyalty. This man had infiltrated Marcus’s organization, gained his trust, and the entire time he’d been working for the CIA.

He let Douglas Culpepper stew for a moment before Marcus addressed him directly.

“Welcome back, Douglas. I’ve been looking for you.”

The flicker in Douglas’s eyes betrayed him as Marcus called the man by his name. He remained silent as he stared dully at Marcus, the knowledge of his fate reflected on his face.

“You sold me out, Douglas, but tell me, did you sell out my sister too?”

It was one of the few mistakes Marcus could remember making. He’d made a life of being careful. But Douglas had been good. Marcus had let his guard down, a fact that still made him furious. He’d told Douglas things. Things he hadn’t ever divulged to anyone else in his organization. He’d told him about Sarah.

Marcus’s jaw twitched as Douglas remained silent.

“I might have let you go except for that,” Marcus continued. “Are they hunting her?”

Douglas’s lips tightened and his nostrils flared.

Marcus shot to his feet, his palms slapping the top of his desk as he leaned toward Douglas. “You’ll talk, you son of a bitch. I guarantee you before this day’s over, you’ll talk. You’re going to tell me everything you reported back to your superiors.”

“Fuck you.”

“No,” Marcus said. “Fuck you, Douglas.”

He made a motion with his hand and Douglas was dragged from the room by three of Marcus’s men. Marcus sank into his seat and leaned back as he turned to stare out the window. Douglas would talk. Not that it really mattered. Marcus had to operate under the assumption that Sarah was no longer a secret. Which meant she was in danger. The CIA and countless other operations would have no qualms about using her to get to him. A fact Sarah herself knew, since she’d naively fled to protect Marcus.

He smiled at the idea that his little sister would protect him. He was one of the most feared men in the world and yet a woman with a soft heart and little to no knowledge of just how bad the world was had it set in her mind that he needed her protection.

No, it didn’t matter if Douglas talked but he sure as hell was going to regret betraying Marcus’s trust. Marcus didn’t want a quick end to Douglas’s suffering. His men had been instructed to keep him alive for as long as possible. Eventually he’d die in the worst sort of agony. Until then he’d pray for death with every breath.

Marcus opened his laptop and checked the email account where Sarah sent him messages. There was a new one from her. Grim satisfaction gripped him as he scanned the contents. She was finally asking him for help. He rapidly typed in a detailed response, giving her curt instructions on where to go and what to do when she got there.

Once he was done, he closed his computer and hoped she had the sense to listen to him.

He leaned back again in his chair and studied the patterns in the painting that adorned his wall. Then slowly pulled open the drawer where he kept a photo of Sarah locked away in a small lockbox.

He couldn’t allow anything to happen to her. She’d already suffered far too much. If their father had done his duty, Sarah would have been raised with the protection and privilege she deserved.

He hoped the bastard was rotting in hell. Right alongside Allen Cross.

“Soon, Sarah,” he murmured. “I’ll make sure you never want for another thing. I just need a little more time.”

CHAPTER 18

THERE was no ocean view. No sound of incoming waves and no cool breeze from the water. It was hot. The humid, cloying type of heat that made Sarah’s edgier than she already was.

She’d arrived the day before after hiding in a ridiculously small, run-down hotel room in a town she couldn’t even remember the name of. When she’d received Marcus’s email with explicit instructions, she’d been both fearful and relieved. As much as she didn’t want to involve her brother in her mess, she needed help and he’d provided wonderfully.

Fiona, the caretaker of the house Marcus owned, had stocked groceries and all the necessities, and as soon as Sarah arrived, she’d discreetly disappeared leaving only a telephone number where she could be reached if Sarah needed anything.

The area was remote but not without its escape routes. She’d spent every moment of her first hours here meticulously planning for any eventuality. She’d been a little—okay a lot—naïve when she’d arrived on the island weeks earlier. Not that she hadn’t been exceedingly cautious, but even so, she’d been caught unawares and without a way to protect herself. Escape route, yes. She’d made sure of that from the moment she’d arrived on Isle de Bijoux. But she hadn’t considered her own protection. Ridiculous, considering her circumstances.

It was no longer an issue. Thanks to Marcus, she now owned a gun and while she wasn’t exactly able to test-fire it, she’d been over every inch of the weapon, loading and unloading, testing the stiffness of the safety, the weight of the gun and how the stock rested in the cradle of her palm. It was big and a little awkward for her, but in a pinch, it would work.

She’d raised it, pointing at an imaginary enemy and tested her resolve to kill another human being. When all else failed, she pictured Allen Cross and imagined facing him down and putting a bullet through his heart.

She could look out for herself. It was time to look out for herself and stop being the scared, defenseless twit she’d turned into over the past year.

In a former life, she would have been able to stay on the island and perhaps enjoy a vacation romance with Garrett. He’d certainly seemed interested enough. He’d kissed her. She’d seen the way he looked at her. She wasn’t immune to the man despite the faint sense of alarm he raised whenever he was near.