She knew where he’d be.

Whatever location had the best advantage for watching the dock.

Starting at the back, Sasha worked her way from office to office, carefully scanning each room. So far, empty offices with desks, but no sign of Kane.

Was she in the wrong place? The next two offices had closed doors. She put her shoulder to the first door and forced it open. In the room, the window was open a crack, just enough for the barrel of a rifle.

“I thing I’ve found something,” she muttered into her communicator as she studied the interior of the room. “I’m alone, but someone’s been here recently.”

Before she could react, a shadow stepped out from behind the filing cabinet and grabbed her, shoving the barrel of a gun under her chin and forcing her head back.

“Hello, lover,” Sasha murmured.

Dear Reader,

Like the fast-paced holiday season, Silhouette Bombshell is charged with energy, and we’re thrilled to bring you an unforgettable December reading experience. Our strong, sexy, savvy women will have you cheering, gasping and turning pages to see what happens next!

Let USA TODAY bestselling author Lindsay McKenna sweep you away to Peru in Sister of Fortune, part of the SISTERS OF THE ARK miniseries. This military heroine must retrieve a sacred artifact from dangerous hands. The last thing she needs is a sexy man she can’t trust—too bad she has to work with one!

Check out Debra Webb’s Justice, the latest in the ATHENA FORCE continuity series. Police lieutenant Kayla Ryan will risk everything to find her murdered friend’s long-lost child and bring down an enemy who is closer than she ever suspected….

In Night Life, by Katherine Garbera, a former spy turned mother and wife finds herself drawn back into clandestine games when her former agency calls her in to catch a rogue agent—her estranged husband.

And don’t miss Patricia Rosemoor’s Hot Case, the story of a detective who enters her twin sister’s dark world of wannabe vampires—and maybe the real thing—to find out why dead bodies are disappearing almost before her eyes.

As an editor, I am often asked what I’m looking for in a Bombshell novel. Well, I want to know what you’re looking for as a reader. Please send your comments to me, c/o Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

Best wishes,

Natashya Wilson

Associate Senior Editor, Silhouette Bombshell

Night Life
Katherine Garbera

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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KATHERINE GARBERA

is an award-winning, bestselling author for Harlequin and Silhouette Books. Garbera started making up stories for her own benefit when she was on a competitive swim team in high school. Though she went to Florida State and usually medaled at swim meets, Katherine says her heart wasn’t in swimming but rather in the stories she created as she swam laps at practice. Katherine holds a red belt in the martial art of Tae Kwon Do and vows that there’s not a piece of plywood out there that can take her in a fair match! Readers can visit her on the Web at katherinegarbera.com.

In loving memory of Priscilla Tromblay, my paternal grandmother, who lived life on her own terms with a fierce and independent spirit.

Thanks for showing me that anything can be accomplished if you work hard enough at it.

Acknowledgments:

Thanks to Rob Elser for answering my many questions about life in London and the U.K.

Thanks to Janet Justiss for helping me with the French dialogue—any mistakes are my own!

Thanks to Mary Louise Wells for helping with the initial polish of the proposal; Eve Gaddy for just always being there when I called; and Beverly Brandt for her helpful advice on writing a bigger story.

As always, thanks to my family, who are always supportive of whatever idea I have.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Epilogue

Prologue

The fact that our task is exactly as large as our life makes it infinite.

—Franz Kafka

The wind shifted to blow from the north but no sound emerged from the surrounding woods. The silence was unnatural. Nightshade tensed, every sense on hyperalert.

Nothing was hidden from her vantage point. In the clearing near the chopper was a puddle of darkness. It could just be shadows from the clouds covering the moon, but she sensed a human presence there.

Townsend. As smart as he was lethal, Elias Townsend had once been a master spy for Her Majesty’s Intelligence Agency. Frustrated with agency bureaucracy, he’d crossed over to the life of a criminal and never looked back. A tall, thin man with a wiry build, Townsend was a challenging adversary.

Her father had taught her to respect the enemy. Because when you got cocky you got dead. Nightshade didn’t want to die—she was still young and had too much to live for. Her old man had learned that security was an illusion and had raised Nightshade to protect both herself and those weaker than she was.

Except she’d done a piss-poor job of saving her childhood pal, Senator Ellingham’s son, Perry. At least she had evened the score by killing Townsend’s right-hand man.

She shut out everything, narrowing her focus to that dark shadow. She waited. The Glock .9 mm automatic felt like a natural extension of her arm. And then he moved, quickly and jerkily. She’d hit him earlier in their exchange of gunfire. She sprang to her feet, a lethal predator sprinting to intercept Townsend.

He pivoted as she approached, leveling his own gun at her. Still in motion, Nightshade leaped in the air and used a forward kick to hit him solidly in the shoulder. A gunshot exploded and she felt the bullet graze her thigh. She cataloged the surface wound and promised herself she’d worry about it later. It wasn’t enough to stop her as she brought all her weight down on him. His head bounced against the concrete of the landing pad.

Nightshade twisted her heel in Townsend’s shoulder until he cried out and his fingers opened, releasing his weapon. Keeping her gun trained on him, she stooped and picked up his weapon, tucking it into the back of her waistband.

Leveling the Glock at him, she watched him squirm. Killing had never really been a part of the job she liked. In fact, it was the one thing she genuinely hated. But sometimes, the mission called for it.

This time, she wanted justice for Perry’s death. She wanted to exact the kind of eye-for-an-eye retribution that her father had always advocated.

She knelt beside Townsend and pressed the barrel of the Glock against his temple. A rage swam through her body, blinding her to everything except the desire to kill. Every instinct she had screamed for her to pull the trigger. Her finger trembled and she started to squeeze.

Sweat beaded Townsend’s forehead and he shivered under her foot. She pressed the barrel harder against his skin. It would be so easy—and so hard.

“Kill me already if you’re going to.”

She almost listened to him, but at the last moment eased her finger from the trigger before her emotions could get the better of her. Killing Townsend now—like this—would make her little better than he was.

He rolled toward her, knocking her on her ass. And the tables were turned. He towered over her, a six-inch switchblade in his hand.

She fired at his shoulder. Blood spurted and ran down his hand, but he didn’t drop his weapon. She scrambled to her feet as he advanced on her, never taking her gaze from his menacing figure.

Townsend watched her with cold eyes and she knew she’d made a stupid, rookie mistake in not cuffing him when she’d had the chance. Her orders were to bring him in alive. She holstered her gun.

He feinted to the left and then attacked her with a swipe of his knife. She dodged the blow easily and countered with a front jab that connected solidly with his jaw. His head snapped back and he growled at her. And then he surprised her with a roundhouse kick to the chest. She was stunned momentarily but quickly recovered as he sprinted for the chopper.

Concentrating all her energy on ignoring the throbbing pain in her thigh, she ran after him, hitting him with a powerful kick to the side. He fell in a broken heap. His head impacted with the solid ground again. He moaned with pain. Nightshade landed with one foot on his wrist, pinning him to the ground. She stooped, grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back, bringing his other hand to join it. She cuffed his hands together with a zip cord and stood.

She keyed the small radio mike attached to her collar and asked for a pickup. She watched Townsend carefully; he was much too quiet to be trusted. She heard the far-off sound of a crying baby.

She scanned the landing pad. A child? The cries grew louder and louder. What the hell?

Chapter 1

Not everyone can see the truth, but everyone can be the truth.

—Franz Kafka

Sasha Malone-Sterling sat up in bed. The scar from the 5-year-old gunshot wound on her thigh throbbed. She reached for the pillow next to hers—empty. She rolled away from that side of the bed.

No wonder she’d been dreaming again. It was the only outlet she had for excitement. At least it wasn’t one of her more erotic dreams about the time when she and Kane had been lovers. She rubbed her eyes. No, those dreams only plagued her when he was lying beside her in bed. Physically close but emotionally miles away.

She glanced at the clock next to the bed: 3:00 a.m. The television baby monitor on the nightstand showed her eighteen-month-old son, Dylan, standing in his crib crying.

She rolled out of bed and made her way to her son’s room. She didn’t bother with a robe. Wearing only the black silk long underwear she slept in, she made her way quickly down the hall.

Entering the room, she scanned the shadows for anything untoward but found only her son crying. She scooped Dylan up and cradled him to her chest, dropping butterfly kisses on his head. “Mommy’s here.”

He snuggled closer to her, rubbing his tear-stained face against her shoulder. His little arms came up to encircle her neck, holding her with a fierceness that she cherished. “Mama.”

She rubbed his back and rocked side to side, soothing her son, whose heart raced. This wasn’t the first time she’d been awakened from a dream of her former life by her son’s cries. She hoped he hadn’t picked up her tension.

Up until her pregnancy, she’d worked for American Renegade Company. They were an elite task force comprising operatives who worked hand in hand with the American government in overseas operations. Their agents were all from very wealthy backgrounds and for the most part led double lives.

Now she was a wife and mother in Leeds, England. Talk about culture shock.

The door leading from the nanny’s room opened. Though Dylan didn’t have an ordinary nanny. She’d hired a bodyguard for her son. She could protect Dylan and would with her life, but she knew that there would be times when having someone at her back would be invaluable.

Sasha pivoted to face the man entering. Orly was late. His response time had been much quicker when they’d worked in the field. But these days they were a step above rent-a-cops, doing routine security setups for domestic businesses.

Orly LaFontaine, the man who’d been her partner for years with the Agency, stumbled into the room. Orly wasn’t your typical bodyguard, and he hadn’t been your typical agent either. Sasha had saved his life in Nigeria and Orly had never forgotten it. He believed deeply that a life saved is a life earned and had dedicated himself to repaying Sasha.

He’d traded a life of intrigue to join her in this suburban house, leaving behind his trendy London flat and his women. Though his appearance tonight negated that.

His short blond hair was spiked up with blue highlights. Usually he dressed in clothes more suited to the punk rockers he’d grown up with than the business crowd they mixed with, but tonight he wore only a pair of brief boxers and lipstick smudges on his neck.

“Bloody hell, Sasha. I’m sorry,” Orly said. His accent was a rough Cockney that he let few people hear. Most people who met him believed him to be some sort of aristocratic Englishman by birth and breeding. He was a master chameleon.

Seeing her old friend pushed away the last vestiges of the tension lingering from her dream. “No problem. Looks like you’re having more fun in bed than I was.”

Orly crossed to her and patted Dylan’s head. Her son had calmed completely and was now resting peacefully in Sasha’s arms. Sometimes she wished she’d been attracted to Orly the way she was with Kane. It would have made life so much easier.

Kane was an agent for Her Majesty’s Intelligence Agency. Similar in scope to MI-6, they were a more elite team who went deep undercover, targeting enemies of the Crown. They’d met while working on a mission together four years ago.

“Sasha?”

“Sorry. I’ve got D. You can go back to her.” Orly suspected that Kane had moved out, but until Sasha confirmed it, he’d keep his questions to himself. Which was what she needed. Kane felt that she’d turned into a zombie since Dylan’s birth and she couldn’t argue that without Kane realizing her emotional distance had actually started earlier.

Orly watched her carefully with perceptive green eyes that missed no detail.

He said nothing until she’d placed Dylan in his crib. Sasha grabbed the soft fluffy panda from the bottom of the crib and tucked it next to her son. His arm tightened around the plush animal.

“He looks like you when you crash.”

“He’s drooling, Orly.”

“Hey, boss lady, I hate to tell you this, but underneath that beautiful face, you’ve got some nasty habits.”

She punched his shoulder and he laughed. Orly was one of the few people she really trusted. She knew his secrets and he knew hers. There was balance in their relationship, unlike her marriage to Kane, which was…not. She had no one to blame but herself.

“You okay?” he asked.

She crossed to the window. The night sky was clear and the half moon cast long shadows on the landscaped lawn. A breeze blew and the trees swayed lightly with it, their shadows moving across the lawn. “I’m restless.”

Orly moved to stand next to her, dropping his arm across her shoulders. “I wanna say—hot damn, this is a good thing but you don’t sound happy about this.”

“I have a son now.”

“Do you want me to find something more exciting than installing a security system for a bed-and-breakfast?”

She shrugged. She could justify many things in her mind, but endangering her son she couldn’t do. And she couldn’t be an agent and be a mother. She didn’t have an on-off switch that she could toggle from protective nurturer to avenger. “Not yet.”

She wanted to go back to her old job. But then she’d have to really find a nanny for Dylan and another bodyguard, because Orly would be with her. And she couldn’t do that. Not yet. Maybe once Dylan started school. God, what a mess. She who’d vowed to never put her life on hold for any man was torn because of two. One she’d loved too much to keep, and the other—she glanced over at her sleeping son—the other was her entire life.

A subtle beep emitted from the pager on Dylan’s dresser. Intruder. She crossed the room to the Monet Seashore painting and swung it to the left. A quick glance at the crib showed Dylan across the room, sleeping undisturbed. The lighted monitor indicated someone moving from the kitchen toward the west wing and the bedrooms.

God, it had been so long since they’d had to deal with anything like this. She wished Kane were home. Orly was good but he wasn’t Kane. And when your home was being invaded, you wanted your husband around.

“Is that your girl?” Sasha asked.

“Uh, no. She’s tied to the bed.”

“Go untie her and take Dylan with you. Hole up until I give you the signal.”

“What are you going to be doing?” he asked. She knew that he didn’t care for this any more than she did. If there was one thing she knew about her partner, it was that he hated hiding out as much as she did. But only one of them was needed to neutralize their visitor and she was the senior partner.

“Taking care of our intruder.”

“You don’t have a weapon,” he said.

“I’ll get one.”

Sasha moved silently through the house. She’d swung by her bedroom to remove the 9 mm Glock that fit her hand as if it was made for her. She wondered if her past had finally caught up with her, and felt more than a moment’s fear that she wouldn’t be able to rise to the task. Sure, she had a lifetime of training, but lately the most exciting thing she’d done was organizing a playdate with a group of moms from her neighborhood.

She trusted Kane and his security measures to protect their son. Forgetting that Nightshade had more enemies than most agents and that her husband had become a man she didn’t really know anymore.

She tucked the Glock into the holster at the small of her back. The intruder moved quickly and Sasha moved back into the shadows, waiting for him to pass her position. As soon as he did, she attacked him from behind with a side kick that connected solidly to his midsection. He countered with a sweeping roundhouse kick that caught her shoulder. Sasha stepped to the left and countered with a back-kick, front-jab combo that pushed her assailant up against the wall.

Family pictures rattled under the impact but the intruder paused, facing her. His eyes were the color of the ocean on a stormy day, though she couldn’t see them clearly in this light. Husky in build and slightly over six feet tall. In fact, he reminded her a bit of…

“Dammit, girl. Can’t a father visit his only child without it turning into a sparring match? You’re rusty, by the way,” her dad growled. Sergeant Major Mitch Malone pulled her close for a bear hug. Her old man smelled of Cuban cigars, which were the only ones he smoked. He always said that damn embargo was a foolish, political waste of time.

“Most fathers ring the doorbell. Besides, I’m retired, I’m entitled to be rusty.”

“Didn’t want to wake my grandson,” he said. He was dressed in battle fatigues and combat boots. He was armed as well with the same Colt .45 he’d carried since she’d been born.

“How’d you get here?” she asked, leading him down the hall to the kitchen.

“Military transport via Germany.”

Sasha was breathing hard and struggling not to show it. She closed her eyes for a moment as relief swamped her. She’d held her own. She wasn’t as out of shape as she’d feared she might be. She also felt that seductive rush of adrenaline that only came from facing an enemy and outsmarting him. Her father moved into the room as if he was on a recon mission.

The kitchen was big and airy and filled with shadows. She scanned the space before turning on the lights.

This didn’t bode well. She hit the intercom switch and informed Orly that the intruder had been neutralized and that the sergeant major was in the house.

“Who says I’ve been neutralized?” her dad asked.

She gave her dad a wry glance. Her father had more gray in his hair now, but otherwise he still was the toughest-looking man she’d ever seen. “I do.”

He shrugged and said in that smart-ass way of his, “I’d call it a stalemate. You weren’t exactly kicking my butt.”

She didn’t want to discuss her own failings. Taking her time getting back into shape since giving birth to Dylan had made sense. Motherhood was her chief focus now.

But the old man was right. She’d been slow and sloppy tonight; if anyone other than her dad had broken in she’d have been in big trouble.

Instead of dwelling on that, she said, “Why are you here?”

“You need to come out of retirement.”

“We’ve been over this before. I’m a wife and mother now.” Even though Kane had argued that she was too young to retire, Sasha had stood firm. She was also not sure she could keep everything balanced. Being a mom was tougher than she’d thought it would be.

“Kane needs you.”

Blood rushed in her ears and she had to sit down. Kane hadn’t really needed her. That’s one of the reasons he’d left. “What do you mean?”

No matter how she felt about her relationship, she wasn’t ready to give up on it. Though things were strained between the two of them, neither of them had left.

“Townsend has surfaced again and he’s up to his old tricks with HMIA.”

“I’m sure Kane will catch Townsend. He’s one of Her Majesty’s best men.”

“Not anymore.”

“Dad, stop talking in circles. What are you trying to say?”

“Hold up a sec then I’ll tell you.”

Pulling a small wandlike device from his back pocket, her father made a slow sweep of the room. She rolled her eyes as she watched him work. Sasha and Orly swept for bugs routinely. Her father took paranoia to new extremes. There were no bugs in her house as of three days ago.

She took no chances with the safety of this house, especially now that Kane had moved back to London. Security was one of the things she knew how to provide and she’d made their little house into a fortress to protect Dylan.

She boiled water for coffee and scooped some grounds into her French press. Orly entered the room as her father neared the third wall. He didn’t glance up from his task. Orly turned around one of the ladder-back chairs at the table and sat down.

“What’s he looking for?” Orly asked as Sasha set a cup of coffee in front of him.

“Bugs.”

Orly raised one eyebrow at her. Sasha shrugged. Orly had met her dad before in the States and had even visited his remote home in the mountains of Georgia, so watching her father in action wasn’t really shocking. “Sergeant Major, don’t you trust me to protect your daughter and grandson? This is what I do.”

“I don’t really trust anyone,” he said, focusing on the phone.

She’d never talk about her past life on the phone. In fact, she had few friends from the old days. Still, it begged the question as to why her dad thought someone was listening in on her conversations. She had a sinking feeling in her gut that had saved her ass many times in the old days. That feeling that said everything was about to break around her.

“Do you really believe that someone is fishing around for information?” Orly said.

Her dad nodded.

Sasha shivered and checked the baby monitor affixed to the kitchen counter. What was going on?

Dylan was safely tucked away in his crib. She wanted to go to the security room and ramp up all their alarms. Let her dad sweep the entire house.

“It’s not Sasha’s secrets I’m worried about,” her father said.

She started running scenarios in her head. But before she went off half-cocked, she looked at the man who’d brought this to her door. “Maybe you’d better tell me why you’re here, Dad.”

The dainty china mug looked like a toy in his big hands. It reminded her of the tea parties she’d had as a little girl. Her father hadn’t wanted her to grow up with too much male influence. So he’d encouraged Sasha to have tea parties and wear pink, a color she’d never really liked. Still, she’d admired her dad for trying to give her a rounded upbringing without having her mom in the picture.

He gave her a stern look. And her stomach sank. “Kane has gone rogue. He’s taken the STAR list and is out in the open. I talked to Ano at American Renegade Company and she’s reinstated you as an agent for the duration of this mission.”

The STAR list contained the codenames and current locations of every known operative. Not just for HMIA, but for many of the intelligence agencies around the world.

Sasha felt a cold chill down her back. Why would Kane go rogue? The last six months had been tense, which was why he’d left her and moved back to London. But this was extreme for him. He was one of the most secure and well balanced people she knew.

Ano aka Alpha Number One was the head of American Renegade Company. Sasha didn’t know all the details, but Ano and the sergeant major had some sort of ongoing relationship. They couldn’t live together and yet living apart wasn’t what they wanted either.

She pushed away from the table and paced to the window. Her dad had worked for Renegade Company for years. Renegade wasn’t just a cute catchphrase they used. They were a group of renegades that no other law-enforcement group would have. “If I don’t accept this assignment, someone else will, right?”

She heard his chair scrape against the tile floor as he stood. In the window she saw him come up behind her. He didn’t put his arm around her, but stood just behind her. “Ano wants it to be you. HMIA doesn’t want you anywhere near this because of potential conflict of interest.”

She pivoted to face him. Conflict of interest didn’t even come close. Good God, she didn’t want to get between Kane and his target. “Why does Ano want me? She knows I’ve gone against the Company before. I’ve been out there like Kane.”

Her dad lifted his hand toward her shoulder, but he dropped it before he touched her. She’d alienated him as well. That last mission had almost killed her, not physically but emotionally. Her soul was empty except for Dylan, and all the men in her life had felt the chill.

“That’s why, Sasha. You came back and she thinks you can talk Kane into it. If you can’t, they’re going to sanction him.”

She hadn’t exactly made it all the way back and they both knew it. Relieved that her father didn’t call her on it, she said, “Tell me the details.”

“Ano will brief you. All I know is that Townsend is in London and that Kane is stalking him.”

“What does Townsend have?” Sasha asked. Her enemy had escaped the authorities by killing one of his guards and knocking the other unconscious.

Her father looked down at his coffee and took a swallow before responding. “We think at least one hostage.”

It wasn’t like her old man to stall. What did he know that he wasn’t saying?

“And negotiation isn’t an option?” she asked. But she knew it wasn’t. Townsend’s mode of operation was to take the family members of influential people and use them as pawns in his deadly games.

Sasha felt a deep rage start burning inside. And clenched her fists against the feelings sweeping through her. If she gave in to the rage, she’d never be able to get the job done.

“He’ll probably try to get his hostages out of Britain,” she said. Townsend knew how HMIA worked. Hell, he’d written half of the procedures they used for this kind of thing.

Orly’s eyes had taken on a glazed look that she knew meant he was processing the information. His mind was like a computer.

“I’m going to run some information through my computer. What time are we leaving?” Orly asked.

“Ano is expecting you by six,” Mitch said.

“Meet me out front in about an hour.”

Orly left the room and Sasha faced her father. He didn’t look happy delivering that news. No matter what he thought of her marriage to Kane, her dad had always respected her husband because of his attitude toward the world and his willingness to make many sacrifices to keep it safe.

Kane gone rogue. Why? It didn’t make sense. He was a loyal agent and one of the most balanced men she’d ever met. He was cool under fire, and in the field she’d never met his match. She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her hands up and down trying to get warm. She’d made a choice and cut herself off from Kane. Was she responsible for this action?

Was this some bid for her attention? One he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist?

Why would he do it? She and Dylan were safe. His mother and two sisters were safe, Sasha had talked to her mother-in-law, Jane, two days ago. There was no one close to Kane who could be in danger. Was it Bruce Temple, Kane’s partner? She rubbed her eyes. God, what a mess.

“Orly’s gone. You can tell me everything.”

Her old man shrugged and had that stubborn look in his eyes. He wouldn’t reveal his sources to anyone. Not even his daughter. Sasha often wondered if that was why she had such a hard time trusting men.

“Do you know why Kane’s doing this?”

“I couldn’t get that intel. Ano either didn’t know or wouldn’t tell me.”

“The threat is real, Sasha. Get Kane and get the information he has—now, before it falls into the wrong hands.”

Her heart lurched and she gave up questioning her father and started planning. She calculated the time it would take to change clothes, ready the command vehicle and get to London.

She’d find Townsend and finish the job this time. She wasn’t going to let him take the life of another man she cared about.

She trusted her dad to protect Dylan. She watched the old man for a minute. His credo was, protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. “Dad, you stay here and keep Dylan safe.”

“I planned to.”

Sasha walked slowly down the hallway and back to Dylan’s room. He was sleeping quietly now, his arm wrapped around that panda of his. He looked sweet, innocent and just enough like Kane to make her heart break. Neither she nor Kane were innocent, but they’d vowed to protect the world so that more people could be. What had happened to radically change Kane?

Ano hadn’t changed in the year since Sasha had seen her boss. Ano moved into the room as if she owned it. She was a tall woman, almost six feet, and her brilliant auburn hair was pulled back in a sleek-looking ponytail. Her eyes radiated the kind of quiet intelligence that Sasha respected. Sasha and Orly had made good time in the Aston Martin that Kane had given her as a wedding present.

A.R.C. headquarters was located in the Trafalgar Square section of London. Trendy nightclubs surrounded them. Sasha couldn’t have felt more out of place if she’d tried. This was a world away from her quiet life of playing in the park with Dylan and talking to B and B owners about room security.

This was the game she’d left behind before it chewed her up anymore and spit her out. Sasha felt an odd sense of déjà vu. She’d never expected to be here again. Reconciling the conflicting emotions wasn’t easy.

“Nightshade, it’s good to see you,” Ano said. She gestured for Sasha to take a seat in one of the brocade guest chairs.

But was it good for her? Sasha wondered. She was a mother now, a wife. In the old days she’d never left the house without her gun, her GPS unit and her two-way radio. These days she never left without baby wipes, a pacifier and a plastic container of Cheerios. “Thanks, Ano. I’m not exactly happy to be here.”

“Given the circumstances, I understand.” There was compassion and a bit of doubt in Ano’s eyes.

Sasha took the compassion and ignored the doubt. She had her own trepidation about taking on this assignment. But overriding that gut reaction was the reality that she wouldn’t let anyone else go after Kane.

“Your mission is to retrieve Agent Sterling and do some recon on Townsend to identify his location.”

Her gut tightened at the thought of retrieving Kane. She still had so many questions.

“Why is Kane out there?”

“Our intel didn’t say. Only that he took the STAR list.”

Sasha inhaled sharply. That list was an extensive database that was used by all global intelligence agencies. It held the location of all the safe houses the agencies used and a list of code words. If the list were compromised, there would be no way to warn all the agents in the field until it was too late. Kane held the lives of agents all over the world in his hands. No wonder he was wanted back. “Why?”

“Townsend wants it in return for the hostages he’s holding.”

“Kane wouldn’t—”

“Forget about your husband, Nightshade. This is a rogue agent. Sterling needs to be brought in. Is it going to be you or should I send someone else?”

Ano didn’t pull her punches but then Sasha hadn’t expected her to. Sasha closed her eyes and searched inside herself. The world disappeared and she found the quiet place that she always visited before a mission.

Each time it was the same, she realized. Her doubts and fears weren’t new; she’d always questioned if she was ready to go out and face an enemy who was willing to kill her to achieve his objective. And this time she knew with utter certainty that she was the only agent who had a stake in keeping Kane alive.

“I’m the agent for this job,” she said quietly.

Ano didn’t say anything, but steepled her fingers and watched Sasha. Sasha had no idea what Ano was hoping to find in her expression, but when Ano nodded Sasha knew she’d found it.

Ano passed her a manila folder. She opened it and skimmed the contents. Kane had walked out of HMIA’s headquarters twenty-four hours ago, leaving behind his shield and agency-issued guy. He’d taken the STAR list on a microchip and knocked out three guards.

His current position wasn’t known, but American Renegade Company had a lead from one of their sources that indicated Kane was headed to Southampton, a port town south of London.

“I’ll start in Southampton,” Nightshade said.

“Agreed. I’ve got Charity and Justice down there now. They haven’t been able to pick up his trail.”

“I can.”

Ano smiled for the first time since Nightshade had entered the room. “I know. What do you need?”

“Access to your databases and satellites.”

“Weapons or backup?”

“Dad packed my weapons bag. I’ve got handguns, rifles and probably a few other surprises. Orly’s the only backup I need.”

“Nightshade?”

Sasha glanced back over her shoulder. “I brought this to you because you are the only one who can do it.”

Sasha nodded and walked out the door. She knew that deep inside her seethed a kind of darkness that had been waiting a long time to get out again.

She and Orly were just south of London near the docks at Southampton. The area comprised mainly warehouses and berths for large shipping vessels. Nightshade left Orly behind in their mobile computer-information center and headed for the warehouse where she’d determined Kane would be. Charity and Justice were working the town, talking to contacts and trying to find a lead.

It had been a long day of fruitless searches, and Nightshade realized that she’d forgotten the tediousness of undercover work. It was 2100 hours and she was glad to finally have a solid lead. A man matching Kane’s description had been seen in a tavern in this area earlier today.

She’d called her dad a few minutes ago and sung Dylan his bedtime song—“Mockingbird”. His sweet little voice babbling nonsense words had calmed her. And had made her more determined to find Kane. Damn the man, he was a father. He couldn’t take these kinds of risks anymore.

Now she left behind the last traces of Sasha and transformed herself into Nightshade. She focused on the transition, letting all her senses grow more attuned to the night. The air was cool and brisk on this April evening, and if it weren’t for the possible loss of her husband, she would have relished being back at work.

The alley behind the Ramman Brothers warehouse reeked of trash, rotting fish and, unless she was mistaken, some kind of excrement. Ah, the glamorous life of an operative. Nightshade adjusted her shoulder holster and scanned the area.

Kane might not be too happy to see Nightshade again. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d rescued him. Not that he hadn’t saved her ass a time or two. They’d worked well as a team. Both sensing each other’s reactions and playing off each other’s strengths.

Sasha had forgotten all about those days. Well, not exactly forgotten—she’d suppressed those memories.

Just the thought of Kane in trouble was enough to enrage her, but she bottled up those feelings for later. She slipped past the Dumpster and decaying fire-escape stairs into clear view. No one was in the alley.

Dammit, Kane. What was he thinking? She was being slowly drawn back into the life she’d given up. And she began to understand why she’d been afraid to come back. She might not be able to leave it behind again.

She scanned the area one more time. Townsend didn’t play around. If he wanted that list, he wouldn’t stop until he got it. Why was he suddenly going after it now?

In the past he’d been one of the most successful smugglers in Europe. When he decided to grab a hostage and move, he did it quickly.

There were large metal storage tanks littering the dock and Sasha searched for a lorry—a big eighteen-wheeler or an animal-cargo vehicle. That was the common way to smuggle people in and out of the country.

“I’m going in,” she whispered into her voice-activated wireless communicator. Orly was down the street waiting for her in the refitted Land Rover they’d always used on missions. She hadn’t been surprised when Orly revealed he’d kept everything up to date in there.

“Gotcha. Satellite shows three bodies just inside the warehouse. There are two sentries patrolling near the docks on each end of the building,” Orly said.

“Direct me in.”

Orly whispered directions in her ear and she moved carefully through the area, visually searching for Kane.

She drew her Glock. A shiver danced down her spine the way it always did when she pulled her weapon.

“Let my aim be accurate and deadly,” she murmured to herself. Though she’d been easing back into her physical regimen of exercise, she’d never stopped practicing with the Glock for two hours every day. She hadn’t wanted to lose her marksmanship.

She neared the rear entrance to the building, picked the lock in short order then oiled the hinges on the weathered door before opening it. “I’m at the south-side entrance. Where’s the sentry?”

“Opposite corner.”

Slowly, she opened the door. The dim bulb provided scant illumination in the corridor. “I’m in. Do you have me on your screen?”

“Gotcha. There’s no one moving near you.”

“Gotcha,” she said, taking a few moments to oil the hinges on a second door before carefully opening it. It opened without a sound and Nightshade slipped quickly into the total darkness of the room beyond.

Damn. She didn’t want to use a penlight. She had a pair of night-vision goggles in her pack and put them on quickly.

“I’ve lost you on satellite,” Orly said.

“I’m in. This floor looks like mainly office space. Did you access the blueprint for the building?”

“The only one on file is from 1977. Heads up. The figure on the stairwell has moved past your floor.”

She acknowledged Orly and then paused to scan the area around the door and move slowly into the room quartering it. Everything was coming back to her. Old instincts coming to the fore; it was like putting on a comfortable pair of jeans. She’d missed the feel of this, she realized.

Sasha stopped and considered Kane and the way he worked. This is what he had wanted her to do. Ironically he’d gotten his wish. They were in the field together.

She knew where he’d be. Whatever location had the best advantage for watching the dock. And that would be the northeast corner of the building.

There were a ring of offices against the walls and an open area in the center. She checked the center area first and found nothing.

Starting at the back, she worked her way from office to office, carefully opening each door and scanning each room for any signs of life. She kept Orly posted so they’d have a fairly accurate report of what was on this floor. Empty offices with desks but no sign of Kane.

Was she in the wrong place? She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, focusing instead on the darkened office. The next two offices had closed doors. She checked the hinges first; they were new-looking and not rusty.

She turned the first handle and pushed gently, but the lock was jammed. She put her shoulder to the door and forced it open. Stepping into the room, she found the window open a crack. Just large enough for the barrel of a rifle.

“I think I’ve found something,” she muttered.

“Are you alone?”

She scanned the interior of the room. “Yes. But someone’s been here recently.”

“Nightshade, that’s a negative. Someone is still there.”

Before she could move, a man stepped out from behind the file cabinet and grabbed her. He shoved the barrel of a gun up under her chin, forcing her head back.

Chapter 2

To the mind that is still the whole universe surrenders.

—Lao-tzu

Sasha leaned back against Kane. He was wearing body armor. And holding an Enfield SA80 battle rifle loosely in his free hand, the muzzle of his Heckler & Koch USP MK23 pressed against her skin.

By turning her head she could see that he had on a night-vision mask and a scope on his rifle. Her blood turned cold. Kane wasn’t a sniper. But for some reason he was tonight. She had a million questions and really no time to ask them. She knew only that she had to get Kane out of here before he destroyed a career he’d spent over fifteen years creating.

And she also knew from her own walk on the outside of the Company that vengeance was never worth the price. He had gone rogue. What if she couldn’t get him to back down? She knew she’d never be able to kill him but that someone else wouldn’t hesitate.

She leaned against his chest and tipped her head backward. Taking a deep breath, she pushed aside all her doubts. She had a job to do and that job, quite frankly, was to stop Kane from leaking sensitive information and blowing the operation in place for rescuing the hostages.

“Hello, lover,” she said. Her soft, naturally husky voice pitched low enough not to carry on the wind. His scent was familiar to her and she closed her eyes, breathing deeply for a minute.

He cursed softly under his breath and released her. “Go home, Sasha.”

He moved away from her back to the window and positioned his rifle on the ledge. She slid into position beside him. “Nightshade.”

This time he looked at her. Even in the shadows she felt the intensity of his gaze on her. She stood a little taller—he’d always had that effect on her. She didn’t know why this one man should make her want to preen and show off, but he did.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in a low voice that carried no farther than her ears. He took a few moments to holster his sidearm and then she heard a click. Kane wore a thick black Irish sweater and a pair of dark chinos.

He looked like Cary Grant in To Catch A Thief. Her heartbeat picked up and she was reminded of how sexy her husband could be when he wasn’t playing the English lord of the manor. God, she’d missed him.

“I heard you needed some backup,” she said softly.

“Is that all you heard?” he asked.

“No. I couldn’t let you do something stupid,” she said, not caring if he got angry with her. The risks he was taking were stupid.

He shook his head. “You know better than that.”

“I only know that HMIA is sending someone to bring you in because you have some sensitive information. That doesn’t sound smart to me.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“Sure you do. That’s why you’re alone in a warehouse about to betray your country and your peers.”

“I don’t have time for this. Go home.”

“Come with me,” she said. Please come with me. She willed him to morph back into the man she’d married, not this steely-eyed assassin.

She’d sparred with Kane a number of times. She knew his weaknesses as well as he knew hers. Or at least as well as he knew the ones she’d let him see.

“Why’d they send you? I was expecting Temple.”

Sasha figured HMIA would send Kane’s partner as well. And then either Kane or Temple would end up dead. And there was something in Kane’s manner tonight that she’d never seen before. Something that warned her that he wasn’t going to back down easily.

She knew there had to be more to the situation than she had been informed of. “Are you having a problem at work?”

Kane gave a short derisive laugh. “That’s an understatement.”

“Help me understand this, Kane.”

“There’s nothing for a housewife to understand,” he said.

She knew he was goading her. And suspected it was because he wanted her out of here. “I’m not leaving until I get some answers. Why did you take the STAR list?”

“Stop the chitchat, Nightshade,” Orly said. “There is some activity on the dock. A BMW with dark windows just pulled up. If you don’t get Kane out of there now, it’ll be too late.”

“Gotcha, Orly.”

Kane’s eyes narrowed as Sasha spoke. “Who’s watching Dylan?”

“Dad.”

There was some movement on the dock and Kane crouched down and sighted his rifle, and she heard the minute sound of a bullet being pushed through a silencer. The man whom Kane had aimed at crumpled to the dock.

“How many men are you going to kill?” she asked softly. The man she’d married always avoided killing suspects, usually just wounding them. This wasn’t the Kane she knew. And that scared her.

“As many as I have to.” His voice was devoid of any emotion and she knew he was in work mode.

“Why are you here, Kane? Help me understand.”

“Not now, Sasha. I’m on a tight clock. Go home.”

He panned the scope, carefully searching for others on the dock. Then he stood, lifted the window and gave her a half salute before stepping over the edge.

Dammit, that was what that click was. Only now did she notice the harness and the rappelling rope. He went down smoothly and quickly. Sasha grabbed the rope and followed Kane over the edge. By the time she was on the ground, he’d moved off, blending into the shadows.

He reached the man he’d taken down and dragged the body out of the walkway. Nightshade kept her distance, waiting for the right moment to make her move. She was going to have to take him down.

“Three men are headed toward your position,” Orly told her.

Nightshade glanced toward the warehouse and made visual contact. “I see them. Kane, we got company.”

They were probably coming to investigate what had happened to the guy Kane just shot. Kane lifted his assault rifle. “No more dead bodies.”

She wasn’t going to let him go on a killing spree. Something nagged at the back of her mind. Kane seemed as if he was out for vengeance. Who the hell had been nabbed that had so badly aroused Kane’s anger? Sasha stepped in front of him. “We can capture these guys easily. I’ll take the first one.”

She waited tensely to see if he’d do it or not. She saw him push his gun behind his back. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Agreed. Ready?”

“Ready,” she said, every nerve ending tingling to life. She was good at what she’d been trained to do. In the old days, taking on three sentries would have been no sweat. But it wasn’t the old days and she felt the need to be in top form.

The three men walked steadily toward her position. She felt Kane behind her. Knew he was readying himself for the coming fight as well. Though she knew he was a trained agent capable of taking care of himself, she didn’t like to think of Kane in danger. She hoped he didn’t kill any of these men. Sasha knew from her own walk on the dark side that the more you killed the harder it was to come back.

“Monitor the radio band and see if there’s anyone else out there,” she said to Orly.

“Gotcha, Nightshade. I’ll report back as soon as I find something.”

Kane dropped back into a fighting stance. “Go, Nightshade,” he said.

She kicked her opponent as he moved past her position, knocking his weapon from his hand. He countered with a one-two jab toward her face. The blow connected with her cheekbone, stunning her. She pivoted into the punch and spun around to attack again, this time connecting with her opponent’s ribs.

He moaned and stumbled backward. Sasha’s breath ripped in and out. Damn, her face ached. She analyzed her position and, realizing that she had to put her body on autopilot, she ceased thinking about everything but surviving. This guy was twice her size and smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in about a week. She wouldn’t be able to call herself much of an agent if she couldn’t bring him down.

Sasha diverted a blow as it came at her face. She hated getting hit in the head. As she spun away, he grabbed her hair, pulling her up short. Bringing both of her hands together, she reached behind her head for his wrist, applying a firm locking technique. Then, she twisted her body, and ducked under his arm. He tried to kick her but she lifted her leg and kneed him in the groin. He moaned as she twisted his arm behind his back and forced him to his knees.

Stopping beside him, she brought his hands together, using a zip cord to cuff him, then patted him down and found two guns and a knife on him. She took his weapons and put them in her pack.

Winning always brought its own kind of high. She’d forgotten how good it felt. She didn’t examine it too closely but tucked the information away for later.

“Nightshade, you’ve got about two minutes before you’re going to be outnumbered. Finish it and get out of there,” Orly said in her ear.

“Gotcha,” she replied.

She left the guy bound and headed toward Kane a few feet away. He was holding his own with the two assailants. Kane was one of the most skilled martial artists she’d ever met.

While she used a mix of tae kwon do and the street fighting her dad had taught her in hand-to-hand combat, Kane used an ancient art form and deadly skill.

But he was still just one man. She took a deep breath and a minute to analyze the fight, then jumped into the fray, at Kane’s back. Feeling truly alive in the moment.

Fighting back to back with Kane. Each of them was equal in this moment.

She’d been bred for this and she realized as she fought with an energy that seemed to come from deep inside her that she’d denied this part of herself for too long. She couldn’t live with the lies between her and Kane any longer.

“Let’s finish this,” she said to Kane.

“I’m trying,” he said, connecting solidly with his opponent’s sternum. Then used a judo chop to the neck.

The other guy attacked her with a strong kick that knocked her into Kane. He grunted and steadied her. “You okay?”

“Fine,” she said.

She was aware of Kane and the third sentry fighting behind her and when she heard Kane groan, she wanted to go see if he was okay. But first things first.

She focused all her energy on the fight she was in. This guy had pulled his knife and took a swipe at her leg.

She kicked the weapon from his hand and out of reach. Knowing she had to make this attack count, she concentrated on hitting his neck and head. She struck him hard in the chest with a front kick, forcing his head into the wall. Jabbing his neck with her elbow, she grabbed one of his meaty wrists and brought it up behind his back, then forced his hands together and cuffed him.

She turned to help Kane but his opponent fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Kane cuffed him.

“Two men are exiting the BMW and heading your way,” Orly said. “Stop dicking around—get Kane and get out.”

“Gotcha. Kane, we’ve got to get out of here. More men are headed this way.”

Kane pulled his handgun and kept the assault rifle loosely at his side.

“You’re just going to kill them,” she said.

“No. I’m going to negotiate with them.”

“Not tonight,” Nightshade said. She closed the distance between them and embedded her thumb in his radial nerve. Kane tried to pull away but she pressed harder and his gun dropped to the ground as he lost all sensation in his arm.

“Sasha, no,” he said.

“Sorry, lover, but I’m not letting you do this,” she said. She shut out everything else, the sexy smell of Kane’s cologne, the pain in her arms from pulling herself up the building, the dread of having to tell her husband she’d lied to him. And focused on the moment.

“Nightshade,” he whispered again, twisting his head so their eyes met. In the shadows his were just dark pools of indigo.

For a moment it seemed her disguise fell away and that Kane was staring into her soul. Right down to the part she’d hidden from him for so long. She opened her mouth on a sigh.

“Going to let me go?” he asked, leaning close to her and letting his breath brush across her cheek.

He was flirting with her. God, it had been a long time since Kane had teased her. “Maybe.”

“Maybe? I know how to change that to a yes.” He leaned closer and ran his lips down the side of her neck, stopping at the base where her pulse was starting to beat a little faster.

She stepped back. For Kane’s sake she couldn’t let him do this. Couldn’t let him stay free. Pulling a pair of handcuffs from her pocket, she quickly bound his wrists. Kane lashed out at her with his feet. Of course, he’d have to do it the hard way.

She stepped back into a defensive pose, realizing that the man she’d married had become a stranger to her.

Kane was no stranger to fighting—enemies and allies alike. But he wasn’t himself tonight and neither was she. Although, a part of her was very much the outraged wife who’d been left in the country. Kane swung around, his graceful masculine body moving in perfect symmetry and kicking her feet out from under her.

Sasha wanted to take him down. They’d been driving toward this confrontation for a long time. She pushed herself to her feet and dropped back into a defensive pose. He circled around her. Sasha’s nerves jangled. The aches and pains from her recent confrontation were starting to make themselves known and what she really wanted was to return to the Land Rover and get out the ice pack.

“Kane, you can’t win.”

“You’re good, wife, I’ll give you that. But I’m better.”

That pissed her off. She quickly moved behind him and hit him squarely between the shoulder blades, knocking him to his knees. With his hands bound behind his back, his balance was hard to maintain. Stepping up behind him, Sasha straddled his neck with her thighs.

She tunneled her fingers into his thick black hair and pulled back, exposing his neck. “Who’s better now?”

His breathing was uneven and he twisted his head as far as she allowed him. His breath was a hot brand against her inner thigh. He raked his teeth down the length of the pant fabric, causing rippling sensations along her skin.

Carefully she closed her thighs around his neck. He twisted his body, knocking her off balance. Sasha rolled to the ground, landing on her back. Before she could move, Kane fell on top of her, his head even with her breasts. He lifted his head and met her eyes. In an instant everything fell away except for Kane and this moment.

She’d missed this type of play between them. In the early days when they’d first started going out, Kane and she used to spar all the time like this.

“What went wrong?” he asked. “Where did the adventurous woman I first met go?”

She couldn’t tell him. She didn’t really know. She only knew that her last mission had changed something deep inside her and she’d never be the same again. She couldn’t be.

She lifted her arms, pulled his head to hers and took the kiss she’d been wanting. A kiss that confirmed Kane was alive. A kiss that made the past melt away and the troubled future seem even colder than she’d realized it could be.

She’d missed his taste. All her barriers were down tonight and she’d forgotten how wonderfully seductive Kane could be when he put his mind to it. She didn’t want to think about the reason he’d stopped seducing her. When she’d given him the cold shoulder, he hadn’t taken it very well. She’d never been able to explain that it was either that or surrender her sanity.

She slipped her hand around his neck as her tongue entered his mouth. He moaned deep in his throat and she had a second’s hesitation before she squeezed carefully on his carotid artery, rendering him unconscious. He fell limply on top of her and she brought her arms together around him to comfort him in a way he’d never allow when he was conscious.

Chapter 3

To the mind that is still the whole universe surrenders.

—Lao-tzu

Sasha carefully watched the men approach. She wished she knew what Kane was looking for. God, she ached from head to toe. She’d forgotten how to take a physical beating and shake it off. Or she was getting old. Because every hit she’d taken was screaming for an ice pack.

The man on the left walked with a slight limp and used a cane. He was thin and his head was shaved and he talked in a low voice to the man walking beside him. His voice didn’t carry. She hoped Orly had gotten photos of both men. The second man was vaguely familiar to her.

The one on the left wore a wool topcoat and his companion wore a ratty old raincoat. She wasn’t sure if that information was relevant, but it seemed to her that the men were underlings of Townsend’s, not peers. She itched to lift the assault rifle and just take them both out with one quick bullet to the head. But she wasn’t an assassin, and killing a man who wasn’t threatening her went against the grain.

Dammit. She lowered the rifle. “Orly, Kane is bound and unconscious, keep an eye on him. I need Ano to send a detention crew for the three sentries we captured and the body of the guard Kane took out. I’m following the men to see if they’ll lead me to Townsend.”

“Gotcha.”

The men boarded one of the large shipping vessels down the dock. Sasha quickly bound Kane’s feet and left him hidden in the shadows.

“Run a trace on a ship called the Eudora Manning,” she said. Then, using the international radio code, she spelled it for him. Her mind was still on Kane. Why was he doing this? He didn’t like Townsend any more than she did. Townsend was at the top of HMIA’s most-wanted list. Every agent there still felt Townsend’s betrayal very strongly. But in the last ten years he’d managed to continue evading them. And Kane was acting exactly the same way that had taken Townsend out of HMIA. Going out on his own. Not following protocol.

“I’m going in for a closer look.”

“Negative, Nightshade. Ano wants you to pull back.”

Ano be damned. She was in the field and should be able to make her own decisions. “Orly, I’m close enough to get some good info. Request permission to board the Eudora.”

“Relaying request.”

Nightshade crouched in the shadows, waiting for permission to act. This was one reason why she’d left A.R.C. Despite their renegade status, there was still a chain of command that had to be followed. Nightshade started toward the ship, which was still anchored to the dock. The anchor was a large steel one that would be so easy to climb. She could be on the deck in a matter of minutes.

“Negative, Nightshade. Ano repeats orders to drop back.”

“I’ll finish a visual recon and then drop back.”

“Relaying—”

“Don’t relay, Orly.” Did Ano not trust her to follow orders? Or did she not trust that Nightshade could complete the job? Neither question made Sasha feel any better about things.

“Gotcha.”

Nightshade made a note of every detail she could, relaying information to Orly. The Eudora was a large ship probably used to transport animals of some kind. She noticed there were two lorries parked in the lower shipping bay. She didn’t know if Townsend had his hostage somewhere in the bay or if these men that Kane had been lying in wait for were just doing some recon themselves. Setting up the ship to move the hostage. But who was the hostage? It was time to get some answers from Kane.

She was reluctant to let the ship leave without finding out who the hostage was. She knew Kane well enough to guess that he felt some sort of responsibility for recovering them.

Yet, she had to play by the rules. This time there were others to think about. Others like Dylan who needed a mom, and Kane who was now a man she didn’t really know.

Yet at the same time, he was that exciting, dangerous man she’d married. Sparring with him tonight had awakened every feminine instinct she had. Why now? Was it simply because they’d been apart so long? Or was it because she was once again experiencing that elixir she loved—the combination of danger, excitement and the one man who really made her feel alive.

“I’m returning to Kane. Should I take care of our captives?”

“Charity and Justice are on their way to apprehend them. We’re to return to London for debriefing and interrogation.”

“Gotcha.”

Nightshade blended back into the shadows and walked swiftly to the spot where she’d left Kane. The night air was chilly yet invigorating. She stopped for a moment, closing her eyes and tipping her head backward. She was in the field again. Something she hadn’t been sure she’d be able to manage until Dylan was in school.

But here she was. It was different than she’d expected it to be. She didn’t feel as if it was real. Except for the aches and pains from the contact earlier with the sentries. She felt as though she was pretending to be someone else. When was she going to feel like herself again? When was the damn feeling of playacting going to go away?

Kane was conscious when she returned. His eyes were steely and she had the feeling that if she released his cuffs now he was going to have her in arm shackles in thirty seconds.

She knelt beside him, her gun in one hand, her eyes watchful. It would be foolhardy to try to retreat until they were sure that the two men were still on the ship.

“Orly, give me an exit route.”

“Sit tight. There’s some activity in the next berth. Will advise when you can move.”

“Gotcha.”

She turned to look at Kane. He watched her with a stare that was devoid of emotion. Inwardly she shivered. Her marriage wasn’t going to survive this. And she wasn’t sure she was too upset about it. Kane was more dangerous than facing a loaded gun because he made her react more strongly to things than she should. She would have left any other man out here.

“I couldn’t let you do it,” she said softly. She wasn’t apologizing. But she wanted him to understand. Why did it matter? She’d carefully tucked away her emotions for Kane, channeling them into a more safer outlet—their son.

“Skip to the good part, Nightshade.”

“Is there a good part?” she asked. Because she didn’t see one. She saw her husband in jail for a long time and she and her son leaving Great Britain.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked, instead of answering.

“To Ano.”

“And then you’ll turn me over to Temple?”

She didn’t say. He had to pay for his actions but he was her husband and she was torn. She didn’t want to see him tried and found a traitor and then sent to jail.

He shifted to face her and in his eyes she saw something she hadn’t seen there in a long time. He leaned up, so close that his lips brushed her cheek when he spoke. His breath smelled of mint and she wanted to taste him.

“There’s still time, Nightshade. Set me free. I’ll come back when I can.”

God, she was tempted. She turned her head, brushing her lips against his stubble-covered jaw.

“No, Kane.”

The two A.R.C. operatives arrived ten minutes after the Eudora left port. Orly was tracking the ship via satellite and was running photos of all the men captured or seen with Townsend through databases searching for names and connections.

For a minute Sasha wished she were back in Yorkshire in the safety of her country home, her little son sleeping down the hall and her husband still working in London but not on the outs. But she knew that some dreams weren’t meant to be. And sometimes you had to realize the truth in that fact.

Sasha had escorted Kane to the command vehicle. He hadn’t spoken to her since she’d refused to release him. And until she had a chance to really talk to him, she wasn’t going to. She needed to understand his reasons. Plus, she was dealing with the aftermath of being close to once again breaking the rules and going after Townsend herself. She needed to cool down a little before she spoke to Ano.

She knew Ano wanted the information that Kane had, but Sasha knew she could’ve taken Townsend. Or at least disabled him enough to make him move slower.

Charity and Justice had arrived and were escorting the men she and Kane had captured into a white transit van with tinted windows similar to the ones used by MI-5. After the last man had been secured in the back and cuffed to the bench, Justice got behind the wheel and started radioing in the information that Sasha had gathered.

“Nice job, Nightshade. You’d never guess that you’ve been semiretired for almost two years,” Charity said.

Charity was of Asian descent, the daughter of an American soldier and a Vietnamese woman. She’d been sent to America at the end of the U.S. occupation there and adopted by Ano. In some ways, Charity was like her soul sister. They’d each been raised by one parent and that parent was absolutely fanatical about protection and global security. Rather than wishing the world was a better place, their parents were out there teaching them how to do it.

“It’s not like I was sitting on my butt. I have been doing a few jobs.” Sasha realized she sounded defensive. She’d been raising her son, and that wasn’t a task to be ashamed of, but she’d been feeling lately that it was. Part of the reason was her dad’s attitude. But a deeper part was her own longing and envy every time she talked to Kane or another agent.

“Yeah, I heard about that exciting revamp of the Yorkshire B and B’s security system.”

Nightshade heard the humor in Charity’s voice. “Very funny. I know it’s not exciting, but it was important and I was able to stay with Dylan.”

“How’s he doing? Any more new teeth?”

“No new teeth. But he’s started talking.”

“Really? I can’t wait to see him.”

Sasha felt a tug in her heart. Charity was Dylan’s godmother and had been to visit only two weeks ago. At that time Sasha had felt she had nothing in common with her friend. She’d felt as though they were slipping apart as Charity talked in very vague terms of her latest mission in South America. But now, now she was back in the game.

And she’d have to thank Kane for it. Because she realized that she wasn’t really ready to let this part of herself go. Protecting the security of tourists was fine, but she’d forgotten what it was like to go head-to-head with someone twice her size and come out the victor.

“You okay?” Charity asked.

Sasha realized she’d let the silence go too long. She also realized she wasn’t doing as good a job of hiding her restlessness as she should. Though she and Charity were friends, she knew that the other woman would have no qualms about reporting to Ano that Sasha seemed unstable. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Charity took her arm and pulled her a few feet away from the vehicles. “Kane.”

“Ano called him Sterling. A wild card that had to be stopped at any cost.”

“Mom can be a tough piece of business.”

“I know. The hardest part was knowing she was right. Kane is…”

Charity watched her and Sasha found she couldn’t say what she was thinking. That Kane had slipped past the control that all good agents had. It was the only thing that stopped an agent from crossing over to the dark side. The only thing that made you keep working for a system with faults and foibles. A system that was inherently fallible because it was made up of humans who made mistakes. Who were tempted and easily lead astray at times.

Charity reached out and gave Sasha a quick hug. “I’m here if you need me.”

“Thanks. I’ll handle this.”

“You always do.”

“You going to chat all night or can we get back to work?” Justice called.

Charity gave her partner the finger, then turned and walked away from Sasha. Sasha watched her go then headed toward the Land Rover where Orly and Kane waited for her. She needed every shield she had in place. She wasn’t taking Kane to Ano until she had some answers, and knowing Kane, it wasn’t going to be easy to get them.

Sasha paused outside the vehicle then realized that she was acting like a wimp. Not a wimp. Just a woman. One who wasn’t ready to have another fight with her husband.

Kane had brought endless complications to her life. All of the unrest stemmed from his presence. Even her last mission, which had gone horribly wrong, was tied to him. She’d been distracted by the new man in her life.

She’d been weaker than she normally was because her life had been so full in those first few months of their becoming lovers, and Sasha had forgotten the truth she’d always known. That life didn’t work out for the best just because you wanted it to.

She reached up and opened the back door. Kane was bound similarly to the men he’d helped her apprehend. The image made her heart squeeze in her chest. She could see how uncomplicated her life in Leeds really was. And how her soul craved that solitude.

Her soul also craved adventure, but not like this. She climbed into the command vehicle. A thin piece of tinted bulletproof glass separated her and Kane from Orly. Orly had the vehicle in motion as soon as Sasha shut the door.

She sat down next to Kane in the back seat. He wouldn’t look at her and she felt an explosion deep in her soul. And part of that explosion was guilt. Rationally she knew she’d had no other choice. Kane couldn’t risk his life and the lives of other operatives to appease a villain like Townsend.

If he hadn’t gone crazy none of this would have happened.

“Did you give Orly the microchip?” she asked after a few minutes had passed. All of the data from the STAR list had been coded onto a computer chip. Easy to transport, easy to hide.

He didn’t say anything.

Nice. She thought. She didn’t want to have to rough up Kane to get information from him. And he knew it. He knew she couldn’t do it. But there were other avenues at her disposal. Avenues she’d never use with any other man but she could with Kane.

She leaned closer to him, pressing against his side. She rubbed her hand down his chest and felt his breath quicken. Her own senses stirred to life. It had been too long since she and Kane had made love. She refused to let this be anything other than a simple seduction to get information.

“Sasha, don’t,” he said.

Finally he looked at her, and what she saw in his shuttered gaze made her heart beat faster. He wasn’t immune to her, but then sexual compatibility had never been their problem. It was the emotional stuff that always caught her unaware. And it did tonight as well. Everything she’d felt for Kane converged, the lust, the anger, the hurt, the disappointment, swirling inside her head and making it impossible to divorce herself fully from the situation.

Just be an agent. But she couldn’t be—especially when she was so close to him that she could feel his warmth and feel the brush of each exhalation against her shoulder. She shifted farther away from him, lifting one hand to brush back her hair but encountering the black leather of her mask.

“You’ve left me no choice.”

“Really?” he asked in that silky voice of his that never failed to make her respond.

She’d started a game she had little chance of winning. “Really.”

“And we all know you’ll do anything for the Company.”

If only that was why she was here. Did Kane really think the only reason she’d come after him was because of her job? How little he knew her. She wryly acknowledged to herself that she’d never really let him know her. But it hurt all the same that he hadn’t tried. “I’m not doing this for the Company.”

“Then who?” he asked, arching one eyebrow.

She said nothing. This was her interrogation not his. She was the one asking the questions. She wanted to know what was going on. Who was the hostage? Where was the hostage being held? Why had Kane taken the STAR list and did he still have it?

But he persisted. “Me?”

Suddenly it was too much. “Don’t say it like that. You know I’d do anything to save you.”

“Do I? Then why am I living in London while you stay in Leeds?”

“You’re the one who moved out.” And she’d never really understood why he left. She’d put distance between them after Dylan was born. But only when she’d realized how intense the love she felt for her son was. She couldn’t stem those feelings, and having more than one person to care for made her weak—vulnerable. Something she could never really afford to be. She still had powerful enemies out there looking for her.

Of course, she hadn’t really done a good job of not caring about Kane, witnessed by tonight’s events. And the man didn’t even realize it.

“Yes, I did,” he said quietly.

She didn’t want to have this discussion. Not now. Maybe not ever. “Just tell me where the information Ano wants is.”

He tipped his head back against the window and closed his eyes. “I don’t have it.”

“Dammit, Kane. HMIA says you do.”

“I meant on me.”

“Where is it?” she asked. She wasn’t going to play games with him. Very few of her adversaries had ever made her want to lose her cool the way Kane did.

“Going to rough me up?” he challenged, waggling his eyebrows at her. He was a charming man most of the time. She was tempted to kick Orly out of the van and drive away. Go get Dylan and just disappear with Kane. But that was only a dream.

“Do I really have to?” she asked. Maybe she should have taken herself off the mission. Maybe she wasn’t the woman she’d always believed herself to be.

“What if I said yes?”

She knew he was toying with her. That he wanted her to have doubts and he was definitely playing on them. She refused to let him do it. “Don’t. Do you think this is easy for me?”

He cursed savagely under his breath.

“Sasha…”

He drew her name out. Speaking to her in that silky, deep voice of his that painted sensual shivers all over her nerve endings. She pulled her black leather mask off and tossed it onto the opposite bench.

“Why are you going after Townsend on your own?” she asked at last. If he confided in her, they’d be able to work together to make this more than a rogue agent betraying his government.

“It’s my assignment.”

“It was your assignment. What went wrong? Explain it to me, Kane. Make me understand what’s going on.”

“I got tired of never being able to act. So I took matters into my own hands.”

“Convince me to help you,” she said softly. If he said the right words, she’d abandon the Company and join him in his quest for justice.

He turned his head and stared at her with those glacial gray eyes of his. “I don’t think so.”

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