My father is waiting, and the gate opens before we even come to a full stop. One of his men stands there, directing us down the driveway.

  Another picks us up before we reach the circular portion in front of the house and directs us to the side.

  Yet another formidable-looking man points us into an open stall of the five-car garage. We pull in, and the door rolls slowly closed behind us.

  Leaning forward, I clap the agent driving on the shoulder. “I need you to stay out here. This won’t take long.”

  “Sure thing,” he replies.

  I do this in deference to my father who was adamant he doesn’t want any cops in his house. Those were his words, and I guess that includes FBI agents as he was well aware it was the FBI taking me to the airport to retrieve Jess.

  But I didn’t ask Griff to stay because although he’s FBI, he’s not dressed like one and would never pose a threat to my father. My dad will assume he’s part of the Jameson team, and I’m not going to disabuse him of that.

  I want Griff to come in because he’s going to need to handle Bebe.

  We exit the car, and I move through the garage to the door leading into a large mudroom. Jess walks through first, and I see my father ahead waiting in the kitchen. Without preamble, he moves to her and hugs her tightly. “How you doing, pretty lady?” he asks gently.

  She nods with a weak smile. “I’m good.”

  He releases her and I make introductions to Griff and Bebe. When my dad shakes Bebe’s hand, he says, “I have rooms for you and Jess right beside each other upstairs, and they share a bathroom.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute,” Bebe exclaims, looking to Griff, then to me, then back to Griff. “I’m here to work. I’m going with you back to the FBI office.”

  “You’re not,” Griff says tightly. “You’re staying here, and those are Kynan’s orders.”

  Bebe’s face turns red, and she lights into Griff. There are some curse words, some stomping, and my dad gracefully extricates himself from the room muttering, “I’ll be in my office, Dozer, when you want to talk.”

  Taking Jess by the elbow, I lead her to the solarium that angles off the side of the outdoor patio and pool. Jess pulls away from me, moving to the patio door.

  “Don’t go out there,” I say, and she glances back at me in surprise.

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s too dangerous. Until I can get you safely back to Pittsburgh, you’re staying indoors.”

  “Trading one prison for another,” she says in exasperation, holding out her arms.

  “No one to blame but yourself,” I retort, the anger welling up again. “You are not welcome here, but since you came and I can’t have you disrupting anything, you’re going to stay here inside my dad’s house, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

  “Are you always going to be this high-handed?” she demands, popping out a hip. I try to hold on to my fury, but fuck if she doesn’t look cute doing that.

  I refuse to let her charm me. Instead, I succumb to the stress and exhaustion I’ve been under from leaving her behind—and for what faces me in the future.

  “Why did you come, Jess?” I ask, my voice tired. “You know there’s nothing you can do here.”

  “Maybe not,” she replies, moving closer. “But I feel better being in proximity to you. I might not see you after you leave here today, but I feel better here than in Pittsburgh.”

  “You put yourself in danger just to be close to me?” My tone reflects how foolish I think this is.

  “Yes,” she exclaims, her chin lifted defiantly. “And also… because… I let you leave without telling you some important things.”

  It would be easy enough for me to slap her with a sarcastic reply of “You know, there’s this nifty invention called a telephone,” but I’m also smart enough to know that whatever possessed her to come here probably isn’t meant for a phone call.

  My anger dissipates.

  Reaching for her, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into me. “What did you want to tell me?”

  Her head tips back, eyes focused intently on mine. “I want to tell you all the important things I haven’t said yet. I should’ve never let you leave without me saying them.”

  I can read the underlying message. She’s feeling pressed to tell me things on the off chance I don’t make it out of this. I don’t take that as a lack of faith in me but rather her loss of control over this situation.

  “You know I love you,” she begins, and waits for me to nod. “Well, it’s deeper than that. I need you in my life, Dozer. Now that I can be free with my feelings, my life won’t be complete without you. So when you’re done taking Ivan down, I want you to know that I’m all in. I want to marry you, and I want us to give Thea little brothers and sisters, and I want to do life with you in every possible way. I want to wake up to your face every morning, and go to sleep with the memory of your kiss on my lips every night. I want you to be Thea’s father and not her uncle. I want you to adopt her. I want to grow old and wrinkly together, and I want us to leave a legacy for our children and their children.”

  Every word that comes out of her mouth fills me as if I were a balloon just waiting for air to become the thing it’s supposed to be. She’s saying all the right words… marriage, kids, togetherness.

  She’s talking about the type of commitment I’ve dreamed about for what seems like forever.

  There’s nothing for me to do but kiss her, and I do with all the love, passion, yearning, and hope within me. Her arms go around my neck, and we cling to each other in desperation because everything we ever wanted is right here for us to take.

  If we can just get rid of Borovsky.

  Lifting my mouth, I lean my forehead against hers and close my eyes. “Everything you said, I feel the same. I love you, JJ.”

  Pulling back slightly, I give her a chastising look. “But when it comes to marriage, how about you wait for me to propose?”

  “Will I have to wait long?” she asks, an impish grin on her face.

  “Give me about five minutes after the handcuffs go on Borovsky, okay?”

  “Deal,” she murmurs and kisses me again.

  When we pull apart, she says, “I’m not leaving, though. Don’t try to make me.”

  I sigh, but it’s a relenting one. “You have to stay here, and you have to stay inside. My dad has plenty of men around, but the FBI is going to put a few on the grounds as well. Bebe has to stay here too.”

  “She’s not going to like that,” Jess muses.

  “Tough shit,” I grouse, remembering I have to give her a piece of my mind too.

  “Don’t you even think about taking your anger out on her,” Jess says, as if she was just delving into my brain. “It’s done, and I don’t want you having angry words with her before you go off to do something dangerous, okay?”

  “Fine,” I agree without any real enthusiasm and then can’t help but add, “But when it’s all done—”

  “You’ll hug her and tell her what a great friend she is,” Jess says firmly.

  And I can tell there’s no arguing with that.

  I laugh and pull her back into me for one long, last, and dare I say superhot kiss. She’s breathless when I let her go.

  I need to do the job I came here to do.

  On my way out the door, Griff preceding me into the garage, my dad puts a hand on my shoulder. “Got a minute?”

  “Sure,” I say. I’m pressed for time, but I absolutely will take a moment for him because he’s going to protect Jess while I’m gone. Also… no telling if this could be our last conversation.

  “I’ll be a second,” I say to Griff and then follow my dad back into the kitchen.

  He leans against the counter, arms folded over his chest. “Want to tell me what you’re getting ready to do?”

  I didn’t give my dad details because I didn’t want him to worry. All he knows is that I’m here with Jameson to help the FBI in the manhunt for Borovsky. I’m half afraid if I tell him what I’m going to do, he’ll get his guys to hog-tie me and won’t let me out of the house.

  So I lie to him, and I’ll apologize later. “Just providing tech support. But I have to be at the FBI office with the team.”

  I can tell by his face he doesn’t buy it, but he can’t force me to tell him the truth either. Of course, he’ll know exactly what’s going on when he sees the press conference, or it could be that Jess and Bebe fill him in after I’ve left. I didn’t tell them to keep it from him, but maybe I should have.

  “Listen,” he says, moving to stand before me. We’re matched in size and strength, though I’ve only ever seen him as a big tough guy. But as I watch tears fill his eyes, I have the sudden urge to run, because I’m not ready to see this part of my dad.

  He blinks them away, probably because of the panicked look on my face, and instead pulls me into a hard hug. I freeze in shock but it’s not long before my arms go around him.

  There’s a hard pound on my back from one of his meaty fists. “Whatever you’re doing, you better stay safe.”

  “I will,” I promise as he releases me.

  “I know I haven’t been the best dad—”

  “Don’t,” I interrupt with a hard shake of my head. “Don’t say that. It’s not true.”

  “I haven’t been overly supportive of your career,” he amends, and I can’t argue with that. “But just because I wasn’t vocal about it doesn’t mean I haven’t been filled with pride over all of your accomplishments from the day you were born. Whether you were playing football or building spaceships, or whatever the fuck you did at NASA, or capturing murderers, I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

  My eyes sting, but I force the tears back. It’s such a naked admission from my dad, but it couldn’t come at a better time.

  I hug him again. “Thanks, Dad. That means a lot.”

  “I love you, son.”

  “Love you too,” I reply.

  Later, as we’re in the SUV heading back to the FBI office, Griff looks over his shoulder at me in the back seat. “You good?”

  “As good as can be.” All the words between me and Jess and me and my dad have filled me with strength.

  Still, I ride off into the unknown, unsure if they were my last words with them.

  CHAPTER 18

  Dozer

  My phone rings, and I connect it through the Bluetooth on the rental car. It’s Thea calling from her phone watch I gave her, and there’s no stopping the smile on my face.

  “What’s up, pip-squeak?”

  “Hi, Uncle Dozer,” she says, her voice music to my ears. “Guess what?”

  “What?” I ask, keeping an eye on the rearview mirror. This is my third day leaving the FBI offices for the evening, and I’m on edge, expecting Borovsky’s men to jump me at any time. It’s discouraging, though, that we’re not picking up any chatter whatsoever through the informants that the Russians are inclined to take the bait.

  Things have been strangely silent.

  “Uncle Dozer?” Thea says hesitantly.

  I shake my head, forcing my worries away. “Yeah… I’m here.”

  “I told you that Kellen took Gigi and me to the beach today and I rode a buggy board.”

  “A boogie board,” I correct her with a laugh. “You tell Kellen to send me a video of that.”

  “I will,” she replies and then chatters on about her beach adventure.

  The great thing about a seven-year-old is that when they’re done talking to you, they’re done. There are no long goodbyes.

  “Okay,” she says, stopping practically mid-sentence. “I gotta go. Gigi wants to talk to you, but she said she’ll call you from her phone.”

  “Okay, kiddo. I’m glad you called.”

  “Love you,” she says, and before I can tell her I love her back, she disconnects.

  Almost immediately, Claire calls. “Hi, Claire.”

  “How are you doing?” she asks, not even attempting to hide her worry. As every day has dragged by with no movement, she’s been getting antsier. Jess is nearly coming unglued, but at least she’s safe at my dad’s house.

  “I’m fine,” I assure her.

  “Any leads?” she inquires.

  “Nothing good.” I glance in the rearview mirror again. Looks like normal traffic to me, but it’s hard to tell since it’s gotten dark. Of course, I know that somewhere in proximity, Jameson agents are following. They’re never letting me out of range of the chip in my watch and clothing. “It might be that this isn’t going to work.”

  “Then what’s the answer? We can’t hide forever.”

  “I know. We’re going to have to talk about what comes next.”

  “I hate this,” she grumbles. “You and Jess should be starting your life together, not hiding from some madman.”

  “I know,” I say soothingly. “We’ll get him, though. I promise.”

  We chat for a few more minutes, mostly her updating how they’re doing out in California. They’re enjoying time at Joslyn’s beautiful home, but they miss all of us.

  When I hang up, I consider calling Jess. I’m only about five minutes from the hotel, and I should wait until I arrive, order room service, and settle in. Truth be told, hearing Thea’s and Claire’s voices has made me miss Jess even more. She’s less than a thirty-minute drive from me, but there’s no way I can go there. While it seems the Russians aren’t interested in me, I can’t take the chance we’re wrong about that.

  Fuck it… I can call her now and talk later. Any chance I get to contact her by phone, FaceTime, or text, I’m taking it.

  I dial her number, and she answers on a breathy, “Hello?”

  “Hi, hot stuff,” I say. “What are you up to?”

  “Just taking a run on the treadmill,” she says. “Your dad’s gym is the bomb.”

  I actually didn’t see it when we were there just over a week ago. Getting the grand tour of the mansion wasn’t high on my priority list.

  “Where are you?” she asks, a wistfulness in her voice that tells me she wishes I’d say I’m right outside the door.

  “Almost to my hotel.”

  “I could’ve done without knowing that,” she grumbles. We both know it’s the most dangerous time for me. If the Russians or Borovsky are going to make a move, it will be when I’m alone and in transit. It’s doubtful they’d storm the hotel, and they sure as hell aren’t going to breach the FBI headquarters where we’ve been working during the day.

  “You went a little overboard in this afternoon’s press conference.” I imagine her chewing a nail fretfully.

  “Got to amp it up,” I explain. “If I can’t goad him out of hiding, we won’t get him.”

  “Well, I know the man far better than you,” she says, and it’s a reminder that I don’t like that she knew him at all. “He’s got a very fragile ego. If you wanted to piss him off, that press conference did it. Rather than capture you, he could just as easily put a bullet in your head.”

  “No way. He knows I know where you are, and he’s not going to waste that bullet.”

  Christ, it feels awful talking about these things with her. With no movement after two days of trying to bait Borovsky, I got up in front of the cameras today and called him out.

  I went completely off script. “If you’re listening, Borovsky, I want you to know that you will never get near Jessica Collins again. She’s well protected while you hide like a rat, afraid of your own shadow. Honestly, I’m not sure what all the fuss is about because you strike fear in no one. Jessica is going on with her life while you’ve merely traded one prison for another.”

  Everyone around the podium looked stunned. I was supposed to give updates to the public and make another plea for tips. My first press conference, I was introduced as a “close loved one who would be the spokesperson for the family.” For the last two days, my scripts clearly haven’t been working.

  And before the cameras stopped rolling, I looked to the special agent in charge standing to my left and said, “My advice is we discontinue these operations. He’s not a threat, and it’s a waste of our resources when we have bigger fish to fry.”

  Someone behind me cursed, because I changed the narrative without consulting anyone.

  I walked off camera. That was three hours ago.

  “We need to consider packing it up, Jess.” I see the hotel parking lot ahead. I chose to stay at one away from the bustle of downtown.

  “And so we head back to Pittsburgh?” she asks.

  “I could stay here in Miami with you,” I say, pulling into the lot and choosing a spot not too close to the building. “But that would be so risky. I’d like you to come back to Pittsburgh where we can at least have Jameson’s help, but I know that’s uprooting you and Thea. Your mom, too, of course.”

  “I don’t want to be away from you, so whatever you think is best,” she says. “They probably know who you are, so Pittsburgh might be safer.”

  “Kynan would let me work out of the Vegas office,” I offer. We talked about it at lunch today because he was also getting the sense that Borovsky was going to lie way too low for us to nab him. “We could get new identities. Wait it out until he’s captured.”

  “I like that idea. Let’s do it. Let’s leave tomorrow and go.”

  I smile, turning off my car. “I can start things rolling. Why don’t you call your mom and talk to her about it? She gets a say since we’re all in this together.”

  “God, I love you.” I can hear the quaver in her voice. “You’re just making it so easy.”

  Movement across the shadowy parking lot catches my attention. The regularly spaced lampposts don’t provide continual light but rather patches. I squint, and two rows over, I see a car where all four doors open at once.

  Four men step out, and they’re staring at my car. I don’t see Borovsky with them, but I have no doubt who they are.

  My heart jackhammers.

  This is it.

  I don’t want to worry Jess. I’ll have to leave it up to Kynan to let her know what happened.

  “I’m at the hotel,” I say, watching the men walk my way. “I’ll call you later, okay?”