gers clamped aroun

he skin behind her ear. He was searching for surgical scars, for the tell

wrist with a sudden, violent jerk, pulling it up between them. His thumb dug ruthlessly into the exact spot where the deep, jagged burn scar should have been-the scar that had defined his mother's sacrifice for twelve years. His thumb met only smooth, unblemished fle

did not

ow the frantic, hysterical fear that Brittnie always used when caught in a

witched against her skin. The absolute cal

, forcing moisture into

ding in the gra

me out as a

ed backward, his shoulder slamming hard into the heavy bumper of a fi

g in rapid, shallow jerks. "No, she told you.

r hand extended-her weight shifting

ld. "You think some cheap psychological parlor trick is

over Katherine's shoulders. The medic reached for her bleeding arm, but Katherine kept her

rol officer approached K

he cold, untouchable heir to the Blackburn empire. He reached into his ruined jacket

tement," Kennard said, his voic

alade SUV that had just pulled up to the perimeter. He yanke

he car,"

medics, her steps measured and calm-though her right knee protested with each step, forcing a subtle, carefully masked

t do it blindly. His right hand dropped to his side, resting casually but purposefully over the concealed panic button embedded in the leather arm

g wreckage behind, merging onto the Pac

ide the cabin w

nce between them as possible. He poured a glass of whiskey from the buil

His shoulders were rigid under the ruined suit. The dark, bru

2, Longitude ne

e numbers clearly

ing the cashmere floor mat. He snapped his head toward her

oice steady. "Where you hid when the thunder got too loud. You ne

nged acros

e reinforced window. The glass was cold against her skull. His f

ntly in his neck. "What firm? What corporate espi

. She looked straight i

old grave to take my

to protect Brittnie's narrative, but the physical reality of her voice was tearing the code apar

and collapsed ba

et. His thumb smeared soot across

e, his voice hollow. "I need your best DNA

threw the phone

he smoothed the wrinkles from her coat

an happy to b

everly Hills. They passed through three heavily armed security checkpoints

n mansion loomed

ltz, Kennard's executive assistant, stood on the

and stepped out into the co

guest suite," Kennard ordere

wo former Navy SEALs moved to grab her arms. Katherine turned her head and leveled a stare at

stairs, holding a tablet. He looked do

uth fe

t hit the marble steps with a sharp cr

s back rigid, leaving Katherine standing in the night air