When Bash recognized the silhouette of a small pickup truck stuttering toward him on the road, he thought about aiming his car to the driver’s side door. The truck, though, seemed barely functional. Instead, Bash turned his car across the road, flashing his brights into the driver’s eyes before turning into his path. As Bash had hoped, the driver turned his wheel and the truck skidded to a stop.

“Get back!” came a surprisingly high-pitched voice.

“Where is Piper?” Bash demanded. “Just give me the girl and you can go.”

“She’s not here,” came a more mature voice, and Bash shined his phone light onto the face of Bernardo Prado.

“Did she get away?” Bash demanded.

“I said, get back!” the kid insisted, his voice rising even higher as he emphasized his commands.

“Look,” Bash glided behind the back of the truck, “all I want is the girl. If you don’t have her, then I will go on past you.”

The kid still pointed the gun at Bash, and now Bernardo leaned out the open door of the truck, reaching his bound hands to the handle. With one swift motion, he slammed the door shut and shifted the truck into drive, steering it onto the gravel shoulder and past Bash’s rental. The kid actually opened fire on the fleeing truck, and Bash rushed at the shooter’s back, wrapping him up in a full hold and sending the gun flying under Bash’s car.

“Listen to me, kid. I was serious when I said I don’t care about you at all. I want to know where the girl is.”

“She’s around the corner. Closer to the house, I think,” the boy insisted. “Let me go.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so. You’ll just come after me or go after my friend. I don’t have any reason to hurt you, but I’m not letting you go.”

The kid was a little bit lighter than Piper, so Bash just picked him up and walked him to the back of the rental. Fortunately, the kid was so skinny that Bash could hold him with one arm, and he dug in his pocket for the keys. He popped open the trunk, wrapping the kid in both arms again so he could lower him into the back of the car.

“If I go back to them now, they’re gonna kill my family.”

“That’s what they always say,” Bash shrugged. “My cousin can beat you up a little and send you back, and they can credit you with a beat-in. They won’t kill your family if you have enough bruises. Plus, maybe my cousin can give you some pointers. He kept me alive for a decade more than I should have lived.”

Bash, having received some from his cousin, pulled out a zip tie and bound the kid’s hands and feet. “One of us will be back to get you, and I’ll let you talk to my cousin.” After he shut the trunk, Bash felt under the car for the gun. Though he had hesitated to use the gun before, Piper was possibly in deadly peril. If there were ever a time to bend the rules, now was the time. He quickly stowed the gun at his beltline and rushed to the shelter of the trees. From behind him, he could sense the flashing lights of approaching police cars, and he ducked behind a tree in time to see Bernardo Prado step into the street and wave his arms to attract the police attention. Thankful, Bash sprinted through the forested line, certain that he would not wait for law enforcement to protect Piper.

++++++++++

With more than a little frustration, Luke stared after Isaac and his “captive.” Of course, Luke wanted to go pummel Isaac to a pulp. Problem was, Isaac was a better fighter than Luke. Also, Isaac had Piper, and a threat to Piper would stop Luke in his tracks. The worst part was that Luke would probably lose out in a contest of finger-pointing, and even with Piper as witness, the CIA would back the better and more committed agent. Even Luke knew that was Isaac.

When Sebastian glided out from the trees into shadow near the house, though, Luke suddenly grew conflicted. His instinct to protect Bash raged up and moved him into Bash’s path. Both Luke and Sebastian could hear Piper where she bargained with Isaac, though Sebastian didn’t understand what he was hearing.

When he had seen Piper with Isaac, Bash had breathed a sigh of relief. Bash had envisioned some gang banger, his arms restraining Piper as she screamed in terror. Of course, she wouldn’t scream like that. Piper had more courage than Bash on his best day. Reading Piper’s terror as Isaac dragged her into the privacy of the home, Bash realized that he had gravely misread the situation.

“Ror – Isaac,” Piper pleaded, “you can let me go. I heard you in the woods – you need the Prados. I can get you the Prados.”

“Maybe,” Isaac agreed, “but you and I need to come to an agreement before I let you go.”

Despite her bravado, Piper had trouble holding in her tears. Sucking in a breath, she continued. “I agree with whatever you need, Isaac. You’re professional. You have a job. There are things about this that I don’t understand. You and Luke just tell me what to do.”

When Isaac reached for the door, Piper’s stomach emptied into hollow pit of fear. When he pushed her through the door into the darkness, she stumbled, her strength faltering. Her attempt to draw Luke into the mix had failed.

“Please, Isaac. I’m not…I’m not a threat to you. I don’t have anything you need.”

He grabbed her by the arm, tugging her to her feet and shoving her toward a couch, where she fell unceremoniously. As if he were her friend, he seated himself next to her.

“I know you’re not a threat – you’re not strong enough in any way to threaten me. Of course, you tried, which is something I can’t let stand. You’ve caused me a lot of problems, Piper,” he rubbed his eyes as if exhausted. “I had this whole situation managed until you called me out in front of my subordinate. It’s like you don’t know what’s good for you – no sense of self preservation. None of my normal methods have had any effect on you.”

Even in her horrible circumstances – or perhaps because of them – the words bubbled a giggle from her throat. “Apparently, I am far from normal,” she laughed. “I must have heard that half a dozen times in the past couple of weeks.” When Isaac leaned toward her, riveting her eyes with his, her mirth evaporated. “Let me go, Isaac,” she insisted.

“You are an enigma, Piper Hayes. What works on you? How can I trust you once you walk out this door?” He searched her eyes, and Piper cringed at the interest she read there. Even as she scooted toward the end of the couch, he slid down next to her, sliding his hand behind her neck so that she had to look him in the face. “I have done this successfully a thousand times, but you are like a stone. Do you have some disorder, some lack of empathy?”

The words seemed almost farcical to Piper – if one trait defined her, it was empathy.

“No, Isaac. I have lots of empathy. But empathy requires both parties to have feelings, and I’m getting the sense now that you have none.”

As she had spoken, Isaac had leaned closer. “I feel like I want you,” he contradicted, and he pulled her face to his, intent on kissing her.

“Stay away from me, Isaac!” Piper screeched, pressing her hands against his chest. “Luke knows you brought me in here. You can’t just do what you want and expect to walk away unscathed.”

“Luke will not rat me out.” Isaac pressed his lips into a knowing smile. “He knows his place in the hierarchy, and the Agency will value me over him by a mile.”

“And you think I will be quiet about this?”

“You will be labeled mentally unstable and combative, and every law enforcement agent in the country knows what that means about your credibility.”

Piper blinked at Isaac. Though she wanted to scoff at the possibility, she couldn’t. How much difficulty would a man like Isaac face in characterizing her however he wanted? If Luke backed him up, she realized how unlikely anyone would believe her story.

Unbelievably, the police stood somewhere outside. Would Luke redirect them? Protect his officer to preserve rank in the CIA? Since CIA action stood outside the law inside the U.S. borders, did that mean Isaac could act outside the law with little risk?

The injustice of the idea infuriated Piper, even as her own powerlessness threatened to steal her strength. When Isaac tried to climb on top of her, to immobilize her hands by pressing his weight on her, Piper’s will rebelled.

“Raagh!” she growled, twisting her head against his hand. The motion brought his lips against her neck, and Isaac seemed pleased with the alternative.

“Mmmm,” he murmured, and Piper began to squirm.

“Isaac, there is one thing you should know about me.” Her voice came out with grunts of effort. “I am not afraid to fight. I am not afraid of getting hurt if there’s a chance I can get away.”

“Sounds perfect,” he grinned, bringing his other hand to vise her face so she couldn’t turn away. She closed her eyes, her mind beginning to realize that her immediate future promised more pain than she could imagine.

+++++++++++

When Sebastian watched Piper disappear into the darkness of the house, every fear fled, awakening an animal that raged for beyond anything he had experienced before. The little boy had always tugged at him, held him back from danger, but he couldn’t hear the boy anymore – just the animal.

Surprisingly, it was Luke who tried to cage the animal, stepping into Bash’s path to the door. “You can’t just run in there, Bash. Isaac will kill you.”

“Not if I kill him first.” Bash barely registered his cousin’s presence.

“I can’t let you rush in there.” Luke actually moved in front of Bash, bracing his arms against his cousin’s shoulder. “This is CIA business, and Piper has information Isaac needs.” The effort to restrain Bash drew several grunts of effort from Luke.

Finally, the words wrenched Bash from his course, shock and disgust rendering him immobile for a moment. “Luciano Lopez, you had better not mean that.”

“I don’t know what I mean, Sebastian,” Luke panted. “I know that I am terrified for Piper, but I don’t know what will happen to any of us if we go in there and interfere.”

For the first time in his life, Bash looked down on his cousin with something other than admiration – something between pity and distaste. “Here’s the deal, Luke. I don’t care what happens to anyone but Piper. You did this to yourself; you brought this psychopath to our door. I do not judge you for that. I know your dilemma. But there is no debate here. Piper is my first priority.”

“Bash!” Luke actually reached out to restrain his cousin, and Bash reacted with unexpected instinct. His fist smashed against his cousin’s jaw, and he followed the motion by shoving Luciano to the ground. In under a minute, Bash had stepped over his cousin and made it to the door.

Maybe he could have stopped Bash, but Luke had to ask himself a question: if he was willing to physically fight his little cousin – the person in the world he claimed to care about most – was it possible that Luke was fighting for the wrong side? With no clear answer, Luke prepared himself to do what he could to help Bash. Luciano Lopez knew that much of his identity beyond a doubt.

++++++++++

For the first time since her childhood, Piper felt complete powerlessness. Isaac had her pinned, and the look she had seen in his eye promised heartlessness, cruelty, and self-indulgence. Even with her eyes closed, that expression had burned itself into her retinas and would not go away. When his lips met the flesh of her neck, she tried to brace herself against his violation.

But then, Isaac was gone.

The air in front of Piper, heated by Isaac’s body, suddenly cooled with a woosh of air. Piper’s lungs filled with fresh breath as his weight lifted off of her. When her eyes popped open, she bit her lip, elated and beyond grateful.

Sebastian Rivera – in imitation of Piper’s earlier move – had Isaac/Rory by either side of his hair, and Isaac had begun to twist to get away. Before he could, Piper stood to her feet and rammed her knee with all her might directly into Isaac’s crotch.

“Mentally unstable?” she hissed as she leaned down into his face. “Not afraid.”

Despite her words, Bash gripped her arm and tugged her away as if frightened for her life.

“That won’t slow him down for long, Piper. And he will be furious when he comes after you.”

He grabbed her hand, pulling her through the front door – which he had left open to maintain stealth – and then slamming the door just as he saw Isaac stand.

“Better to enrage the beast before he has the chance to disable you.”

Somehow, the smug expression on her face brought Sebastian an incredible amount of satisfaction. Not that he could take the time to enjoy it. “Hurry!” Bash urged, and Piper found her legs just in time to hear the door slam open behind her.

Bash and Piper crashed into the trees, and it took all of Piper’s concentration not to smash into the trunks as they flew past. She could see the flash of lights move into the clearing before the house, illuminating the night behind her. Finally, she and Bash broke through to the clearing where Bash had parked his car on the road.

With relief in sight, Bash slowed a step, taking a moment to peer back at Piper. “Are you okay?” he grilled her, his desperation apparent.

“I’m fine,” she promised. “I’ll have to deal with this later, but for now, I’m fine.”

Bash depressed the button on his key fob, and the doors beeped and unlocked. “Get in,” he commanded as he threw open the door.

The figure flew, swift and silent, into the space between Piper and Bash, and Piper felt her body smash into the side of the car before collapsing to the ground. She heard a crack as a searing heat spread through her left side.

Even with the pain that stole her breath, Piper again scrambled to her feet, spinning on her assailant. If he hurt her, she would make sure it cost him. She wouldn’t need to, though. Before she had made it all the way to her feet, Bash had tackled Isaac to the ground and was sitting on his back, holding his arms like a vice.

After a few deep breaths, Piper found her footing again. To her consternation, Luke broke through the plane of the trees, and he pulled up short when he saw his cousin on Isaac’s back.

“Get your cousin off of me!” Isaac hissed, and Luke just stared. In that moment, Luke seemed to make a decision.

“Here’s the deal, Isaac,” Luke explained, his voice calmer than his expression. “Until my cousin showed up, I was standing outside that house deciding whether or not to kill you. I know what that would have meant for me, but I had just let you, full of bad intentions, isolate a woman – a woman I care about – in a dark house. In so doing, I let myself condemned her to an unknown fate. It was wrong on many levels. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the business, and I get that. I don’t have to resign myself to trust you. You are a good agent, but you are a bad person.” Luke approached Bash, and Piper held her breath. Though she couldn’t imagine Luke turning against his cousin, his words spoke tolerance for the man who had threatened her. Unfortunately, her ribs hurt so badly that she didn’t think she could do anything to help if the two agents teamed up against Bash.

“I have at least two witnesses who will testify that you abused your power, that you involved yourself in criminal affairs on American soil, and that you conspired with a gang member to murder an American citizen.”

“I’m gonna kill you, Luciano.”

“Maybe,” Luke acknowledged. “Or maybe you and I can learn to work together. Like I said, you are a good agent. You just need to learn to work within boundaries. I contacted my old CO, and he wants me to come back. He doesn’t know why I was switched to you. He’s going to make sure that I am in a new chain of command.”

“Get off my back, Sebastian,” Isaac redirected his efforts at intimidation.

“When my cousin tells me it’s safe,” Sebastian promised.

“Piper, get in the car,” Luke instructed, and though she greatly wanted to hold her ground in case she needed to interfere, she knew the idea was laughable. She would more likely create a distraction for Luke or Bash in her current state. With a nod, she started to move to the passenger side. “No, Piper. Get in the driver’s side.”

“I don’t think I can drive,” she gasped, her broken ribs tearing at her determination.

“You’re just going to point the car down the road. Then you can move to the passenger side.”

Piper did what Luke instructed, turning the car and then stepping out to make sure Bash was still okay.

“Now, Isaac. Is it safe for Bash to get off of you?”

“Fine,” Isaac agreed, but Bash interrupted.

“Hold on, Luke,” Bash instructed. “Piper, can you walk?”

“A little.”

“I need you to come get the gun from the back of my waistband.”

Bash did not slacken his grip on Isaac’s arms, and as Piper drew nearer, Bash leaned down on Isaac’s hands to pin them harder. Piper grabbed the gun, grunting with the effort to bend down with broken ribs.

“This didn’t work last time, Bash. He just knocked the gun away from me.”

“Steady hands, Piper. Do you think you could shoot him now, after everything that’s happened?”

Piper let her mind wander back to the woods, when Isaac had instructed that kid to kill Bernardo. “I can,” she agreed, and she suddenly knew she meant it as she lowered the gun to aim at Isaac.

Though Bash and Isaac were similar size, Bash held the higher ground, and he gripped Isaac’s arms with an iron grip as he rose to his feet and pulled Isaac up.

“Here’s where you prove your loyalty, Cuz,” Bash leveled, and Piper couldn’t miss the ironic tone. There were a lot of words going unspoken between Bash and Luke, and Piper hoped Luke was offering the right answers.

“I think you and I need to go talk to the police, Isaac,” Luke nodded. “There’s a man tied up behind the house, and his partner got away. You will need to explain to the police why you were here, involved in a local matter.”

“I told you, Luke,” Isaac sneered. “It’s fine. You know me. I’m practical, and there is no practical gain for me to act against any of you at the moment.”

“Bash, I think that’s the best we’re going to do.”

“Okay, Piper, go to the other side of the car but keep the gun on Isaac.”

Piper obeyed, and Bash shoved Isaac so hard that Isaac almost fell on his face. With his arms wrenched behind his back, Isaac was forced to throw his arms forward to catch himself, and by the time he recovered enough to spin back to the car, both Piper and Bash had seated themselves in the car and were on their way. The could see Luke in the mirror, where he strolled casually up to Isaac’s side. Something in the men’s stances communicated a power shift. Not necessarily that Luke had overtaken Isaac, but that Luke at least stood on equal footing.

When the pain in Piper’s chest finally pulled her eyes away, Piper moaned. She heard Bash’s intake of breath, but he said nothing. Finally, she found her voice. “Is Luke okay?”

“He looked fine; I think he might be done with Isaac, and maybe the CIA. The cops are waiting on the other side of the trees – Isaac won’t do anything with them as witnesses.”

Piper sighed, leaning her head back against he seat. “You came back,” she smiled through the pain.

He rolled his eyes skyward. “I came back.”

Her smile beamed wider, and he found his own face mirroring hers for the first time in days.

“This is kind of how it all started,” she mused, letting her head loll to the side so she could look at Bash.

“Except I was more scared for you then,” Bash acknowledged.

“Why then? I was just nearly kidnapped by an immoral CIA agent!”

“But I know you now, Piper.” He flashed his dimple at her, and she found herself mesmerized by the sight. “You are a lot stronger than I gave you credit for, and a lot smarter.”

“A lot stupider…”

“Braver…”

“Unrefined,” she laughed but then groaned.

“Thank God,” Sebastian agreed, and they rode the rest of the way to Jennie’s house in silence – with one detour to the police station to deposit their passenger from the trunk. By the time Bash pulled into Jennie Pendergrast’s driveway, Piper’s breathing had evened, and he brushed his hand gently down her cheek. He was incredibly grateful that she was sound and whole, and able to sleep peacefully beside him.

++++++++++

“Yes, Mr. Lopez. Agent Strickland. I got your name from the police in New Haven after you found the Prados. I need your statement that you found them there.”

“Okay, no problem.”

“The property belonged to a state senator who we are investigating for the murder of the Prados’ colleagues and the attempted murder of the Prados.”

Luke whistled. “Well, I can give you as much information as I have.”

“We would like to speak to your cousin as well, if you can manage that. We want to ask him about one of his classmates, a Mitch Parkington.”

“Yeah, we know him. Again, I’ll give you whatever I have. And while I’m at it, do you know anyone I could talk to and find out if the FBI would be able to accept a CIA trainee for transfer.”

Agent Strickland laughed. “I happen to know that it has happened before – and no, not me. I have a couple of friends. I put you in contact.”

For the first time since he had threatened Isaac, Luke Lopez could breathe. He had been wrong about himself – he wasn’t cut out for the CIA.

++++++++++

Unfortunately, the window in Mitch’s little “cell” faced due east, and a sunbeam stabbed directly under his eyelids only a few minutes after 7 a.m. He groaned, rolling over and peering out the tall, thin rectangle of glass that led into the bigger office. Because he had called in his lawyer, the FBI had chosen not to detain him, but Mitch had refused to leave. Not really refused, of course, because they could have kicked him out, but he wouldn’t have left, and they would have had to arrest him.

He was terrified.

Now that he had started the process, he knew that he had to follow through. If he didn’t, the FBI would subpoena his bank records, his phone records. Tarin would be arrested just on the evidence Mitch had already given, and Tarin would definitely reveal Mitch’s drug dealing. Maybe he wouldn’t have turned on one of his brothers from the gang – because they would kill him in prison. Mitch though? His crew would probably pat Tarin on the back for sticking it to a rich, white guy.

The phone records would confirm Mitch’s involvement with drugs, and the bank records, if Mitch didn’t testify against the senator, would look like he had received a lot of drug money. Cash deposits. He should never have deposited the money – he was a lousy criminal.

When the knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, he nearly wet himself. He had been too afraid to leave the office at night. He looked up into the face of his lawyer, though, and his relief was palpable. Opening the door, Mitch pushed out into the main office. “Come with me to the restroom. We’ll talk after.”

His lawyer, Lazlo Brompton, chuckled. “Long night?”

“Not long enough,” Mitch complained. “The window in the room faces due east. Why are you here this early anyway?” Mitch registered the presence of Agent Talbot at his desk, and two men in suits stood behind him staring at his computer. One of the men seemed incredibly familiar, and Mitch spent the rest of his trek to the bathroom contemplating the face.

“I don’t trust these people,” Lazlo advised. “You put yourself in their power, and I don’t care if you came in willingly, they may try to incriminate you before you get an agreement.”

Remaining silent, Mitch pondered his lawyer’s words. He just might have spilled more than was wise if the agents had pressed him, and he had to thank his lawyer for the vigilance. As he stepped back into the main office, the stranger turned to look at him, and Mitch began a panic, his chest tightening as he gripped for a cubicle wall.

“What is it?” Lazlo begged.

“Just get me to the office where I slept, and then get me out of here if you can.”

“We can leave now,” Lazlo insisted.

“No, I have to sit down for a minute. If they don’t know I’m onto them, they won’t try to keep me here.

“Who?”

“Just get me in the office.”

Once they had seated themselves behind a closed door, Mitch breathed hard until he could calm himself.

“Now, talk to me,” Lazlo insisted.

“One of those guys is a state senator from my dad’s district.”

“So?”

“I’m here to provide evidence against a state senator,” Mitch explained.

Lazlo Brompton whistled. “That is really something,” he offered, a clear understatement. “You think those guys might be here to incriminate you?”

“I don’t know! I just know they’re in the same organization as the guy I’m about to bring down. If it were a gang, they would be here to teach me a lesson.”

“You’d be surprised how much politics happens in a gang, but is the guy you’re informing on a democrat or a republican.”

“I don’t know. He represents Providence.”

“Chances are he’s a democrat, then. And I’m going to assume that the rep in your dad’s neighborhood is a republican.”

Mitch felt his chest release. Maybe the men in the office would actually help his cause.

“So tell me what you’ve done, Mitch. Don’t leave anything out. Wait,” Lazlo held up his hand. “Give me a minute.” Sticking his head out the window, he yelled across the room at Agent Talbot. “Do you have a secure room?” Lazlo asked.

“You’re in it,” Agent Talbot informed him.

“Okay, then,” Lazlo prompted as he returned to his seat. “Tell me.”

And Mitch told him everything.