If only it were that simple.

“Thank you for revealing that part of your life to me,” Rachel said, patting her friend on the leg. “I promise I won’t tell anyone. Even Kate. But maybe you should take your own advice and stop punishing yourself so that you can go after your happiness. You never know. You may find love a second time.”

Lisa bit her lip. “It’s not in the cards for me.” She rose from the couch and slipped her purse over her arm before giving Rachel a hug. “Call me if you need anything. And we missed you at Girls’ Night last week. Make sure you come this Thursday or Gracie’s going to march over here and harass you until you tell her everything.”

Rachel walked Lisa out and shut the door. Back in the family room, she picked up the wineglasses and brought them into the kitchen to wash. The rest of the bottle sat on the counter by the cheese and crackers she’d forgotten about. Her appetite must have stayed with her husband because it hadn’t come back with her from Vegas.

Rinsing the glasses in the sink, she was startled to hear the doorbell ring. She frowned as she turned off the faucet and wiped her hands dry on a kitchen towel. Lisa must have forgotten something. Rachel headed out of her kitchen and crossed her living room to the front door. “What did you forget this time, Lisa?” she asked, swinging her door open.

She didn’t have time to process that the person behind the door wasn’t her friend before it flew all the way open, hitting the wall with a crash, and Senator Hutton had barreled his way into her apartment, the force of him knocking her to the floor.

As she lay there in shock, her brain not caught up with the moment’s events, Senator Hutton swung the door shut and locked it, the thunk of the lock turning causing her throat to spasm from fear. Clutching a gun in his hand, he loomed over her, his gaze glued to her as if he was the hunter and she was the prey.

With her in a heap on the ground and him standing right in front of her, blocking the door, there was no way to escape. He could shoot her at close range, here in her house, make it look as though a burglary had occurred, and no one would ever learn the truth.

Somehow, she managed to find her voice. “If you had wanted an invitation inside, you only had to ask, Senator.” She didn’t know what possessed her to speak to him like that, but she was shocked her voice had come out as calm as it had.

His gaze narrowed on her as he pointed the gun at her head. Attached to its barrel was a long cylinder extension. A silencer. So no one would hear the resounding boom when the gun went off. No one would even know she was dead.

Rather than cry or plead, her eyes dared him to shoot. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing her fear. Even in death, she refused to be a victim.

“Get up,” he said with a snarl.

He wasn’t going to kill her? Her surprise must have shown on her face as she stood.

Keeping his gun away from her, he used his other hand to yank her up, holding her tightly under her armpit. Then he nudged her back with the butt of the gun, shoving her into the living room and propelling her onto the couch. “You and I are going to have a conversation. If you’re a good girl, I won’t make you suffer before I kill you. But if you’re bad—there’s a part of me that’s hoping you are—I’ll torture you first and make your death as excruciatingly painful as possible. And trust me. I’ve learned all the ways to hurt someone without killing them.”

Since her only hope at this point was to keep him busy talking, she went for a basic conversation starter. “Why are you here?”

“Let’s not play games, Ms. Dawson. You took something of mine, and I know you don’t have the capability of doing anything with it on your own. I need to know who has that information and get it back.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have—”

Her head snapped back from the force of his backhand against her cheekbone. “Don’t lie to me. I wasn’t bluffing when I told you I’d enjoy hurting you. There are spots on the body I can shoot that won’t kill you right away, but will cause you misery beyond your darkest nightmares. Lie to me again and I’ll prove it to you.” He bent over her. “Who else has the information?”

“A friend of mine in Las Vegas. But he hasn’t found anything yet.”

He smiled, all teeth like a rabid dog. “His name. I want his name.”

“Sawyer,” she said, her voice cracking. “Sawyer Hayes.”

He jerked. “Of Hayes Industries?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes.”

She hated throwing him under the bus, but at least Sawyer had distance between him and the senator. Not to mention, Sawyer was at his hotel, and as he had mentioned, his name wasn’t associated with it, making it difficult to find him for now.

She eyed the iPad sitting on her coffee table. Lisa had forgotten something after all. Would she come back for it tonight?

Panic shot through Rachel, making her heart race as if she was running a marathon. As much as she hoped for a miracle, she didn’t want Lisa getting pulled into this mess. She prayed Lisa would stay far away from here.

“What were you looking for on my computer?” Senator Hutton asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

She laced her fingers together to keep her hands from trembling. “Anything to connect you to Rinaldi or the release of the Leopold virus. Why risk your life by exposing yourself to the virus? With an eighty percent mortality rate, the odds were stacked against you surviving it.”

He waved his gun at her. “With Exulanab, my odds were much better. I calculated the risk and decided it was worth it.”

Thankful he hadn’t shot her yet, she asked another question. “What is Exulanab?”

“During my interview, I spoke about fast-tracking drugs by loosening the restrictions in case of no alternatives. Exulanab is one such drug. Three years ago, the FDA rejected the application for the drug’s approval for further studies due to the fact that thirty-five percent of those test animals that received the drug died within hours of the infusion from massive heart attacks. They were too shortsighted to see that while thirty-five percent might die, sixty-five percent would survive. That meant if one hundred thousand people were infected with the virus, sixty-five thousand people would live versus twenty thousand without it. Over forty-five thousand lives saved. Tell me, if you knew you had a greater chance of living if you took the drug, would you take that risk?”

She trembled. The man was certifiable if he was willing to expose himself to Leopold, which made him more dangerous than she could’ve ever imagined. “Probably. But it’s an awful gamble.”

He shrugged. “It’s one I was willing to take. I believe in this drug, Ms. Dawson. Now that the American people have seen Leopold and Ebola are not restricted to African borders, they’ll want reassurance that this country has taken every necessary precaution. What happens when the news leaks out that there are experimental drugs for these viruses but that they’re not readily available? How many people who died in the latest African Ebola outbreak could have survived if only they’d received the drug?”

“So, what, you’re doing this out of the goodness of your heart?”

“It’s a cause I feel strongly about, but only because I see the future.” He puffed out his chest as if he was giving a political speech. “Biological warfare is our biggest threat, and investment in our protection will benefit everyone, especially those with a financial interest in the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the drugs. Just imagine how much money those companies will be worth when our country keeps stockpiles of the drugs available for its citizens.”

“And let me guess. You own stock in the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Exulanab. This has all been about money?”

“Of course I didn’t do it solely for the money. The money will help get me elected as president, but I’m doing this because I’m a patriot.” He stepped closer to her. “I love this great country of ours, and I’ve made no secret that my ancestry can be traced all the way to George Washington. My blood runs blue, unlike so many who live in our country now. It’s time to save this country and return it to its former glory. Reclaim the international respect it deserves.”