She’d never put much stock in destiny, but quietly evaluating the circumstances of the last week, an overwhelming awareness struck her as if it were a tangible object.

She was meant to be with Hugh.

Meant to save him.

Or was she simply meant to help him find Trey? Guarantee the Night Runners had a leader in place after Hugh’s elimination. Since she’d done that, fulfilled her end of the bargain, there was no reason to feel this teeter-totter emotion.

So stop thinking about it! Get over it and move on.

If she didn’t take that advice, she’d grow stagnant and be of no help to anyone. A sharp pain pierced her temples. She massaged her forehead, but it did little good. A moment later, the jangle of the door handle startled her and she bolted upright.

“You ready?” Kensie asked, opening the bedroom door just far enough to peek inside.

“In a minute.” Tess gathered up the papers and file folder off the bed.

“Francesca’s chomping at the bit so hurry it up, okay? She’s got to meet with Christian before you.”

Tess walked to the door and opened it wide, knocking Kensie off balance. “Tell Francesca to leave without me if she can’t wait.”

“Aww, come on now. She’s just grumpy because she wants some better cases. She thinks you get all the good ones.”

“What would you say if I told you I don’t want any more?” The words flew out of her mouth so fast she didn’t have time to stop herself or realize what she’d said. What she’d just revealed.

Kensie’s mouth dropped open. “Any more cases?”

“Forget it.” She turned away.

Grabbing her arm, Kensie said, “I can’t forget it. What’s wrong?”

Everything. Everything was wrong. She wasn’t about to tell Kensie, though. For too long she’d kept things bottled up inside, perfected automated responses and superficial small talk. Yes, Kensie was her friend, the closest thing she had to family. And yes she’d just slipped damaging information, but it was easily covered up. For as much Kensie’s benefit as her own. The less her friend knew about what had happened with Hugh, the better.

“Nothing’s wrong. I meant any more good ones, silly. I want a few bad ones. You know, a couple of easy marks I can take care of with my eyes closed.” She shrugged off Kensie’s hand, while putting on her best “don’t worry” face. “I was even thinking I might like a vacation. I can’t remember the last time I got more than two days off in a row.”

No, she wasn’t thinking about vacationing with Hugh. She. Was. Not.

“You sure that’s all it is?” Kensie could always read her moods.

“I’m positive. Tell Francesca to hold her horses and I’ll even mention to Christian that the next top priority job ought to go to her.”

“Okay then. See you in a few.”

The bedroom door closed and Tess hurried into the bathroom to finish getting ready for what might be her last trip to P.I.E.

When forty-five minutes later they strolled into the well-appointed office, Tess’s stomach back-flipped. The clandestine operation tucked several floors below ground level inside a Los Angeles high-rise had never before made her queasy. Today the copper walls, marble flooring, refrigerated temperature and minimal furnishings took discomfort to a new level. She’d swear Alien was about to burst from her belly.

Francesca headed to see Christian, and Tess and Kensie chatted with the front office secretary, a lovely woman who had been with P.I.E. for only a few months. She wrapped her thick arms around each of them in a hug that suggested motherly pride and affection. After a few minutes of pleasantries, Tess took off for her small corner of the sterile environment.

She stepped into her fancy-shmancy office, threw Hugh’s file on her desk and took a seat in her swivel chair. God, she’d spent endless hours here poring over assignments and feeling like she was helping rid the world of evil. She’d been a dutiful employee and thrived on going undercover and eliminating. The mental reminder that all her previous targets had deserved to die didn’t help the sour stomach plaguing her.

Her phone buzzed, a red light blinking in Morse code to alert her that Christian was ready to see her. Time to put on your tough girl persona, Tess. Don’t let him see what’s going on inside you. Don’t give him reason to doubt your strength.

She walked down the hallway and tapped on his door.

“Come in,” he commanded.

The hundreds of time she’d entered before didn’t make this any easier. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes. Have a seat.”

One never sat unless instructed to do so. She took the single velvet upholstered chair centered across from his expansive mahogany desk. “Thank you.”

“How is the Langston case going?” He sat behind his desk like he owned the world. Impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit, black shirt and crimson tie, he oozed confidence. His dark brown hair reminded her of Bobby Darren’s in Gidget, her favorite movie when she was a teenager. Too bad the similarities ended there.

His eyes betrayed any semblance of decency. He leered at her, thin dark slits seeing, she knew, far more than one would expect with so little openness. If she looked at them too long, it felt like spiders crawling up her neck.

“Fine.” She couldn’t muster anything else to say.

“The client has phoned me several times inquiring as to when the elimination will occur.”

“I’m working on it.” Okay. That was better. She’d gathered more vocal strength.

“I told him it would be taken care of by Friday because I need to pull you from the case for a couple of days.”

Tess hoped her shock didn’t show. She prayed he couldn’t detect the fluctuation in her breathing pattern. He’d never pulled her from an assignment before. Never. Was he trying to leave her as little time as possible to take care of Hugh? Was he on to her?

“I don’t”—she paused, trying to correct the little glitch in her voice—“understand.”

He lifted his hands from his lap and placed them on the desk, one on top of the other. His silver and diamond pinky ring sparkled. “What is there to understand? I’m assigning you to an elimination that you must finish up in the next two days. Then you will return to your undercover work with Langston and kill him.”

There were too many damn questions swirling in her head so she decided to start with the new target. “Finish up? The assignment’s started?” Another first. What the hell was going on?

“Francesca’s been compromised. I just took her off the case. You’ll go in and finish. I’m confident you can handle it.”

Worry circulated through Tess. Had he given Francesca the same ultimatum he’d given her? Would she have one more chance to prove her worth too? “Why not assign Kensie since I’m on assignment already?”

Silence from the man across the desk.

Which gave her time to think.

Truthfully, being pulled from Hugh’s case for a couple of days might be a blessing in disguise. She needed distance from him. Needed something to keep her busy and remind her that she was a contracted assassin.

“I take that back. I’m happy to do it.”

“Exactly.” He handed her a single piece of paper. “This fact sheet is all you need. Francesca finished the preliminary work. All I want you to do is infiltrate and eliminate by Thursday. I trust that won’t be a problem.”

“No problem,” she said, reading over the sheet. In fact, it looked like a piece of cake. So easy that she might have time to get to San Diego and locate Dobson before Friday as well. Because she needed to find him before she could figure out what to do about Hugh.

“Back to the Langston case,” he began. “I sense some apprehension from you.”

The guy never missed a beat. That was why she knew she had to tell him the truth about what she’d found out.

“Yes. My investigation hasn’t turned up anything to warrant elimination.” There. She’d said what she came to say.