“RPG!” I hear someone yell from the other truck. I don’t have time to react, not that I could outrun it anyway. The RPG hits the first truck and the blast sends Hernandez and I flying. Pain radiates through my body and I roll over knowing I’ve got to get the hell up before I get shot. I cough a few times, the force knocking the wind out of me momentarily.

“Are you okay?” My head feels like it’s under water making the question sound muted and muffled. Schwartz comes into my focus as he starts to drag me out of the open.

“No! Get Hernandez!” I shout at him.

“Hernandez is dead! Let’s go!”

“Okay! I can walk!” He lets go so I can get up. Right when I do, a cracking noise zips past me. I look at Schwartz and see blood gushing out of his neck. Seconds later, pain rips through my arm.

“Fuck!” I don’t look at it. I don’t have time. I throw Schwartz over my shoulder and run as fast as I can for the truck. My legs are moving on nothing but pure adrenaline and determination. “We need air support!” I yell to the guys I’m running toward. Right at that moment, another blast explodes, hitting the truck I was headed for. We are so fucked.

MY EYES FLY open and that’s when I remember where I am and the events from today come rushing back.

Being taken outside of Elizabeth’s house.

The phone call where she sounded so scared.

The pistol to my face.

I’ve had a lot of close calls where I didn’t know if I’d live or die, but I can say I’d never been more terrified in my life. The thought that I’d never see Elizabeth again was damn near crippling. Right before the big guy pulled the trigger, he aimed it at the wall behind me. I didn’t have time to feel relieved since he hit me in the head right after and knocked me out.

Fuck. My head is pounding and my wrists are starting to burn from being tied behind my back in this chair. Despite the pain, my first concern is Elizabeth. Panic starts to set in as I wonder where she is and if she’s okay. Cal is a dangerous man and I’ve got to get her the hell out of there before she gets hurt.

“Ah, how nice of you to join us, Mr. Matthews. Seems you were having a bit of a nightmare.” The sound of his voice makes my fists and jaw clench, wanting so damn bad to beat the shit out of him.

My eyes zero in on him, pouring every ounce of anger and hatred I can into my stare. “What can I help you with, Mr. Fitzgerald?” My voice is impassive, but I’m boiling over on the inside.

“Right, let’s get down to why you’re here. I have something that I need you to help me with. Something I think you’ll be good at given your set of skills from your time in the service.”

I spit on the ground, the taste of blood filling my mouth. “Why would I help you do a damn thing?”

“Because if you don’t, someone you care about will die. And by someone, I mean Elizabeth.”

A cold chill runs up my spine at the thought of her getting hurt. Knowing I have no choice but to play along for now, I say, “I’m listening.”

“You’re going to kill Bill Hutchison.” He looks down at his chest and wipes at some nonexistent lint on his lapel.

I let out a humorless laugh. “And why would I do that?” I’m calm on the outside, but the situation is slowly sinking in. Maybe my cover hasn’t been blown and this is something else completely.

“Because I told you to. I thought we’d already gone over the stakes and what will happen should you choose not to comply,” Cal says.

“Okay, let me rephrase. Why do you want him killed?” I know who Bill Hutchison is. He’s running against Cal in the primary election and is ahead of him in the polls, which is exactly what the Bureau wants. We needed a strong candidate who has a chance of beating Cal. But I don’t want him to know I have this information. So for now, I’ll keep my cards close to my chest and play dumb.

“You don’t need to worry about the details, just worry about how to get the job done.” He stares at me impassively, his face at odds with the request he just made. You would think he’s asking me to pick up some milk at the grocery store or something.

“For me to plan effectively, I need to know who he is to make my job a lot easier.” I already know the answer, but I want to hear him say it.

“He’s ahead in the polls and right now it’s mathematically impossible for me to beat him in the primary elections. Once he’s eliminated, I won’t have any more . . .” he pauses, looking up at the ceiling as he finds the right word, “obstacles. You see, Mr. Matthews,” he says as he leans in closer to me. “I’m a very determined man. If there’s something in my way, I simply remove it. Take you, for example. You come along and suddenly Elizabeth wants a life filled with love. She can’t leave me. I won’t allow it. So I take you out of the equation and she’s back to being her robotic self who waves at the cameras and lets me fuck her hard at night.”

I pull on my restraints and arch my back, trying to get loose, eager to get my hands around his throat for talking about her like that. “You better keep your fucking hands off of her!” I yell at him while the rope around my wrists starts cutting into my skin.

“You don’t get this done, and me burying my dick inside of her will be the least of your worries.”

“You just wait, motherfucker—”

“I’d watch it if I were you,” he warns. I can’t let my emotions get the better of me right now. I have to keep a level head and get through this or I won’t be able to help her.

Taking a deep breath, I quit fighting and say, “And you want me to, what? Walk up to him and put a bullet in his head?”

“No, that could be linked to me since it’s no secret you were my wife’s bodyguard. I need you to do what you were trained to do; kill someone from a long distance without being detected.” I’m sure he’ll just let me walk away when it’s all done, too. Yeah, right. “Just remember you’re doing this for Elizabeth. You fail, she dies. It’s simple,” he says with a shrug. With that, he turns to leave.

“Wait!” I call out after him. He stops but doesn’t turn. “Are you going to have one of your goons with me at all times?” I can’t have someone trailing me if I’m going to report all of this back to headquarters.

Cal slowly turns to face me. “Of course I am. Do you think I’m dumb enough to let you run around unsupervised?”

“Then this isn’t going to work.” I look him dead in the eyes, trying to give off a level of authority while I’m tied up to a chair.

“Excuse me?” Anger flashes in his eyes quickly before he masks it.

“I can’t do my research and plan a hit with a tail. Look at these guys.” I nod my head in their direction. “They don’t exactly scream discrete. If I’m going to be sneaking around undetected, I need a little latitude. If I get busted, it won’t take much to connect me to you.”

He’s silent for a minute thinking about what I’ve said. His jaw ticks a few times and I know this doesn’t make him happy. “Then don’t get caught.” His voice is low, no doubt meant to be a threat. “If anything goes wrong—if I think you’re doing anything suspicious—I won’t hesitate to take that bitch out. Am I clear?” I grind my teeth to keep from saying something stupid, but hearing him talk about Elizabeth like that pisses me the fuck off. It’s a good thing I’m tied up right now because I would be beating the shit out of him if I wasn’t.

I nod. “Crystal.”

“Good, get to work. I want you to give my guys daily reports on your plan and progress.” He doesn’t wait for my reply as he turns and walks toward the door. He pauses and turns back to me. “Oh, one more thing.” Looking at one of the big guys, he nods his head in my direction. He approaches, pulls back his fist, and punches me in the stomach. I hunch over in pain as much as my restraints will allow. The wind is knocked out of me and I cough uncontrollably. “That’s for fucking my wife,” Cal sneers. My head snaps up as I struggle to regain my breath.