“Do you want me to go back and get the car to pick you up?” he asked.

“No. I’d rather run. I just need a second.” She needed a lot more than that, but for now that was all she’d take.

She’d thought about putting a bullet through the sergeant’s brain on countless occasions, but she also realized that doing so wouldn’t take her pain away. But someone had killed him, and she couldn’t help but wonder who.

They ran in silence, and she pushed herself as hard as she could, flying faster than she ever had before. The pure adrenaline burst from the unexpected news propelled her all the way back to her apartment complex.

When they walked up to her building, her stomach dropped. The doors of a dark sedan parked out front opened, and two Arlington PD detectives stepped out to greet her.

Layla had been called to an offsite DEA meeting at Mason’s condo. With each passing minute, she was becoming more convinced that they were caught up in something bigger than the one op they’d performed in Honduras.

Hunter was even more on edge than usual as they walked up to Mason’s front door. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but I’m wondering if there’s a possibility that the Honduras op was unsanctioned. Why not meet at HQ in Pentagon City?”

“An off-book op?” That thought hadn’t even occurred to her.

“Yeah, as in someone wanted it to happen, but it didn’t go through the proper chain of command.”

“I guess that’s one thing to put on the table.”

She rang the doorbell, and Mason opened the door. The tall, brown-haired supervisory agent greeted her warmly. “Come on in, both of you. The whole gang is here. We need to talk.”

“Why meet here?” she asked, unable to help herself.

“I’ll explain.” He turned to her. “And I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks.”

They were led into Mason’s large living room, where Zane and Cass sat in two navy blue chairs.

“All right.” Mason remained standing as Layla and Hunter took seats on the couch. “It’s time to read everyone into the bigger picture here.”

“There’s a bigger picture? I don’t like the sound of that,” Zane said.

Mason nodded. “I have kept you all in the dark, but I had my reasons. The Honduras op was only one small piece of a larger DEA covert operation to try to take down the Mejía cartel.”

“And why didn’t we know about the rest of the plan?” Cass asked. “We all risked our lives down there.”

Mason lifted his hands. “If I need to leave for a minute and let all of you trash-talk me so we can get down to business, let me know.”