Tom sank back into the chair once Molina was gone. “She and my mom were talking? Why is this my life?”

Liza laughed. “You just said how lucky we are.”

“And I am. I have you. And you’ll protect me when my mom and my boss join forces.”

She kissed his mouth, no longer cold. His lips were warm and pliable and made her want to forsake their visitors and head for home. “Pebbles needs to be walked.”

“She does. We could go home, walk her, have time for a quickie, and come back here later.”

She grinned against his lips. “They wouldn’t even know we were gone.” Which was total bullshit, but she didn’t care. They wouldn’t be gone long.

He lurched to his feet, tugging her to hers. “Let’s go.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Starfish—Christine, Brian, Cheryl, Kathie, and Sheila—for the plotting and everything else.

Hope Blaess for all the information on army medics, university education while deployed, and, most of all, for your service. Thank you.

Caitlin Ellis for all you do to keep the business going while I’m in the cave.

Sarah Hafer and Beth Miller for all the editing and proofreading. Your keen eyes and attention to detail are invaluable.

Sonie Lasker for your help with the Russian translations, the military detail, and for your service. I’m so proud of you, sister mine.

James “Egypt” Lee for the network guidance, DEFCON stories, and hacking theory.

Claire Zion, Jen Doyle, and Robin Rue for all your support as I wrote this, my twenty-fifth novel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Rose is the award-winning, #1 international bestselling author of some twenty novels, including the bestselling Baltimore and Cincinnati series. She has been translated into twenty-three languages, and her books have placed on the New York Times, the Sunday Times (UK), and Germany's der Spiegel bestseller lists.

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