“Drive to Loria’s mansion,” she said.

Burke rubbed his nose and said, “Ow, you could have just asked.”

“Would you have said yes?”

“Absolutely not. But diplomacy should always come before violence.”

“So I’ve heard. I’m more of a shoot first and ask questions later kind of girl.”

“That’s reckless and not very politically correct.”

“Just drive, Dr. Burke. Or I’ll hit you again.”

“Fine. But when this is over, I hope you’ll seek proper medical assistance for your anger management problem.”

“Sure, right after you seek treatment for your know-it-all asshole complex.”

Burke put the BearCat into gear, and with a nod of respect, he said, “Touché.”

Chapter 98

Isabel watched the lights of the strip fly past her window. It felt like a dream. She saw pyramids and the Eiffel Tower and other wonders. The lights and structures were dazzling and impressive, but they only added to the surreal insanity of it all. She wondered what in the hell she was doing. She had gone to work for a psychopath, partnered with a cold-blooded killer, nearly tortured a man to death, and now she had stolen a police vehicle and kidnapped an FBI consultant.

She knew she had gone off the rails into madness, but what made her hate herself even more was that she knew that, in her heart, it would all be worth it to punish the men who had killed Tyler.

Her boy’s death had taken more than just a son from her. It had stolen her happiness, her one chance at a normal life. All she really wanted out of life was to be a mother, to be the kind of mother that she never had. But monsters had stolen that from her in a way that was unforgivable. If she didn’t punish them, then who would? Even if the American authorities captured them, they would only be warehoused and given three good meals a day. They didn’t deserve to breathe. They didn’t deserve to eat or feel or do anything that they had taken from Tyler and all the others. It was up to her to make sure that the proper punishment was dealt.

She tried not to think of Christopher, of his betrayal and his death. She knew that there had been some kind of spark between them. Not love, but a flickering flame that could have grown into something much more. But he hadn’t even hesitated to follow orders to end her life. How could he just cast her aside like that? She knew it was a different time and a different situation and that any goodness she had seen in him didn’t outweigh the bad, but she couldn’t help but think of the way her mother had cast her aside. The sting of the betrayals felt all too similar, and it had drudged up dark feelings of abandonment and brokenness that she thought were in her past.

From the driver’s seat, Burke said, “So, do you have any kind of plan?”