“Knife must’ve been tainted, treated with a psychotic. Rocco called it in as he started hallucinating. We found security footage. A cop escorted Maxwell onto the property and into the ballroom.”

Asher’s mind raced. “There’s a second man?”

“Roger that, Senator.” Jared headed to the door. “Roman, get to Rocco. Murphy, check in with your men. We’ve sent a screenshot and description for you to distribute.”

Jared and Roman left. Murphy picked up his phone and began issuing orders. Screw this. Asher walked out and went to find his girl.

He rounded corners and walked through a labyrinth of corridors. He tried her cell phone. No answer. Not a single cop or agent could be trusted, and he wished he’d seen the picture of the second man. Too late now.

At the end of the hallway, he came to a T. Roman and Jared might have split up. They might have known where Rocco had been and headed directly there. Asher went right. He had no reason. His phone rang. Murphy. Click and he sent the guy to voice mail. Murphy redialed him, and Asher was moving to find Jenny. No time to explain that he wouldn’t be cooped up in a boiler room.

He rounded another corner. Jenny! And she was holding a gun? “Sweetheart.”

She was walking with a cop who looked trustworthy, but Asher didn’t trust anyone. Jenny smiled, started toward him. Just as fast, the cop snaked an arm around her waist. Son of a bitch.

Jenny’s face screwed. Confusion and panic tore at her cheeks. Only twenty-five yards between them, but the distance suddenly felt like a mile.

“Let her go. You want me. You want to talk about the Bowie place, that’s fine. Let’s talk. Let her go.”

The cop shucked the gun out of her hand. “You should have taken my brother seriously.”

A brother? How had this not been realized before? Asher stepped toward them. “Fine. My mistake. Not hers.”

“Like Max said, we lost something of ours. This is all about her and making sure you know how it feels to lose something.”

Ten feet was all that remained between them. “You won’t make it past me.”

“You and who else, asshole? Everyone’s running around pointing fingers at each other. No one knows who the dirty cop is.”