"I don't like this," Shaun repeated, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She was watching Jozef fill a hiker's backpack with his necessities: jeans, T-shirts, socks, underwear, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, razor, Tylenol. It seemed so normal, the things he was putting in the pack. The same sort of things any traveler might pack. She assumed he would pick up his weapons and bulletproof vest from the operations center, two floors beneath theirs. She didn't know what else to say so she kept saying the same thing. She didn't like it; didn't like that he was leaving her alone in a city that wasn't home to her yet. Leaving her vulnerable. She didn't like that he was placing himself in danger by going to one of the scariest places on the planet. Didn't like that he was doing it for money. Didn't like that he would likely have to use violence to stay safe. The whole idea of willingly walking into a potentially violent situation seemed absurd. Only adrenaline junk

Jozef had been gone for one week, and so far, it was one of the most nerve-wracking weeks of Shaun's life. There was something especially terrifying knowing that the man she loved had walked willingly into a war zone to do something dangerous. The more she thought about it the angrier she felt. He was doing it for money! Was there a worse reason to do something so stupidly reckless? Shaun knew she was overreacting, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. She was also experiencing a particularly vicious bout of PMS, probably because she wasn't sleeping or eating properly. She was laying on the couch with a hot water bottle pressed against her belly, Fitzy curled against the small of her back, watching the news. An explosion in Mogadishu had taken out one of their free clinics. The Doctors Without Borders organization had lost three people: two nurses and a doctor. Twelve Somalians had died in the blast and countless others had been injured. The scenes depicted on the telev

Jozef's team ran into very little trouble as they moved through Somalia, travelling down the border between Ethiopia and Kenya, into South Sudan. Ali hacked into and redirected a satellite from a large telecommunications company to survey the region as they moved so they were able to avoid any hotbeds of activity. Every man on Jozef's team understood the score. They worked hard, paid attention and rolled with the rough living. At the end, the payoff would be worth more than they would have otherwise likely seen in their lifetimes. This was why Jozef took the risks that he took. The payoff. Yet, something felt different this time. An alarm bell was going off in his brain telling him to step carefully, double check everything, make sure his team was alert. He suspected the alarm was Shaun. She was worried about him, which caused him to worry. He wondered if this new development was a liability or if it might one day save his life. It was two days into their trek,

Saskia waited about 30 seconds after she knocked before fitting her key into the cottage door and pushing it open. "Hello?" she called out. She waited for an answer, then went inside and closed and locked the door. She hadn't expected Leeza to be home, but she'd wanted to make sure. She'd decided to cut class and come home early. Leeza had been acting weird lately and Saskia wanted to get to the bottom of the weirdness. Actually, it hadn't been just lately that Leeza had been acting strange, but almost two years now. At first Saskia thought it might have something to do with Shaun's arrival a year ago, but when she'd put her mind to it, she realized it had been going on longer. Leeza had always been the more serious of the two. As the eldest child of a high-ranking Vory, Leeza had responsibilities. Saskia wrinkled her nose as she stepped from the entryway into the house. It didn't feel like a house; it never had, which was why Saskia didn't often

It was 4 AM by the time Jozef arrived back at his apartment. He'd told his men to get some sleep and report back to work at 2 PM for debrief and mission report. They wouldn't have a lot of time to sleep, but in Jozef's experience, debrief needed to happen very shortly after each mission so there were no forgotten details. The smallest of inconsistencies could lead to a failure in communication, which could lead to a death in the field. Jozef's men were the best for a reason. They were quick, sharp and mission-ready at all times. This included the intelligence that followed each mission. Along with the rest of his men, Jozef dropped his gear in the storage room of their offices. They checked in all tech and weapons then left to get some rest. Jozef made his way up to his floor on the elevator, saying goodbye to the men who piled out on the fourth floor. His elite team had apartments in the building, on the same floor as Shaun's mother, while the rest resided offsite.