Page 127 of One Last Stand

“Why didn’t you arrest him?”

“Because he’s not the one we want, Laney.”

She blinked at him. “Wait—it’s true? Shep said all you wanted was Alan Martin.”

He made a fist on the table, and something flashed in his eyes. “Alan betrayed our country and is the mastermind behind too many terror attacks. Capturing him would lead to countless other connections and dismantle who knows how many terrorist networks.”

And then it clicked. “That’s why Ziggy was there. To capture Alan Martin.”

“Ziggy is the best Black Swan operative I’ve ever seen or worked with.”

“Was she caught intentionally?”

He drew in a breath.

“Dad, she nearly died?—”

Silence. And then, “She accomplished her mission?—”

“At what cost?” Somehow London had landed on her feet. “Dad!”

He held up a hand. “She’s alive. And I knew she would be because . . . you were there. And now she’s alive and recuperating in a safe place.”

She stared at him. “You wanted me to be there.”

“You’re Laney Steele. Of course I did. And of course I knew that inside that Black Swan exterior is also the heart of a rescuer. You weren’t going to let her die.”

But . . .

“You don’t think I haven’t been watching this past year, do you? Who do you think sent Ziggy to save your life after Tomas took a hit out on you with the Orphans?”

She stilled. “Tomas did that?”

“He needed your eye and your fingers. But I couldn’t let it get that far.”

She had nothing for that.

“Yeah, well, now he has the money because he got the code anyway.” She refused to think abouthow.

“Yes, but we can track it now. And Ziggy succeeded. She put a tracker on Alan Martin.”

“How?”

“A bio patch. It was made with nanostructure to create micropores in the skin. It embedded in him a biochemical marker with RFID tags.”

The memory of Ziggy holding onto Martin despite his violence flashed through her.

“We can track him, figure out what he and the Petrovs are up to.”

“They buy terrorists!”

He held up a hand. “And we’ll stop them.”

We.

His gaze met hers. “This doesn’t have to be a failed mission, Laney.”

Words echoed inside her.“Mission’s over, sir.”

---