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    The last man in the line, the largest of the group, shifted his eyes to her briefly. She saw something in them, just a flicker. Her training kicked in before her mind comprehended. Just as the man’s arm swept up, a slender knife in his hand, Riley lunged toward him. Swinging her arm upward, she knocked the knife from his hand, slammed her other fist into his face, and then whirled, finishing him off with a solid kick straight to his groin. Howling, he dropped to his knees, holding his crotch.  
    Justin grabbed his wrists and zip-tied them again. Looking up at her, he grinned. “You are one bad-assed, lethal woman, Ingram.”
    Her adrenaline still surging, she glanced around at the other operatives. All were giving her approving looks. She felt the glow all the way to her toes. Justin was right. She was badass and tough. She had not only come through hell and survived, she had become a force to be reckoned with.  
    She gave a small nod of acknowledgment and then turned away before anyone could read her expression. She had been focused on moving forward for so long, she had never realized that she had actually arrived. She had achieved what she’d always dreamed. Yes, she still had nightmares, still looked over her shoulder. But the stark differences in what she had been and who she was now were so phenomenal, it was as if she were two different people.  
    On the heels of that realization, came another one, even more startling and scarier. But she knew it was time. Time to stop running. Time to confront the most wicked of the wicked.  
    Riley Ingram was ready to face her past.  

Chapter Four

    LCR Headquarters
    Alexandria, Virginia
    Noah McCall read the information he’d received this morning from his source at the FBI. Their intel on Taylor Vaughn’s abduction jived with what Aidan Thorne had uncovered from the kidnappers in Iraq. The journalist had not been taken by human traffickers or terrorists. Kidnapping the Iraqi women had provided the perfect opportunity for an abduction of a different kind. This one was all about payback and revenge.
    Taylor Vaughn was an award-winning journalist. She had a reputation for infiltrating the most impenetrable organizations and gathering intel for her articles, making her one of the most admired, and reviled, journalists in the world. She had an incredible talent for deep cover, which had yielded her tons of information for her stories. Most times, the organizations she wrote about hadn’t known they had a mole in their midst until the first headline appeared. Most never knew how they’d been compromised.
    According to Noah’s FBI source, several months ago, the journalist had infiltrated the organization of notorious crime boss Mateo Russo, one of the most-wanted criminals in the world. She had gained the trust of one of his generals and had apparently gotten access to a ton of information. For her safety and their investigation, the FBI had tried to stop her from writing her stories until Russo was apprehended. She’d resisted, but then it didn’t matter, because she was discovered, and Mateo Russo was out for blood. But first, he would want to know what she knew, how she knew it, and who she had told.  
    Noah’s gut told him that Russo wouldn’t kill her until he believed he had all the information. And from what he knew about Taylor Vaughn, she would hold out as long as she could. She would know that the instant she was no longer useful, she would be killed. Noah hoped to hell she was as strong as she appeared. Mateo Russo was known for his ruthlessness.
    The man had the money and connections to have dozens of hideaways throughout the world, which was one of the reasons he hadn’t been captured. Mafia wealth could purchase both secret real estate and confidentiality. The man had been hidden for years, and unless something changed, he would stay that way.  
    LCR wasn’t out to capture Russo. Their mission was to rescue Taylor Vaughn.  
    Noah had followed