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won’t be safe until Everett and that leak are contained. She knows that, too. I’ll monitor the news and do my best, but don’t count on a quick resolution where she’s concerned.”
    “Agreed.” Thomas pressed a button on his phone. “My assistant will show you downstairs. Take whatever you need to get the job done.”
    “Yes, sir.” If he thought about timelines and proximity, he’d lose it. Reminding himself life was a day-to-day effort, he focused on the first step: gearing up.
    The T-shirt, warm-up pants and sneakers weren’t going to hold up to what amounted to a manhunt through some difficult terrain.
    Drew turned in his seat when the door opened and stood up as the receptionist returned. If he was right, if he still knew the woman at all, he’d soon be face-to-face with Addison. Surreal was a vast understatement. He couldn’t decide if he should be terrified or ecstatic at the prospect. He supposed her reaction would help him decide.

Chapter Three
    Thomas pushed his chair away from his desk and stood, restless and uncertain about what he’d just set in motion.
    Not so long ago he’d been given a second chance and reunited with the only woman he’d ever loved. His personal success should give him hope for Drew and Addison, but he couldn’t quite drum up that elusive emotion for this situation. Sending Drew to track down Addison could backfire. Not just for the two of them—three if he counted the little boy—but for the integrity of the operational mess he’d inherited.
    It seemed more and more challenging lately to think of his Specialists as assets. They were all capable and strong people who, at the end of the day, were here as tools to be applied to specific purposes and operations. It was a particular trial when the people he assigned, like Drew, weren’t even part of his elite program.
    Time to hand over the reins. He stared through his big office window, blind to the stunning view. A knock sounded at his door. “Come in,” he called without turning.
    “I saw Bryant leave,” Deputy Director Emmett Holt said. “Did he agree to help?”
    Thomas loosened his tie as he returned to his desk chair. There was no need to stand on formality with Holt, who understood all too well what was riding on this operation.
    “He agreed.”
    “But?” Holt sank into one of the visitors’ chairs opposite Thomas. “You look like you’ve eaten bad fish.”
    “I feel a bit like that, to tell the truth. This could backfire. In a big way.”
    “Were there other options?”
    Thomas drummed his fingers on the supple leather arm of his chair. “No.” The whole reason they’d brought Drew into this was because Addison had disappeared. Completely. “But it’s a lot to ask.”
    “He’ll manage.”
    Thomas met Holt’s sharp gaze. “I meant her. Addison’s running for her life, for her son’s life, and we’re sending out a ghost to find her. She has no idea what happened—only that he never made it to their wedding.”
    “Then I stand corrected.”
    Thomas arched an eyebrow. “He won’t manage?”
    “No. She will manage.”
    It sounded like a magic-wand theory to Thomas’s ears, and that was one theory everyone in his line of work always rejected. “He’s not a trained Specialist.”
    “Oh, so that’s the problem.”
    Thomas didn’t like the half smile on Holt’s face. “Explain.”
    “You feel guilty for sending an unqualified civilian after a high-value asset.”
    “That’s not true.” Where the hell was this coming from? He and Holt had different management styles, but this series of irritating questions wasn’t typical. “Bryant might be a civilian now, but he could step in and train our recruits on anything at a moment’s notice.”
    “So he’s qualified.”
    “More than.”
    “Then I guess you’re feeling guilty because we didn’t have an equally qualified Specialist available?”
    They both knew the roster and they both took great pride in the skills of the men and