Page 73 of Vengeance

"No." He smiled faintly. "You dragged me kicking and screaming back to reality."

"I absolutely did." She bumped his shoulder. "And I'll do it again if I have to." For the first time since the helicopters arrived, Vengeance laughed.

“I like it when you laugh,” she said. “You remind me who you really are.”

“Who am I, Chloe?” he asked.

“You’re the guy I fell in love with."

His heart stumbled. "You make everything sound easy."

"It isn't." She reached for his hand. "I’m terrified."

"You never show it,” he assured.

"I didn't want you thinking I'd changed my mind about you,” she teased.

"You could have, and I wouldn’t have blamed you."

She shook her head. "Never." Silence settled comfortably between them. The fire crackled softly. Owls called somewhere deeper in the forest. It almost felt peaceful.

Vengeance pulled the folded map from his pocket. It was the one the old man they met beneath the bridge had stolen from the bounty meeting. He spread it across a flat rock. Red circles covered half the eastern United States, marking gas stations, truck stops, safe houses, and supply routes.

Chloe leaned closer. "You've been looking at that all day."

"Something's wrong,” Vengeance said.

"What?"

He pointed toward Chicago. "Nothing is circled here."

She frowned. "What does that mean?"

"If Elena was running the operation—” He tapped the map. "Chicago would've been marked."

"But it isn't."

"No, it’s not.”

She studied the map over his shoulder. "So whoever organized the bounty on you wasn't operating out of Chicago." He pointed farther east. "Pittsburgh." He pointed to anothermark. "Columbus." He ran his finger south. "Charleston." And finally, he stopped on the last red circle. "Washington."

Chloe looked at him. "D.C.?"

He nodded slowly. "The money moved through Chicago."

"But the operation was being directed from Washington." They looked at each other simultaneously. "Someone bigger is running things," Chloe whispered.

"Much bigger,” he agreed. A chill settled over him. Dante had never wanted power; he wanted control. There was a difference. Whoever sat above his father wanted both.

A low whistle drifted through the trees and Vengeance's pistol was back in his hand instantly. Chloe reached for hers, and three short whistles floated over the air, followed by two more. It was Bowie’s emergency signal. Vengeance answered with the matching pattern, and seconds later, a shadow stepped from the darkness. It wasn’t Bowie. It was Dallas. She looked exhausted, was covered in mud, and was wearing black beneath a leather jacket, as though she was still in mourning.

The instant Chloe saw her, she ran to her. "Mom!" Dallas caught her in a fierce embrace, and for several long moments, neither woman spoke. They simply held each other. Vengeance quietly stood back, giving them space.

Dallas looked over Chloe's shoulder, and her eyes found him. "You kept your promise."

"I said I would." She nodded, and surprised him when she crossed the remaining distance and hugged him. Vengeance froze. No one had hugged him unexpectedly, except maybe Chloe.

"You brought my little girl back to me."