A low sound of agony broke the silence of the room as Dex, unable to stand her pain, gathered her close. Austin motioned to Derrick and they left through the front door. It closed softly behind them. He rocked Piper. Catching him by the back of the head, Piper hung on to him.

"It's okay, babe," he choked out. "It's okay."

Piper tightened her hold and Dex dragged his hand up and down her back, molding them together finally in a crushing hold comforting her through this terrible revelation, this horrible news, driven by a need that burned through to his very soul.

"I've got you, babe," he said, trying to swallow the knot in his throat.

She raised her head and met his eyes, hers swimming in tears, visibly moved beyond words by his gruff admission showing in those moist depths.

Neither of them spoke for a long time. Finally, she raised her head. He wiped away the moisture with his thumb. She faced him, her gaze frank and steady. "What do you think he meant about me having the means to take down Mullins close to my heart?"

"I don't know. It was cryptic, but was probably meant to be. If someone got ahold of Brad's phone and saw the video, they would know you had the evidence. But where could he have put it?"

Dex rose and went to the front door. Opening it, he motioned for Austin and Derrick to come back inside. They had to figure this out.

Dex paced and Piper watched his powerful body move. "We thought your attack was about a bill," Dex said, "but it had to be about this. About what dirt Brad dug up to nail Mullins to the wall."

Piper fingered her locket, her heart still breaking over Brad's video and the fact that she had never got to see her baby. Sophie had never been born. She felt so empty, yet so filled with rage.

Dex stopped pacing and stood still, staring at her. Piper felt his gaze and she raised her head. His eyes were watching her fingers caress the locket.

"Piper. You said Brad gave you the locket. When?"

"Just out of the blue, about two weeks before he died. I never take it off except to shower."

He came closer, his eyes alight. "Does it open?"

"No, it's old. Brad said it was...fused shut." Her heart skipped a beat. "What? You think there's something inside?"

"'You have what you need close to your heart to take to Edward,'" Dex said, and reached out his hand. "That locket is close to your heart, Piper. May I? I'll try to be careful with it."

She reached back and unclasped the locket and set it into the palm of his hand. Austin and Derrick followed him over to the dining-room table. He set the locket down, pulled out a wicked-looking knife and slipped the point into the seam in the locket and pried. He worked at it for several seconds, then the two halves separated.

Piper held her breath until she saw it, a dime-size metal square with a black head.

"It's a flash drive," Austin said. "Son of a bitch. She's been wearing it around her neck all this time. Well played, Brad Jones. Well played."

"If I hadn't ignored everything after Brad's death, people wouldn't have died. Those marines, those SEALs, Mr. Utley." She gripped the counter, guilt making her gut churn. She ran from the room and just made it to the bathroom before she lost everything in her stomach.

Her brother Ty...he could have died.

Dex was there, pulling her hair back as she was sick again. She closed her eyes, but this time there would be no tears. There would be action and justice.

After she rose and he handed her a washcloth, he said, "I know what you're thinking."

"It's all my fault. I didn't want to face any of it. When I lost them..."

"Goddammit, Piper. Listen, and listen good! This isn't your fault." His voice shook with his barely contained anger, his jaw so tight. "I told you that in Afghanistan and I'm telling you now. You didn't do any of this. Mullins did. He's the one who's got blood all over his hands." His voice was husky and filled with steel. "Not you, babe," he said viciously, dragging her against him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on to him as fiercely as he was holding on to her.

When they left the bathroom, Derrick and Austin looked concerned and fired up. "We can contact..."

"No."

Derrick went toe-to-toe with Dex and Piper's stomach jumped, the queasiness not going away. "Look, Kaczewski, we have a job to do. Find out who masterminded an attack on a contingent of US Navy SEALs, lured them into an ambush. Attacked a wounded SEAL. You! That's what we were tasked with."

Austin's eyes narrowed and the surfer boy suddenly looked much more menacing. "Your men, Lieutenant."

"I'm well aware of who died in my unit-good men-but I'm not turning this over to NCIS or anyone. I don't give a damn what your chain of command is. This information stays locked down so no one else dies. This is Piper's show. Her husband was murdered for this information and she lost her child over this. We're giving it to someone she can trust. Her brother Edward."

"But SECNAV..."

"SECNAV can bust me out of the navy, but I'm not budging. I don't trust anyone. We're taking this to Edward Keighley, Piper's brother, and we're keeping this under wraps until all the arrests are made."

Piper curled her hand around Agent Gunn's forearm. "Please," she said softly. "Trust Dex. He's kept me safe all this time."

Derrick turned to look at her and quite plainly wasn't happy, but as she held his gaze, he huffed out a breath and looked away. "All right. You've gotten us this far," Derrick said, covering her hand and squeezing. "Beck?"

Austin agreed. "Kai is going to chew our asses, but we'll take this to her brother."

Piper called and set up a time to meet her brother at his house that night. She told him that what she was bringing to him was huge and that it was Brad who had died for the evidence to put away Robert Mullins.

"I've got to call Monty," she said as Dex and the two NCIS agents were busy strategizing. She picked up her cell and went into the kitchen. She dialed his number and as soon as he answered, she said, "Monty."

"I've got evidence for you, Piper. We should meet."

"Yes, that's a good idea. We're planning on giving evidence we've uncovered to my brother Edward at his home tonight at seven." Piper was so numb, moving on autopilot, trying to sort through everything she'd experienced since she got the call that Tyler had been wounded. She wanted to shut down, but she couldn't. She had to see this through. "Could you be there and bring what you have?"

"Gladly."

As they drove over to Edward's house, Piper asked again, "Where are Austin and Derrick?"

"They decided to go back to San Diego. There wasn't anything else they could do here. This situation is solved and you're in good hands with me."

It was over. She was going to be safe after she gave Edward the evidence that Brad had gotten with his life. She would be free to continue with her own.

Dex would slip out of her life and suddenly she felt so bereft that she wouldn't see him every day, go to sleep with him, wake up to him, make love to him.

Her emotions had been so tested this week, along with plenty of danger and shocks that had been hard to take. How could she even begin to sort it all out?

When he was in DC, Edward lived in Bethesda, where their family estate was located. He'd taken over the mansion and the upkeep. It was a lot of responsibility, but Edward was so darned responsible.

They pulled through the gate once Piper gave Dex the code and it closed behind them.

"Just park out front," she said. They got out of the car and went up the walk.

Dex's brows rose as she used her key to get inside. "You really are filthy rich."

They entered the grand foyer, a beautiful chandelier illuminating the white marble floors.

"Go ahead. I know you want to say something about the pillars."

"No. Just that you have them in your foyer."

She walked through the house and Dex followed her, looking around. "I can give you the grand tour. Sounds like Edward's on the phone, anyway."

She took him into the formal dining room, the more casual living room and then into the gourmet kitchen. "My mom loved to cook."

"Is your Georgetown home this large?"

"No, but I do have a six-bedroom home."

"Wow, that's a lot of space."

She bit her lip. "I was hoping to fill it with children. The beginning of our political legacy."

Dex squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Piper."

"Thank you," she said.

"Hey, now look here. There's a pool. Why didn't you learn how to swim?"

"I don't know. I was too busy doing things and the shallow end of the pool was fine."

The doorbell rang and Piper headed back toward the front of the house. "I've got it, Edward."

He came out of a wood-paneled room and covered the receiver. "I'll be a few more minutes."

She pulled open the door to Monty, who had a man with him dressed in a suit. "Pippy," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight for a minute. "I'm so sorry about all this terrible news and all that you've been through."

"Come in." Monty entered the foyer and eyed Dex. "This is Lieutenant Dexter Kaczewski."

The man behind him lifted his arm, and before she could even shriek, he shot Dex in the chest. The bullet pushed him back and he hit the floor hard.

Piper's scream echoed off the walls as the man grabbed her by the hair and dragged her down the hall, past Dex's prone body.

Sobbing, he took her into the library where Edward backed up and the man shot him, too. By this time, Piper was in so much shock and pain she could barely think straight. The man shoved her onto the small sofa in the mahogany-paneled room.

This was the man who had chased them and tried to kill them in DC. She was sure of it, and he was with Monty.

It was almost more than she could process. "I trusted you."

"This isn't personal, Pippy. It's business. Now turn over the evidence to me and this will be very painless for you."

"No," she bit out.

"Pippy," he said softly, like he was still in her good graces and she was little again. "Don't make this hard on both of us. Nyx isn't a patient killer."

"No, he isn't," Robert Mullins said as he strode into the room. "Senator Jones, I warned you about going against me."

"You're in on this together."

"No," Monty said. "He's blackmailing me."

"Monty had your husband killed because of the bill, but I made sure to let Monty know how damaging it could be to his company. When your brother started digging, Monty got nervous. He used my contacts to get the information about the SEALs, and when you went running off to him, it was the perfect scenario. I made sure to include one of my men to make sure the job got done right, but then your navy SEAL stepped in and all bets were off. The two of you were very good at hiding, but now it's over."

"Nyx," Robert said, and he raised the gun.

Piper closed her eyes. They were going to kill her whether she gave them the flash drive or not. She wasn't going to give in. The assassin turned slightly and pulled the trigger. Suddenly, Monty staggered back, his face going white as he clutched at his chest. "You...bastard."

He careened into the bookcases and fell to the floor.

"Poor Monty," Mullins said. "He thought he was going to get the information and turn the tables on me. But I always have a backup plan. Now, Senator, give me what your very resourceful and goodie-two-shoes husband collected on me."

Piper glared at him. "You're not going to get away with this."

"You mean those two NCIS agents." He shook his head. "That's the trouble with law enforcement. There's always a chance of dying in the line of duty."

"You're a monster."

He advanced on her, grabbed her by the shirt and hauled her up. "I will be sitting in the White House and you will be nothing but a memory. They're never going to find your body. Oh, and Nyx will take care of Tyler. Just so you know." He backhanded her across the face and shoved her back on the sofa. "Kill her, search her and make sure her and the SEAL are never found. Leave Montgomery and Edward here and clear out the place of anything valuable. Ditch that rental of theirs. You can keep any of the profits you make."

The man turned to her with a cold smile on his face and her insides iced over. He raised his gun. "Goodbye, Senator Jones. You'll get to see your SEAL and your brothers soon." Mullins said with a smirk.

The shot exploded with a violent crack.

Chapter 17.

Dex watched the assassin drop and he set his sights on Senator Mullins. "Sooner than she thought," he growled. Recognizing the sharp edge in his voice and the almost uncontrollable urge to double tap the bastard, he made his muscles relax. Locking his jaw against the rolling sensation in his belly, he clenched and unclenched his teeth, trying to bring the rage under control. The hot, violent surge of adrenaline finally abated.

"Dex!" Piper cried. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, and he could tell that she was so relieved. He hated the subterfuge, but he was only doing what he promised to do. Protect her. He and Edward had worn vests in the event that Montgomery was the one who had betrayed Piper and Ty. Derrick and Austin hadn't really gone back to San Diego. He'd just let Piper think that. They were on hand to handle an arrest if needed.

"Move a muscle. Please, just give me a reason," Dex said.

Mullins held his hands up. "I didn't have anything to do with those SEALs."