The door to her office opened. No knock. Helen grinned, thankful for someone stupid enough to interrupt her while she was in a mood like this—

Then she saw the man at the door and she froze.

He wasn’t a scary individual on the surface. Far from it. Balding, average height, round glasses that made him look like a small-town librarian.

But the power that Helen used all flowed through him. She called him Control. It was his title. It was his role in her life, as well.

He stepped in to keep tabs on her, offered the occasional instruction. He could find her anywhere, simply showing up like this, unannounced and unscheduled. He knew every detail of her life. She didn’t even know his real name.

But she knew he could kill her, and would, without a second’s hesitation, if he thought it necessary.

Helen was powerful, but Control—Control was God.

Helen checked her fear and gave him her best smile. “What do you need, sir?”

Control looked back at her, his face as placid as ever.

“Agent Holt,” he said. “A word, please?”

She gestured to a chair.

He looked up at the ceiling, the walls. “Not in here,” he said.

He went out into the hall. Whatever he had to say, he didn’t want the office’s recording gear to pick it up.

Her hand shook slightly as she grabbed the handle and followed.

Control leaned against the wall in the corridor. “What are you doing, Helen?” he asked.

“What?”

He sighed. “Why are you antagonizing Cade?”

Helen’s fear vanished as the anger welled up inside her. “He was stalking one of our primary subjects—”

“So?”

Helen’s mouth worked for a second before she could come up with a reply. “We need Konrad. We can’t afford to lose him—”

“Why would we lose him?”

That stopped Helen short.

“Because—you know their history,” she stammered. “We can’t allow Cade to be this close.”

He looked annoyed. “Please. If Cade wanted to kill Konrad, he could have done it five times already. He hasn’t. What does that tell you?”

“The president hasn’t authorized him to take any action,” she said. Reluctantly.

“Correct,” he said, a teacher rewarding a slow pupil. “So why are you threatening your cover by involving the White House?”

His face revealed nothing more than idle curiosity. Another federal office drone walked between them in the hall, giving them an apologetic look. Helen waited until she was gone.

“Konrad wanted us to do something,” she said.

He took off his glasses and wiped them on his tie. “Do you take orders from Konrad now?”

She flushed. “No, sir.”

“And there’s no reason to believe Konrad is involved in anything that would jeopardize him—or the Company,” he said. “Is there?”

“No, of course not,” she said, too quickly. She tried to keep her face—and her mind—as blank as possible.

He waited for her to say something else, but she kept her mouth shut. He put his glasses back on and nodded at her.

“Then we have nothing to worry about.”

“Cade is screwing with what’s ours,” she snapped. “We ought to put a stake in his heart. Or that kid with him. Just to send a message.”

“We’re not prepared for that kind of fallout.”

Helen sensed a weakness here, and she did what she always did: she pounced on it.

“Maybe you’re not,” she said.

He looked at her for a long moment. Long enough that Helen started to get nervous again.

“You think you can handle Cade?”

She opened her mouth, but he raised his hand. “You weren’t with us the last time we killed someone in Cade’s operation,” he said. “The president set Cade out like a mad dog. What do you think would happen if Cade were to tell the president his former aide turned up dead in Los Angeles? We had to cut loose a lot of people to cover our tracks. A lot of people. They found out the hard way they weren’t as valuable as they thought.”

“Is that a threat?”

Her controller looked disappointed. The slow student had taken a step back.

“Of course it’s a threat, you stupid twat.”

She looked away. “I’m sorry,” she said.

He turned away and headed for the elevator. He was done with this conversation.

“What am I supposed to do?” she asked.

“You said Konrad isn’t doing anything, right?” her controller said, pressing the button for the elevator. “Then it’s simple. Cade has no reason to be here, once you stop provoking him.”

“Yes, sir,” she said.

“Good girl.” He got inside and the doors closed. Helen knew he’d disappear once he walked out of the lobby.

She bent over, feeling nauseous. Helen was very grateful Konrad was going to make her immortal. Because she was going to betray the Shadow Company, and it had punishments that only started at death. From there, they got much worse.

She took a deep breath and considered her options.

Control suspected her of something, but didn’t know. If he knew, she’d already be dead.

He was watching now. But he was a busy man. She wasn’t the only agent he had to track. The Company would give her plenty of rope to hang herself.

She had to move fast, though.

She went back into her office and hit the intercom.

“Ken,” she said. “I need the activation code for the package.”

“Uh . . . okay,” he said. “Are you sure about this?”

Helen gritted her teeth. Was everyone going to give her shit today?

“I just got confirmation,” she said, voice steady and clear. “The Company wants Cade off the board. He’s not supposed to be here. The White House will take care of any fallout. They’ll have to.”

Nothing but silence from Ken. Helen rolled her eyes.

“Oh, don’t be such a wuss,” she said. “How many people get a chance to put ‘vampire slayer’ on their resume?”