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I wanted to believe that. But I knew Katherine. Knew her heart, her instincts. She'd spent fifteen years playing heroes on screen, but she was more heroic than any character she'd ever portrayed. She'd throw herself in front of a bullet for a stranger without thinking twice.

That's what terrified me.

"Code." Simon's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. "I've got Thompson trying to access the hotel's security system. If we can get eyes on the building, we can at least see if Viktor's there."

"How long?"

"He's working on it. Five minutes, maybe ten."

Five minutes we don’t have.

I checked the GPS again. Eighteen minutes. I started to pray.

Please, Katherine. Stay behind that locked door. Wait for me. Just wait.

On my last call with Katherine, she’d sounded shaky, but confident. She had more courage in her pinky finger than half the men I’d served with. I wanted to call her. Hear her voice again, but that wouldn’t be good. She needed to focus. I wasn’t going to ruin her mood just to make me feel better.

I pushed the accelerator harder. The engine roared. Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine. One hundred.

"At this speed, now your ETA to Knoxville city limits is six minutes," Jase said quietly, watching the GPS. "Then another eight to the hotel."

Fourteen minutes total.

I'd survived entire operations in less time than that. Breached compounds, extracted assets, neutralized threats. Most times fourteen minutes was a blink of an eye. With Katherine’s life on the line, it was an eternity.

"Uber's now two minutes out," Jase reported, eyes on Russell's tracking.

Two minutes. Katherine had better be heading down to the lobby.

My phone was mounted on the dash where I could see it. I kept glancing at the screen, willing it to light up with a message from Katherine. We're in the Uber. We're safe. We're moving.

Nothing.

The highway stretched endlessly ahead, and I pressed harder on the gas even though I knew it wouldn't matter. Even though I knew that no matter how fast I drove, it might not be fast enough.

My phone rang.

Katherine's name on the screen.

I hit the button to answer, not taking my eyes off the road. "Are you in the Uber?"

"No." Her voice was small. Scared. "Code, someone's knocking on the door."