“A pitch-perfect adventure, filled with nuance and dire exploits. Take a breath, hang on, and enjoy the ride with this smart and clever heroine.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author Fans of J.T. Ellison and Julie Clark will be riveted by this exhilaratingly sharp thriller from a New York Times bestselling author and former spy. This taut, action-packed thriller introduces unforgettable heroine Helen Warwick, a highly skilled CIA assassin trying to navigate retirement, settle into a normal life, and reconnect with her family…in the midst of mortal combat. Retirement isn’t easy for a former CIA assassin. For fifty-five-year-old Helen Warwick, it may be impossible. Even Helen’s family doesn’t know the true nature of the work she’s done for decades—the secret black ops, the sanctioned executions. But her plan to spend time reconnecting with her grown children has just been blown up—along with her son’s house—by hired killers. Why is she being targeted now—and by whom? Years of eliminating the nation’s enemies one sniper bullet at a time have earned Helen powerful adversaries. Then there are mysterious new foes, including a psychopath dubbed The DaVinci Killer, who wages a twisted war with a rival serial killer to turn murder into art. And when he sets his sights on Helen, she may very well become his next exhibit. From homegrown spies to Russian mafia hitmen, Helen’s ghosts don’t just haunt—they kill. And staying alive long enough to make up for the past, and protect those closest to her, will take every ounce of skill she possesses…

A government assassin. A sociopathic killer. Both hunters—and both hunted—in the ultimate game of deception, double-cross, and death. Former CIA agent Helen Warwick returns in this electrifying thriller by USA Today bestselling author Cindy Dees... She craved the shadows. Invisibility. Seeing but not being seen. As an elite assassin for the CIA, Helen Warwick was trained to keep a low profile. To blend into the crowd. To eliminate her targets swiftly, silently, and efficiently. But now that she’s retired, Helen is forced to take on a very different, and very public, role—as the proud mother of a rising young politician. At a DC press conference for her son’s campaign, she sees the ominous green light of a gun laser fixed on her son’s head—and her CIA training kicks in. She jumps into action, pushes her son down, and saves him from a sniper’s bullet. In that moment, Helen realizes she will never escape the secrets of her past—or the deranged man she thought she killed... He is still alive—and coming for her family. His code name is Scorpius. A Russian mole embedded in the CIA, he recruits dangerous sociopaths ejected from the military and trains them to kill at command. None of his CIA colleagues—including Helen Warwick—know his true identity. But when members of his kill team begin to disappear, he realizes his entire operation may be at risk. His greatest threat, Helen Warwick, has agreed to rejoin the CIA to help expose Scorpius after the assassination attempt on her son. She suspects that Scorpius may be one of her colleagues, part of a vast conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government. And now that her family has been personally targeted, she’s willing to break every rule in the CIA handbook to stop Scorpius and his trained killers. Unless, of course, they kill her first...