Laura woke to the sound of the phone ringing beside her. Confused, she answered, "Hello?"

"Laura? Laura are you still sleeping? Really now… the train leaves in two hours. You need to finish packing… shower… you're going to be late!" Remington's voice crackled through phone.

Laura sat up, rubbing her head, "Where are you?"

"You… um… you didn't see my note," he said slowly.

"Note? What note?" Laura replied looking around the room.

"On the pillow… I thought you'd see it there… when I wasn't…" Remington explained softly.

Picking up the note, Laura read, Laura, Need more answers… will call you later. RS "What do you mean, you need more answers? Where are you?" she asked again.

"I'm at Daniel's flat. I couldn't help think there might be something else… something in that brief case…," Remington began to explain.

Sitting up completely, Laura questioned him, "What are you talking about? Did you find something? Why didn't you wake me?"

"Slow down, Laura… I couldn't sleep, you looked so peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you," he replied.

"If you couldn't sleep, you should've woken me!" Laura snapped as she pulled her knees up, resting her arm across them.

"I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that Daniel would have kept a list…." he began to explain.

"What list?" Laura snapped again, throwing her arm in the air.

"Laura, I'm trying to explain that but you keep interrupting me," he snapped back.

"Sorry, go on Mr. Steele," she replied.

Sighing loudly, Remington shook his head, flexed his jaw before continuing, "Yes, well, the list…. Daniel and I had executed a multitude of cons over the years together… He… ah…. I found…. "

"What did you find? What could you have possibly found that would make you miss our train back to Ireland? Our train leaves in less than two hours, we still need to finish packing…" Laura exclaimed.

"Yes, well, be that as it may, I've decided..." he interrupted Laura.

"YOU'VE decided? What about US? We're a team, remember? And this so-called TEAM is supposed to be getting married! … and we have brunch on Sunday with YOUR family! We NEED to get back to Ireland!" Laura yelled.

"And I NEED to stay here and sort this out! Laura, Daniel's little …. bombshell… could have a profound effect on our future," Remington yelled back.

"Once again, it's all about your damned past! We can't get away from it, here, in LA, in Ireland… it continually follows us around like… like... " Laura stuttered in her anger.

"I'm sorry, Miss Holt if my past is so bothersome to you at this time. I thought we were beyond this but… well… Sometimes the truth can be so…" he snapped, his words clipped.

"So WHAT?" Laura yelled, furious.

"So inconvenient. Go back to Ireland, Laura," Remington stated before slamming down the phone.

Laura stared at the buzzing phone in her hand, uncertain of their future.

Chapter 1

Laura continued to stare at the phone, stunned, at the unsettling turn of events. She turned slowly and dropped the receiver on the cradle. Running her hands through her hair, she winced slightly when she pulled along the stitches of the injury she'd suffered in the mine explosion back in Ireland a few short days ago. If HE was still here, he would be constantly reminding her to be more cautious and he would be fawning over her, looking after her.

Dismissing her sentimental reminiscinces, she threw the covers off to the side with a huff, and walked through the hotel bedroom toward the bathroom. For the next few minutes she muttered to herself as she packed up her toiletries and carried things to the bed. "...'Go back to Ireland, Laura', he says. …. And what are YOU going to do, Mr. Steele? Stay here and do what!?..."

Pulling her suitcase out from under the bed, she slapped it down and began tossing her things into it haphazardly, too upset to pack things with her customary attention to detail. She opened a drawer and stopped suddenly as she viewed its contents. Reaching inside, she pulled out Remington's sweater and held it to her face, inhaling deeply. She couldn't stop the stuttered breath she released as she turned her head toward the ceiling, hot tears burning her eyes.

Fighting the tears back, even as a knot of pain twisted away in her stomach, she struggled to keep her emotions in check. With a deep breath between clenched teeth, she threw the sweater onto the bed and slammed the drawer closed. Determined to finish her packing, Laura continued opening and closing drawers and closet doors until all her belongings were either on the bed or in the suitcase. Stealing a glance at the clock, she decided she had enough time for a quick shower before she needed to call for a taxi to take her to the train station.

As she crossed the room, she froze when she heard a knock on the door and the glimmer of relief she had felt was immediately trampled by a surge of anger that rushed through her. Rolling her eyes she marched toward the door, announcing, "Let me guess…. You forgot your key." She opened the door and was stunned to find Shannon Wayne standing before her. Deciding she wasn't in the mood to deal with her, Laura simply said, "He's not here, Shannon."

Shannon ignored her comment as she rushed past Laura into the hotel suite calling out, "Dougie? Dougie?!"

"Mr. Steele is NOT here, Shannon," Laura stated again, stepping back to the middle of the room, her arms crossed, shooting icy looks at Shannon.

"My gosh, Lulu, I just heard the word on the street that Daniel… well, poor Daniel…. He's gone to meet his maker… and well, I'm sure Dougie must be simply devastated!" Shannon gushed as she continued to move around the suite.

"Here to offer him a shoulder to cry on?" Laura asked sarcastically as she watched Shannon.

"Something like that." Shannon tossed over her shoulder casually. "We were always there for each other...we REALLY understand each other, Dougie and I...you know, both coming from the life..." Shannon concluded as her eyes swept every room. She stopped short when she noticed the half-packed suitcase on the bed. "Going somewhere?" she asked with eager curiosity.

"I'll tell Mr. Steele you dropped by to see him when he calls," Laura replied, ignoring Shannon's question. "Now if you don't mind, I'm on a tight schedule today," Laura said as she gestured toward the door for Shannon to leave.

"What do you mean… when Mr. Steele calls? I thought he was here with you?" Shannon asked innocently.

"He is… was…. here with me… He had some business to attend to, so if you would be so kind as to leave, I'd like to finish packing my things," Laura stated as she bit the inside of her lip.

Shannon batted her eyes at Laura for a moment before asking, "You mean you're leaving? Alone? Or are you packing Dougie's things for him as well?" She smiled sweetly, tilting her head to the side, blinking again.

Laura crossed her arms defiantly and replied, "Mr. Steele is more than capable of packing his own things when he returns."

"You mean, IF he comes back, don't you, Lulu?" Shannon asked, her tone sweet as honey, leaving a sour taste in Laura's mouth.

"He's coming back… now, I need to catch a train, Shannon, so you really need to leave… NOW!" Laura tried hard to suppress her anger. As she spoke, she marched toward the door, her fists balled up tightly, forcing Shannon to backup until her backside met with the hard surface behind her.

"You will tell Dougie I stopped by, won't you," Shannon said as she made a quick exit out the door. She was partially down the hall when she heard the muffled thud against the door.

Inside the suite, Laura had picked up the closest object to her, which happened to be a phone book, and had thrown it full force against the door. "Oooohhhhh, that MAN!" she cried. "When I get my hands on him…." Laura, hands clenched so tightly her knuckles were white, shut her eyes and took a cleansing breath. She re-opened her eyes with new determination and straightened herself up to her full height, smoothing her pajama top, "I don't have time for this" she told herself, "I need to finish packing, take a shower and make that damned train!"

She purposefully stalked back into the bedroom, pulling out a sweater and jeans to wear and marched back into the bathroom. She showered quickly, looking at the clock again as she dressed, and finished stuffing everything into her suitcase. Surveying the room one last time, Laura grabbed her coat and resignedly left what had been the scene of a wonderful couple of days and what she had thought was a new beginning for her and Remington. At the front desk, she dropped her key, informing the clerk that her husband would be returning later.

"Oh, Mrs. Steele. This package was delivered for you late last night," the clerk began reaching over to get a wrapped box on the table behind her. "It's from Harrod's, I believe."

Laura inhaled sharply before replying, "Let my husband collect it when he returns."

"Will he be taking care of the bill as well?" the clerk asked politely.

"Yes, just charge everything to him. He'll take care of things..." Laura answered, "...I hope..." she muttered under her breath, turning from the desk and exiting through the front doors of the hotel lobby. Outside in the misty morning air, she signalled a passing cab and, declining the cabbie's assistance, dropped her suitcase in the boot. After one final check in her purse for her passport, wallet and ticket, she flumped into the back seat and instructed the driver to take her to Euston Railway Station. Looking back behind her, she watched as the St. John Hotel was swallowed up by the swirling fog.