C.J. drank her margarita at El Coyote with Maureen and Carol her two sorority sisters. All of them were unwinding for the weekend after the usual busy work week.

"I met a new guy at the conference," Maureen said, "His name's Sam, seems nice…and normal. But I don't know. We exchanged cards but I've not had the best track record with guys lately. Dan…Robert…and Lance who's got a wife in Atlanta."

She'd just sent him packing but C.J. winced at her list. After all, she'd though seriously about marrying Robert before betraying him. Maureen had gotten off somewhat easier.

Maureen shook her head.

"Though Robert dying like that in jail…he was too ambitious for his good. All that talent and he threw it all away."

C.J. couldn't argue against that but she didn't feel like talking about him. Damn it'd been an arduous six months for her. Carol looked at her.

"So you still heading out to Arizona…to testify in that case?"

Meaning the so-called Bannon County sex ring scandal…it'd been all over the media for about two weeks before mercifully fading away. Until…

She shook her head.

"Butz took a guilty plea and is doing his 20 years and Piser…well he's dead and buried."

Maureen frowned.

"Did they ever figure out who iced him?"

C.J. shook her head.

"It was one of the prison guards…a woman who wasn't what she appeared to be," she said, "She just showed up that shift. They'd never seen anyone of her description before…not that there was much to go on."

Carol sighed.

"At least someone saved the tax dollars a lot of money."

C.J. agreed but though Piser was scum in her mind, something troubled her about his murder. She'd left a calling card, Lady Rose whatever that meant. One of the other inmates had overheard that being said by a woman before the fatal gunshot.

She'd vanished without a trace as if she'd never existed.

Carol sighed.

"So what's Houston up to? Is he back in the game?"

Meaning was he seeing anyone, C.J. thought, but no, Matt had been working pretty hard lately wrapping up two cases back to back with Roy while she…well spent a lot of time filing court briefs on corporate acquisitions to keep Murray happy. One of his crack attorneys that C.J. had trained herself had gone on extended maternity leave leaving him shorthanded. She'd agreed to help him out…for a couple of months.

"He's been tied up lately…"

Carol's eyes twinkled.

"Not literally I hope. Though he's good with a rope…judging from his rodeo photos."

Maureen rolled her eyes.

"You thinking about trying to hook up with again?"

Carol chuckled, reaching for the margarita pitcher.

"Oh no. Not that he's not real fine in all ways but he's married to his career first, women second which is why he's leaving a trail of broken hearts."

C.J. thought about that.

"Most of his girlfriends aren't serious either," she said, "though there were a couple like Christina…"

Maureen dipped a taquito in her sauce.

"Ah…the one whose husband just got busted in some sex scandal?"

C.J. nodded. Oh, that hadn't been pretty not when she'd shown up on Matt's doorstep for a pity party after separating from her prince charming. He'd been sympathetic and invited her in for a drink and the rest of it she didn't want to know.

Carol narrowed her eyes.

"Wasn't she on Matt's arm at the benefit for the new hospital wing at Wilshire Memorial?"

C.J. shrugged.

"They both donated money to pay for it," she said, "and neither had a date."

She knew that whatever happened between the two of them wouldn't ever get serious. That ship had sailed already and besides, she hated frogs. Though some might think it strange, that'd be a deal breaker for Matt when it came with women to get serious about and a couple relationships had broken up over what some of them called the "frog fetish". What they didn't understand is that Matt just loved critters period and having them around on his ranch. Back when he had one before trading it in for the beach house in Malibu. She got it anyway…his deal with the frogs.

"Hey what you doing here?"

She looked up and smiled as she saw Two Mean there with a beautiful woman.

"Just here with the girlfriends," she said, "You know Carol and Maureen."

He nodded and greeted them and introduced them to Caryn who was a massage therapist he'd been seeing for a while.

"Houston keeping you busy?"

She chuckled.

"Hardly I've been working under Murray for a month. Houston's out with his uncle handling the field work."

He frowned.

"You okay with that?"

She shrugged again.

"I'm the one with the law degree and why not put it to use?"

That's what she told herself a lot but the truth was she felt damn antsy, restless even. Working out with Too Mean kept her body sharply honed but her mind wandered. For one thing she'd remembered along with everything else that she'd gone to Santa Fe to meet with the investigator she'd hired. But when she contacted him to explain why she'd been a no show he hadn't responded back.

Maybe it was just as well. She hadn't gotten far in her search and maybe she should just stop looking for something she'd never find.

Matt looked over at his uncle. They were sitting in a heap of a car doing surveillance on a boat tied to the moor at the marina. No one had shown up and they were beginning to think that someone had tipped their mark off that he was being watched.

"Want to head back?"

Roy nodded.

"Dixie wants to hit the art show at MOCA tonight," he said, "She's friends with one of the artists."

Matt looked at his watch. He had to fax some signed papers back to Murray in Houston by four. He had plans to head out with Too Mean to a Dodger game. They were playing the Phillies as part of a series.

Suddenly he noticed Roy's body go rigid, his face go ashen.

"You okay Uncle Roy? Anything the matter?"

His uncle's eyes looked incredulous. It was a moment before he could speak.

"What is it?"

Roy sighed.

"I just got a text," he said, "It says he's alive."

Matt knew by the look on his face it had to be something extraordinary. It turned out to be something impossible.

"Will…my son…he's not dead. I'm supposed to meet with a woman who knows what happened to him."

Matt's world just blew apart just as it did when his cousin had been caught in an explosion right in front of him in a combat zone half way around the world. He couldn't believe what his uncle had just said. He couldn't wrap his head around it.

"How can that be? I watched him die right in front of me. He could never have survived that ambush."

Roy looked perplexed, the hope that sprung into his eyes still quite guarded. But whoever sent him the text must have been a highly credible source.

"Who told you?"

Roy sighed.

"I can't tell you but this person…he wouldn't lie to me about my own son."

Matt narrowed his eyes.

"You sure about that?"

Roy nodded.

"Damn sure…we'd better get back to determine how to meet this woman…"

Matt started up the car engine and backed the jalopy out of its parking space.

"Better make sure it's not a setup," he said, "Wouldn't be the first time…"

Roy nodded again and they drove back to the office building.

C.J. returned to the office from the courthouse after filing another round of briefs in two litigation cases. She'd worked on them most of the night and into the morning. That left her feeling pretty tired but she'd hit the gym in the morning doing weights and some cardio before heading to the courthouse.

She ran into Hoyt there set to testify in a corruption case involving the man that had set up his predecessor Vince.

"So it's finally going to trial after all this time?"

Hoyt nodded.

"Yep. The defendant didn't take the plea and decided to take chances instead. It's in its fourth week and the jury's sleeping already."

"You better say something to wake them up," C.J. said, "They deserve to go down for what they put Vince and his family through last year."

Hoyt agreed.

"So how's Houston doing these days? I haven't seen him around at my crime scenes."

She chuckled.

"He's been busy doing surveillance with Roy. They should be wrapping it up pretty soon."

Hoyt popped another antacid in his mouth.

"Just tell them not to make a mess out in my city okay?"

She nodded with a smile and took off down the hallway to the clerk's office.

Roy didn't say much until they got to the office and after getting out of the elevator he went and poured himself a drink. Matt joined him waiting for him to break his silence. He knew what this sudden news meant to his uncle…the idea that his only son could still be alive out in the world somewhere.

His uncle looked at his glass.

"You know Flo died in part of a broken heart," he said, "She never got over his death."

Neither had Matt. Oh he'd learned to accept it and live with it but it'd been a difficult journey that showed him that not all landmines were out in the battlefield and there were forces more scarring than shrapnel.

"I just find it hard to believe he might be alive after all this time. How would it have been a secret for so long?"

Roy sighed.

"I don't know. Maybe he's been trapped somewhere or someone's holding him prisoner."

That made some sense to Matt. But still so many questions.

"Why would someone come forward with that information now," he said, "Why after all these years?"

Roy paused before taking a sip of his scotch.

"It was an information exchange," he said, "I told this person information they needed to know and this was their way of paying me back in kind."

Matt's mind tried to really imagine what it would be like if Will had survived that explosion after all. But he didn't press Roy on it. There were certain facets of his life his uncle didn't discuss.

Once a Company man always a Company man…

That had been one reason why Matt hadn't fallen in his footsteps even though he'd been recruited by more than one side after his stint in military intelligence.

"So who's this woman?"

Roy sighed.

"Someone who works for the embassy…though I suspect that's mainly a cover for other activities."

Matt sipped his Scotch and then looked up when he heard footsteps. C.J. had walked into the office and saw them both sitting there.

"Hi what's up?"

Matt paused.

"C.J. maybe you'd better sit down. Uncle Roy and I have something to tell you."

Earlier…

Matt had been back on the ranch for a couple days since his discharge from the veterans hospital in Frankfort and his hop back on the first C14 home. He'd gotten a ride from Ft. Hood back to Houston and got home while his father had been called away on emergency business. Something wrong with an oil platform out in the Gulf. Seriously though what could be such an emergency that it trumped helping Uncle Roy cut through the red tape to get the military funeral benefits authorized for Will. No body to ship home in a flag draped coffin for burial, just a stone marker for an empty grave.

The emptiness of the mansion didn't match that inside him right now, and there was only so much liquor in the cabinet to keep him numb. The shrapnel that had sliced into his leg had left him with a limp but with a few days riding out on the ranch, it'd become more limber again.

He hit the whisky first because it packed the most punch in the fewest ounces and it burned his throat going down. He took the bottle and went out to the back porch which faced out into the grassy area and one of the corrals where he had worked many a young horse.

It didn't take long before he realized he wasn't alone. A young woman with flowing dark hair that curled on its ends was on horseback on a buckskin in the corral, dressed in faded jeans and a worn long sleeved shirt.

He watched her put the skittish horse through its paces before it settled down. He had to smile, no one was better with young horse flesh than C.J, she had the gift. Gentle hands whose touch could calm even the antsiest horse not to mention what they did to a man when they ran smoothly over his skin. The hands that held the reins just so right had held the most intimate part of him and just the memory of it, made him suck in his breath.

But he put that thought away…and concentrated on his drinking. She spotted him soon enough and after tying the horse loosely in the corral she hopped over it and came on over. He got up and embraced her more tightly than planned but damn he'd missed her. When they separated, he noticed she had tears in her eyes that she wiped away.

"I didn't know you were coming back so soon Houston. Your father…"

Matt sat down and she took the chair alongside him.

"He had that emergency on the oil rig."

"Yeah…fire broke out. Two men got hurt. None killed thankfully. He'll be back in the morning."

Matt nodded and picked up his bottle pouring himself another glass. Her eyes widened a bit.

"You hitting your daddy's whisky pretty hard."

He narrowed his eyes.

"I'm thirsty…want to make something of it?"

The defensiveness in her voice…but she backed down, not wanting a fight with him.

"No…I guess you're entitled…your uncle was here earlier."

"I meant to call him. I imagine he's still trying to cut through that red tape so he can hold a funeral for his son."

She nodded.

"He's almost done with it. They picked out Will's plot at the military cemetery. He's making arrangements for the service."

Matt looked at his glass.

"Sorry there wasn't anything left to bury but you know how it is with people blowing up…"

Her eyes widened even more as if she didn't know why he was even going there with her. What had gotten into him? Grief yeah…but it was something much greater than that. His eyes had taken on a hardness…bordering on meanness and she'd never seen that in him.

"Yeah I do. I guess we both saw it up real close."

The silence between them then…but neither knew how to bridge it. He took his bottle and got up to head back in the house.

"Good to see you again…"

She stood up too.

"Houston…the cook's making your favorites for dinner tonight to welcome you back."

He shook his head.

"I'm not staying for dinner. I'm going out. Don't wait up for me…"

She paused knowing not to push him now.

"Christina came by…she's in town on a job and she wanted to see you again."

He sighed.

"Tell her I'm out. I don't want to see anyone right now."

She watched him go back inside the house. The man she'd known most of her life suddenly a stranger to her.

C.J. sat down but when they told her, she couldn't believe it. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought Will would be alive.

"Are you sure it's legit?"

Matt nodded.

"One of Roy's sources told him. We'll learn more when we talk to this embassy person."

She put her head in her hands still unable to process it. People didn't just come back from the dead after over a decade.

"Where's he been all this time? Will you get answers to that?"

Roy pursed his lips.

"He's been held prisoner by warlord. Don't know which one or much more than that."

"God how awful for him but if he's alive…"

Matt got up and started pacing.

"Then we're going to go find him…and bring him home."

C.J. watched as Matt and his ragtag team headed for the Lear Jet parked at LAX. The woman from the embassy had given them much more information about where Will was located and who had been holding him all these years.

He'd spent the past couple days quickly drafting a team together, mainly he and Too Mean. His friend told him that he knew a man who might help them at a price.

"Names Andy McKay not the nicest guy but very good at his job. Just what we need to round out our team to get your cousin out"

Matt nodded trusting Too Mean's judgment.

"Well we'd best get out of here because they might try to stop us."

Meaning Uncle Sam which wasn't quite on board with this plan of theirs. Matt had been very careful when filing his flight plan at the airport. If he got slapped with FAA violations, he'd deal with them later. So they all gathered at the airport and C.J. hugged Matt and Too Mean goodbye.

"You both bring Will home but come back yourselves in one piece okay?"

Matt cupped her face in his hand realizing that she meant it and if he didn't…she'd find a way to kick his ass over it.

"I promise…but if I don't come back."

She didn't waver in her voice and in the way she looked at him, memorizing every feature on his face just in case.

"Uncle Roy and I will come for you and I will so kick your sorry ass if you even think about not making it."

His mouth curved into a smile before kissing her softly on the mouth.

"I'll see you later…"

Then they were gone.

Roy and C.J. headed to the office to do some work to keep them busy while they waited to hear word, any word back from Matt and his motley crew. Roy poured them both some Scotch after they spent an hour closing out case files.

"I hope no news is good news…"

Roy glanced over at her.

"If anything had gone wrong, we'd know by now," he said, "I've got contacts over there who'd alert us."

She processed that sipping her drink.

"I hope he does find him…and brings him back," she said, "Losing Will messed him up for a long time. I think he still blames himself."

Roy sighed.

"I know that…but he did find his way back out of the darkness. He had his friends to help him."

She smiled.

"He didn't make it easy but I can only imagine what it must have been like. I mean I saw my father die in front of me and I did wonder if it would have happened if he hadn't gone to get something for me from the car."

"You didn't know someone had planted a bomb there C.J. He didn't know. Just like Matt didn't know about the attack against them."

"It took him a long time to realize that," she said, "He took it so hard, lashed out. Said and did a lot of things…but I know it wasn't really him. I just hope…here I am and I know this is got to be tough on you too."

Chris interrupted them.

"Roy…there's someone out in the lobby who wants to see you about one of the cases."

He sighed and got up.

"Guess I'd better find out what. If my phone rings…"

"I'll answer it."

He left her alone with her thoughts and the scotch. Damn it'd been a couple days already and she'd kept her nose to the grindstone during the day to get her mind off of Matt and the phone. At night, there were the dreams…which started out nice enough with her and Matt during happier times until the nightmares took over.

Matt had nightmares when he returned and when he finally dragged his ass to a shrink, he'd been diagnosed with PTSD and began the arduous treatment that lasted several years while he picked up his MBA. She'd stayed with him during some of those times, and held them when he'd awakened from some of the nightmares, the sheets soaked with them.

He'd shared his secrets buried deep inside them with her in halting breaths and she'd returned the favor herself. He wasn't the only one who ever had nightmares. There'd been a couple times when their physical closeness had tempted them in other directions but she'd reined her feelings in…that door had closed forever after all.

The phone ringing broke her chain of thought and she looked where Roy had gone and then she picked it up and clicked it on.

"Hello…"

"Who's this? You're not Roy…"

She sighed.

"No I'm not. He's busy at the moment. Who's this?"

A pause.

"It doesn't matter. He's expecting my call."

"I know he…we are waiting to hear back from his nephew. Does it have to do with that?"

"I know about it…he needs to know not to trust them."

"Trust who?"

"The soldiers…the ones who are helping him and the other guys," the man said, "It's the same trap that got his son."

C.J. froze when she heard those words.

"I'll go get him…you can tell him what you told me."

"No…not enough time…you tell him. He'll know how to get word to his nephew before it's too late."

"Okay…and you're…"

"He'll know…"

"Whatever…and thanks…"

"I owe him….What's your name by the way?"

"I'm C.J…I work with him and his nephew Matt Houston."

A long pause followed and she waited for him to respond. It didn't appear as if they were cut off.

"Well…take care and be sure to tell him."

"I will…I don't know you do I?"

"No you don't…goodbye."

The phone clicked off and she looked at it just as Roy returned into the room.