TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER

I clasped Emily's hand in both of mine as Lee placed the bouquet of daisies and sunflowers in the window of her hospital room.

"You are looking so much better than the last time I saw you."

Emily chuckled as she squeezed my hand. "Well, I should hope so – though it's going to take forever for my hair to grow out and cover this bald spot on my head!"

Lee laughed. "Emily – that's a small price to pay for having you still with us in the land of the living!"

She winked at my husband as he perched on the end of the bed. "So, tell me everything I missed while I was out of commission-"

I released her hands and sat back in the chair I'd drawn up to her bedside. "You haven't missed much, really-"

Emily frowned as she looked between the two of us. "Amanda, I don't remember anything after you went into Styles' office – you have to fill in some blanks for me. What happened to us – to me? Did you find Meg? Is Sinclair involved?"

"You mean – Mr. Melrose hasn't told you anything?"

She snorted. "Billy told me to focus on my recovery – and that you two would brief me when you could. So here you are, and I've been patient long enough - come on, give me all the details."

"I'm afraid, I don't know what happened to you – when I came out of Styles' office, you had disappeared and I was ambushed by two men who overpowered me with chloroform-"

"Oh my gosh," Emily exclaimed, and Lee rolled his eyes.

"I'm so glad your expression is catching on," he teased us.

I ignored his comment and went on to tell her about waking up in the darkness, meeting Meg, my confrontation with Sinclair and Styles, the amazing revelation that they are father and son, being locked in a bedroom with a telephone wire that allowed me to send a message to the Agency, and finally shooting Sinclair in the leg just before Lee arrived with backup.

"It certainly sounds like I missed out on quite a bit – and you definitely lived up to your codename, my dear."

"Shh," I held a finger to my lips and darted a look at Lee. "He doesn't know about-"

"Oh, yes, I do, Tigress. Who do you think intercepted your SOS message from the phone company?" he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at me.

I blushed furiously. "You haven't said a word about it-"

"I haven't had the opportunity to bring it up-"

Emily cleared her throat. "I don't mean to interrupt you lovebirds, but time is of the essence here. We really don't have any leads on where Styles could have taken Meg?"

Lee quickly filled her in on the coordinates that had been written on my back, and the fact that they were the location of a dude ranch in Mexico.

"How does that factor into things?" Emily asked, her face a picture of confusion.

"Styles mentioned the name Martinez – and one of the brothers who owns the ranch has the same name," I explained. "I know it's a long shot, but it's all we've got. Francine has also discovered that Styles, or should I say Jonathan Sinclair, is up to his eyeballs in gambling debts. His bookie was into him for over $100,000 – and we think that's why he set up Project Care Patch in the first place – as a front to funnel cash to pay off his debts."

"And his daddy helped him pay them off faster by selling girls?"

Lee nodded. "It's our working theory at the moment – but Sinclair and Styles would have had to go slow – arrange a sale once or twice a year so as not to arouse suspicion with the local authorities-"

Emily snorted. "Yeah, well, that didn't work, did it? I mean, Alice was all over Styles from the start – she just couldn't get the hard evidence she needed to pin anything on him."

"Alice –your detective friend at metro- the one who gave you and Amanda the files on the missing girls?" Lee questioned.

Emily nodded. "She's taken a very personal interest in those girls – she has a daughter about the same age."

"Why don't you call her? See if she'll come down to the Agency – Amanda and I could talk to her in the Q and see if there's any little detail she can remember that didn't make it into a report-"

"Sure – hand me the phone, Amanda."

I placed the phone on the bedspread within reach, just as it rang.

"'Ello?" Emily answered, her voice crisp and businesslike. "Oh, yes, Austin. How are you?" She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and mouthed: 'It's Dr. Smyth.'

I nodded and met Lee's surprised look with a smile.

"Austin?" he mouthed the name back to me as my smile deepened.

"Thank you for checking on me – aside from a slight headache I'm right as rain. I'll be back on my feet in no time. Now, I bet you're looking for- yes, just a moment-"she held out the phone. "It's for you."

Lee stepped forward but Emily shook her head. "Not you, Scarecrow. Tigress."

I heard Lee's slight inhalation of surprise as I took the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Tigress?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I need you and Scarecrow back at the office, pronto."

I got to my feet. "Sir? Do you mean-"

"I mean, the pieces are falling into place and it's time to move and bring the queens back home, comprendo?"

"Understood, Sir. We're on our way." I hung up and flung myself into Lee's arms.

He caught me to him, catching onto my excitement. "Good news?"

"I'm not sure of the details – but it sounds like my patience is finally going to pay off. We've got to get back to the office, right now!" I tugged on his hand, pulling him out the door. "Good-bye, Emily!"

"Call me!" she shouted after us.

It was a good thing Lee was with me because I was so excited that my mind drew a complete blank when Mrs. Marston asked for the codeword. I opened my mouth but when nothing came out, I closed it with an embarrassment that I hadn't felt in a couple of years.

Lee placed his arm around my waist and squeezed gently.

"Cummerbund," he stated confidently, holding out his right hand for our security badges.

I grabbed mine and attempted to pin it to my blouse with an angry stabbing motion as I strode to the hidden elevator. Lee's fingers closed over mine and took over, making a tsking sound as he saw that I had jabbed my finger with the pin and drawn blood.

"Sweetheart, be careful-" he scolded me gently, drawing my finger to his lips, kissing the tip and then sucking on it gently to stop the flow of blood. "You've nicked yourself-"

"Lee – the cameras- not to mention, Mrs. Marston-" I hissed, as the elevator doors opened and I slipped inside.

He chuckled, waving at Mrs. Marston as the doors closed. "Amanda, in case you've forgotten, that's my ring you're wearing – everyone knows about us. We don't have to hide anymore."

"Yes, but we're at work – and when we're at work-"

"We have to behave like we're at work," he finished with me. "There's that practical Amanda again. Have I ever told you that that side of you can be very annoying?"

I winked at him, just as the doors opened. "Yes, but you love me anyway," I whispered in his ear as I breezed past him into the hallway outside the bullpen.

I heard his chuckle as he moved to catch up to me, placing his hand in the small of my back and I was temporarily distracted by how right it felt – and how much I had missed his presence by my side over the past few days. Even before we had become romantically involved, we had been a team, so in step and in sync that to be separated or required to keep secrets from one another had been painful and nearly impossible, because we knew each other so well even back then.

By unspoken agreement, Lee's hand fell from my back as we reached the door to the conference room, and he reached past me to open it, ever the gentleman. I stepped inside first, pausing on the threshold at the sheer number of people inside.

"Whoa," Lee breathed the word in my ear. "It's a bit crowded in here!"

I nodded as my eyes roved the conference table, taking in Dr. Smyth, Billy, and Francine on one end. At the opposite end sat a man in a business suit, and two women I didn't recognize- though one of them looked familiar.

"Now that everyone's here, I'd like to take a moment for introductions," Dr. Smyth began as he waved Lee and I to the last two seats in the middle of the table. "This is Lee and Amanda – two of the best agents in this place."

Lee and I exchanged looks, barely managing to contain our looks of surprise.

"Amanda has been running the investigation into the disappearance of my great-niece Meg Sands, who was kidnapped along with her friend Tessa Willows on April 10. During the course of her investigation, Amanda discovered these two girls were merely the tip of the iceberg when it came to kidnappings related to PCP - isn't that correct, Detective Birch?"

"That's correct, Dr. Smyth."

The answer came from the first woman I didn't recognize, who was seated at the opposite end of the table. She wore jeans and a light gray sweatshirt, and her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She had piercing brown eyes that didn't miss much, and they scanned the room now, taking all of us in.

"My name is Alice Birch, and I'm a detective with the 54th precinct in downtown DC. I'm a family friend of Emily Farnsworth – she's, my godmother."

At the opposite end of the table, Francine leaned over the whisper in Billy's ear. "Is everyone related to Lady Farnsworth?"

"Can it, Francine."

"When she came down to the station and asked me about Project Care Patch and if I knew of any suspicious activity regarding the charity – I wanted to tell her everything right away – but I wasn't at liberty to. This operation has been going on for over a year now-"

"What operation?" Lee broke in.

Alice shared a look with the other man and woman sitting beside her. As they nodded, she continued. "I had no idea this went so deep – I thought it was just some sicko, picking up girls and killing them – which, don't get me wrong, would have been bad enough! But as time went by and no bodies were ever found and another girl would get snatched and I didn't know what to do – so I called-" Alice stopped and swallowed, looking again at the woman.

The other woman spoke up for the first time. "Perhaps the time has come to introduce myself-"

I gasped as I heard her voice, the piece finally clicking into place. "You're Fiona – the secretary from Project Care Patch!"

She smiled. "Actually, my name is Angel – and I work for the FBI."

"Oh my gosh," I breathed the words softly, as I studied her face. She was younger than she had appeared to be when she was working as a secretary in the PCP executive offices – the gray in her hair had magically disappeared as well as the crow's feet around her eyes. But the shape of the mouth as well as the sound of her voice – it was too distinctive. I'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Did you know – that Emily and I were federal agents?" I asked her.

Angel shook her head. "Not at first – and not until it was almost too late. I had a late-night meeting with Alice on the second day of your audit. She told me about Emily, described her to me, and I put two and two together. The next morning when you caught me in Styles' office, I knew who you were – but I didn't dare break my cover, and risk endangering all our lives."

"I'm still confused," I shook my head. "Why are the FBI involved at all – and who are you?" I questioned, turning to the unidentified man at the end of the table.

"Andrew Johns, DEA."

"Drug Enforcement Agency?" Billy repeated. "What in the Sam Hill do drugs have to do with all of this?"

Andrew smiled grimly. "Everything, Mr. Melrose. Everything."

We took a brief break for coffee. Dr. Smyth went outside for a smoke, and the ladies used the bathroom – the time seemed to drag before everyone was back in the conference room and ten minutes later the debriefing continued.

"I'll start?" Alice looked at her companions, who nodded in agreement. She stood and picked up the projector remote. She pushed the button and an enlarged picture appeared on the opposite wall. "This is Jennifer Blackwell – the first girl to be kidnapped from PCP. This picture is one of her senior class photos – she was eighteen when she disappeared on June 21, 1985. She's an only child and her parents were distraught – I can still recall the interview in vivid detail – I'd only been on the job as a detective for a month." Alice paused and cleared her throat. "I remember interviewing Jonathan Styles at the time as well. He expressed deep regret but claimed to know nothing that would help – and he let us search his offices without a warrant, showing he had nothing to hide. We didn't find anything."

She advanced to the next slide. "This is Hannah Simms, aged seventeen. She disappeared on February 1, 1986. She comes from a single parent home, mother died when she was a baby, her father raised her along with her grandparents in a loving Jewish home. I didn't find anything in common with Jennifer except for the fact that they both worked for PCP – but not at the same time. Hannah started to volunteer at the charity two weeks after Jennifer disappeared. I talked to Styles again, but nothing came of it. He said if I wanted to search the offices, I'd need a warrant this time. He'd cooperated before and I'd found nothing. I couldn't keep coming back and harassing him." Alice paused and took a deep breath. "I was losing sleep, becoming obsessed over this case – these two missing girls – so I called a friend – someone I knew would listen to me."

Angel took up the tale. "Alice and I grew up together – she went into the police academy and I – well, took a different path. She's one of a very select few that know what I do for a living. She's kept my secret all these years. When she came to me about Project Care Patch and these missing girls, my heart went out to her – but it was more than that. I've been around long enough to smell a rat – to know when someone sets up a shell company for the sole purpose of making a personal profit. I did a deep dive into Styles and found out his true identity, that he was the son of Robert Sinclair. That alone was enough for me to cash in my six weeks' vacation time and go undercover at PCP – see if I could find anything out." Angel shrugged. "It lasted longer than that – over a year, to tell the truth – but once I explained to my bosses what I was doing and who I was on the track of – they backed me."

Alice nodded and continued. "So, Angel got hired as Styles' secretary and I had someone inside, trying to find out what was going on with the organization. But the kidnappings didn't stop." She advanced to the next slide. "On September 7, 1986, Elizabeth Hanson disappeared."

Angel nodded. "I remember her – dark red hair, green eyes – smart as a whip. She would chat with me whenever she dropped off the money from her fundraisers. She was a smart cookie – if she'd caught wind of anything going on, she wouldn't have hesitated to blow the whistle."

Alice advanced to the last slide. "And here we have Tessa Willows and Meg Sands – the latter of which I didn't know about until just a couple of days ago, since you kept her disappearance dark, Dr. Smyth."

Smyth waved the rebuke away like he was swatting at a gnat. "Yes, well, I wanted to keep the investigation in house."

I stared at Meg's picture on the wall, finally able to put a face to the voice I'd heard in the dark. She was beautiful, but then, all of the girls were. And yes, she did bear a striking resemblance to Maggie, her grandmother.

"Amanda?" Lee whispered in my ear. "You okay?"

I shivered. "I just – I didn't see her face before – we have to find her, Lee."

"We will – you will." He squeezed my shoulder before sitting back in his chair.

I turned to Angel. "All the time you spent at the office – you never found anything to use against Styles? You never found anything that gave you any clue that told you where the girls might be?"

"Not until that last day-" Angel's manicured fingernail tapped the tabletop. "When you caught me in his office – I was so afraid it was Styles coming back early – and that my cover was blown. You see, I'd finally found the first tangible piece of information and you'd walked in on me before I could get out of there to pass it on –"

"What was it?"

"The tiniest scrap of paper – it was caught under the rollers of his desk chair. It had two lines of numbers on it-"

"The coordinates to the ranch!" I gasped.

"I didn't know that at the time – but yes, I guessed they were latitude and longitude numbers for a location somewhere – and I hoped they were for the girls' location. I memorized the numbers and had just destroyed the paper when I heard you coming-"

"Wait a minute-" I held out a hand as a thought occurred to me. "Did you write those numbers on my back?"

Angel nodded. "I saw you get ambushed by PCP 'security'. They tied you up and left you in the back of one of the loading vans and then left you alone to go back inside – I knew I needed a back-up plan. Styles' office has cameras everywhere, so it was possible my cover had been blown already. I wrote the numbers on your back, but they came outside with Emily just as I was leaving. I made up some silly excuse but one of the men pulled out a gun and I ran – but not before he winged me." Angel pulled up her sweater and showed the wrappings on her ribs. "I'm okay – just needed to heal up for a bit. That's why I didn't contact you sooner or try to aid in your rescue – but I heard that you made quite the daring escape from that house, Tigress."

I blushed. "Oh, I just did what my partner and the Agency manuals have trained me to do over the years – it wasn't anything special."

Lee shook his head. "Don't listen to her – my partner is the prime example of modesty."

Angel grinned. "I know – both of you are quite infamous in the spy world, Scarecrow."

"We don't really care for that word," we said in unison, before looking at each other and grinning.

Once the moment of levity had passed, I turned to Andrew Johns. "So where do you come into the picture?"

"Those GPS coordinates are for the Tres Caballo Ranch owned by the three Martinez brothers-"

"Three horses for three brothers?" Lee suggested. "How original."

Johns nodded. "The DEA has had the Martinez brothers on its radar for almost ten years – we suspect them as being part of the Mexican cartel."

My eyes grew round. "As in drugs?"

"Cocaine, to be more precise. We think they are somehow smuggling it into the States and then someone in the States is smuggling them guns – in parts, of course."

"And you think Styles and Sinclair are part of this operation," Billy spoke up.

"Yes," Johns agreed. "We believe that Styles and Sinclair supplied them with American girls to help them with their drug operation as a way for Styles to pay off his gambling debts. Now, we've had an agent undercover for eight months on the dude ranch, as a regular cowpoke, but it's a huge complex and he's kept away from the family living quarters, and out-front entertaining the tourists and people who stable their horses at the ranch. Up until two days ago, he hadn't anything of interest to report."

I felt myself holding my breath as Lee asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"What happened two days' ago?"

"Our man spotted Styles and Meg arriving at Tres Caballo Ranch."

A/N: Oh snap! Is that what those girls are being used for? Who's ready to get those girls out of Mexico? Drop me some love in reviews - they feed the muse!