US EMBASSY

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

Exhaustion must have caught up with me because the next thing I knew, Lee was shaking my shoulder in an attempt to wake me.

"Mmm- sweetheart, you're going to wake me up-" I mumbled.

He chuckled and brushed his lips against my temple. "Sorry darling, but you've been asleep for five hours-"

"What?" I bolted upright and saw that we were back in the guest room at the embassy. "How did I get here?"

He gave me his boyish grin. "I carried you."

"Up three flights of stairs?"

"Uh-huh."

"And I never stirred?"

"Nope – you were exhausted, Mrs. Stetson."

My cheeks flushed under his adoring gaze. "How embarrassing! What must everyone think of me?"

"The ambassador and his wife thought it rather charming that I insisted on carrying you myself – Luis took a page out of my book and carried his own wife off to bed."

I gasped. "How are the girls?"

Lee ran his hands up and down my arms in a soothing manner. "Everyone is just fine, Amanda. Jenna is still resting – Hannah told me that her pregnancy hasn't been an easy one."

I frowned. "Did she say anything else?"

He shook his head. "Not to me – maybe she'll talk more to you – woman to woman."

I nodded as a huge yawn escaped, and I ran a hand through my hair, trying to clear the last of the cobwebs from my brain.

Lee continued. "I would have let you sleep longer but our favorite DEA agent called about an hour ago – he's in route to the Embassy and he's not happy."

I frowned. "Why? We practically did his job for him-"

"That's why he's unhappy. We had strict orders to stay at the motel-"

"If we'd done that, Luis and the girls would have disappeared into the Mexican night and none of us would have seen them again – does he realize that? Now we have a potential witness in Luis if we play our cards right-"

"Hey!" He held up his hands. "You don't have to convince me – I know we made the right call – and Dr. Smyth backs us – but since you are the agent of record-"

"I have to be the one to face the music," I finished his sentence with a groan as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood.

He squeezed my shoulder. "I'll be right there with you, partner."

"Do I have time to take a shower?"

There was a knock on our door, and an aide stuck his head inside. "Pardon me, but there is another agent downstairs – a Mr. Andrew Johns – asking, well, demanding to see both of you as soon as possible."

My professional mask slipped into place. "Tell Agent Johns that we'll be down in ten minutes."

The aide nodded and left, closing the door gently.

I rolled my eyes at Lee as I headed for the bathroom. "He can cool his heels while I wash my face, comb my hair, and brush my teeth."

We could hear Agent Johns yelling at the ambassador as soon as we reached the first floor of the Embassy. I had held Lee's hand since leaving our room but on the last flight of stairs, I let go, not wanting anyone downstairs to see how much I was relying on my husband's strength. I looked up to see if Lee understood why I had let go and was relieved to see him wink at me, giving me a slight push to proceed him as his hand came to rest in its usual spot in the small of my back. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise as I heard Johns' angry voice, and I quickened my steps to throw open the door to Evans' private office.

Both men turned to look in surprise at the sound of the door hitting the wall.

"Am I interrupting?" I asked with a slight smile.

Evans pursed his lips to hide a smile as Johns advanced on me, his face red. "How dare you disobey direct orders-"

"I don't work for you, Agent Johns," I kept my voice low and even as I heard Lee close the door and take up a position on my right. "Lee and I work for a completely separate US government agency – one that had a different goal from the DEA. You came down here to break up and hopefully capture some members of the Martinez cartel – a case that you have been working on for years, according to your superiors, isn't that right?"

Johns stabbed a finger in my face. "That's none of your business."

"We never hid our goal in coming to Mexico from you – to rescue kidnapped American girls – all of whom were minors at the time of their abduction. While Lee and I were happy to assist you in your mission, you were determined to sideline us, and keep us out of the loop from the very beginning and I want to know why. What is it about this particular cartel that has you ignoring the rights of American citizens-"

"I would have found a way to rescue those girls!" Agent Johns muttered. "You and the Agency had no concrete proof they were at Tres Caballo-"

"We had confirmation from your own agent that Styles and Meg were here! That information alone was enough to mount a rescue operation but instead you launched a full-scale drug raid and damn the consequences! Why?"

"I can answer that-"

All of us whirled to see that Luis had snuck into the room on quiet cat-like feet, and his gaze was now fixed on Agent Johns. At the sight of the Mexican youth, Andrew Johns went pale and swayed slightly on his feet.

"Luis," he said his name in a hoarse voice. "You're alive."

Luis nodded and took a step towards him. "Ola, Tio Andrew. It's good to finally meet you."

"Junior told me you were dead – that you had died in the plane crash with your mother."

"I survived – though both my legs were broken, and I spent nearly a month in the hospital recovering from my injuries and going to physical therapy."

The four of us were now sitting outside on the large, covered veranda, where Evans' wife Melissa had set out a large picnic style supper for everyone. Luis was sitting across the picnic table from his uncle, staring into the man's eyes, trying to get a read on him. Andrew, to his credit, wasn't holding anything back.

Lee and I were sitting together on an oversized bench pulled up close to the table and studying the pair in silence. I could see the family resemblance even though the Hispanic gene was strong in the young man. Both men had the same cheekbones, chin, and I'd already observed the same facial tic when they were agitated or stressed.

"How did you recognize me?"

Luis pulled on a chain hanging around his neck, and a locket fell into his hand that had been hidden beneath his loose-fitting T-shirt. "Recognize this?"

Andrew nodded slowly. "That was Amy's – your mother's. Our parents gave it to her for her sixteenth birthday."

Luis nodded. "She gave it to me after the crash-" his voice broke.

"She didn't die instantly?"

Luis shook his head. "No, she – we talked for a bit as we waited for rescue. But by the time they came – she was gone."

"I'm so sorry, Luis. I loved your mother very much – we were twins, did you know that?"

Luis nodded again as he brushed some moisture from his eyes. "She used to tell me stories about the two of you – Andy and Amy."

"She was the only one allowed to call me that – even our parents called me Andrew."

Luis popped the locket open and showed it to Andrew. "She told me about all of you – her parents, her brother, her life back in the States. She missed all of you very much and wanted to come back and introduce me to you one day."

"But Junior would never allow that-" I spoke for the first time and both of them turned to look at me.

"No, my dad was – jealous of where my mom went and who she spent her time with."

"How did the two of them meet?" Lee asked.

"When Amy was in college, she and a group of girlfriends went to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break. Junior Martinez was in town on business, and he swept her off her feet," Andrew Johns' voice was cold, as if he was giving facts in a debrief. "The next thing I knew, my parents were informing me that my sister had eloped with some rich man and had moved to his estate in Mexico. None of us ever saw her alive again."

I leaned forward and waited for him to make eye contact with me. "Did you ever speak to her – try to call her on the phone?"

He sighed and I caught my breath at the pain that flitted across his face. "I tried but my calls were never put through. After a couple of years, Amy began to call me, usually about once every six months, just to say hello and let me know that she was okay. She called to tell me she was pregnant and then later that she had given birth to Luis and that she was happy to be a mother. I tried to talk to her about Junior, but she wouldn't ever talk about her marriage and always ended the call abruptly if I mentioned his name. Junior called me himself to tell me that Amy had died in a plane crash five years ago – but he said that you had died too, Luis – though I don't know why."

"He was afraid that you might come and see me – that you might try and take me back to the States."

Andrew nodded. "That would have been my plan – you are my sister's child, and you belong with her family."

Luis shook his head. "I'm an adult, Tio, with a wife and a child of my own on the way. I'm more than capable of making my own way in the world."

"And you think the cartel will just leave you alone?"

"I can't change the fact that Junior Martinez is my father – but I have no desire to run the cartel – I'll leave that to my brothers – if either one of them are still alive."

Andrew frowned. "I thought you were Amy's only child-"

"I am. My father was married before he met my mother. Her name was Marguerite – they were promised to each other as children, an arranged marriage through their families. They had four sons before Marguerite died in childbirth with the fifth child, a daughter that didn't live."

"So, Junior has four other sons?" Lee clarified.

"Only Lupe and Luca are still alive and active in the cartel. My other two brothers, Jose and Juan, died during a drug transport a couple of years before mom died. It was after her death that dad really began to push me to be more involved in the family business. At first, he just wanted me to look over the books for Tres Caballo, since I have a business degree from university. Then one night he had me look at the second set of books for the cartel and that's when I knew for sure that he was the head of the business and I had to get out – somehow. But then I met Jenna, and we fell in love. Then it became a matter of getting us both out – and then more girls started showing up and I had to find a way to get all of us out."

He paused and looked at his uncle. "Did you kill my father last night?"

"Junior wasn't there – not one of my agents reported seeing him. We did wound and arrest two men that we have since identified as Lupe and Luca Martinez, your half-brothers."

"But you don't know where Junior is – he could be outside the Embassy right now, waiting for us to leave and take a shot at Luis?" I demanded.

"He's not going to kill his own son," Andrew scoffed.

"He's not going to give him the chance to leave Mexico and testify against him either," Lee argued back.

"Excuse me, please, I'm going to go check on my wife." Luis stood and all but ran back inside the Embassy.

"I need to make some calls – maybe Junior's been spotted. You two don't do anything until I get back-"

"Like what – you got another nephew that needs rescuing?" I teased.

Andrew clenched his jaw but said nothing as he strode out the small gateway into the alley.

I heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching and turned to see Hannah, Beth, and Meg come outside and look around uneasily. When Meg's eyes landed on me, she gave a wave and crossed to my side, giving me a big hug. I pulled back and looked into a face so like her grandmother's I had to smile.

"What?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Nothing, just, you were right. You do look like Maggie."

"I can't wait to see Mimi again – when are we getting on a plane for the States?"

"Soon. Just a bit of red tape to get through first-"

Hannah came up to join us and overheard my comment. "You are talking about Luis?"

I nodded. "We have to get his paperwork squared away before we can leave Mexico – Jenna has made it clear that she won't leave without him."

Hannah smiled. "She won't leave her husband behind – and I don't mind waiting. Luis is the one that came up with the plan that saved all of us."

I motioned to the picnic table, but Meg excused herself to go look for Tessa and encourage her to come down and eat something.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that – how did you all manage to cover nearly two miles in just a couple of minutes? The shooting had barely started when you all popped out of the ground like jackrabbits!"

Beth appeared beside the table in time to hear my comment and she laughed, a soft, low sound.

"I guess we really surprised you and your husband, huh?"

Lee's hand landed on my shoulder. "Oh, just a bit."

Lee and Beth joined us, making it a tight fit, but no one complained.

"There's a series of tunnels that run from the bunkhouses up into the foothills," Hannah explained. "The drugs are dropped off on the beach, then transported to the foothills above the ranch on dune buggies. There are a couple of locations in the foothills with false sliding doors, like the one you saw, that open into the tunnels, with a ladder leading down to a wide dirt path that's big enough for an old jeep to drive back and forth to the bunkhouses. When Jenna and Luis got married, he told us to be ready, whenever we heard gunfire, to run to the main bunkhouse. They would meet us there and we would escape to the foothills and run away."

"We just didn't expect federal agents to be waiting on the other side-" Beth put in.

"But it all worked out, didn't it?" Hannah continued. "I mean, they rescued us and brought us to the US Embassy – and they're going to take us home to our families. Just think of that, Beth! We gave up on that idea a long time ago! Home-" her voice trailed off as she stared into the distance.

I reached across the tabletop and laid my hand on Hannah's arm. "You've been here a long time – almost as long as Jenna. How are you doing today?"

Hannah shivered. "I still can't believe this is real – that I'm safe, you know? I feel like I'm dreaming – that I'm going to be woken up by Felix any minute now and dragged back to work in that hot, windowless room tying my tiny bags of coke and hiding them in the masa-"

"Is that what you did?" Lee spoke softly, so not to spook her.

Hannah nodded. "I tried to hold out in the beginning – you know, not speak, go on a hunger strike and curl into a ball, hoping that I would just die on my bunk. But on day six, I was so hungry and then Jenna showed up in my tiny room, bringing me food. I had no idea another American was there, let alone someone my own age. We held each other and cried for the longest time, and she whispered in my ear: 'I don't know how long they'll let me stay. But we know now that we're not alone. That alone can bring us comfort.' A guard came and ripped her out of my arms, and I didn't see her again for three months, but knowing there was someone like me there gave me the strength to keep going. Even when I found out that my job would be hiding tiny bags of cocaine in ground masa flour-" Hannah smiled shyly and looked down at the table.

I turned to Beth. "Was that your job too?"

Beth nodded. "I worked with Hannah – except for Saturdays when I worked alone."

"Why?"

"Because Hannah is a Messianic Jew. Saturday is her Sabbath. When I came, I arranged to work Saturdays and Hannah would work on Sundays while everyone else rested. Tres Caballo is closed on Sundays. The Martinez family are strict Roman Catholics."

"Are you?"

Beth shook her head. "Jenna and I are Methodists, but we went to Mass on Sundays with the Martinez family and then rested in the afternoons. I would read my bible and think about my family, write letters to them in my head – I can't believe I'll be seeing them again soon."

The garden gate creaked, and our heads swiveled to see Andrew Johns standing in the archway, a huge grin on his face. Lee got to his feet and took a step towards him.

"What is it?"

"The Policia have arrested Junior Martinez- and Luis' Visa just came through."

I grinned as both girls began to cry.

Andrew frowned. "Why are they crying – this is great news."

I heard Lee attempting to explain happy tears as I stood and drew Beth and Hannah into my arms. "It's over, girls. You're going home."

PRIVATE 747 JET PLANE

18, 000 FT

FINAL APPROACH TO WASHINGTON DC

"I didn't know you got airsick-"

"I don't usually, but when the airplane is going up and down like a cork in the ocean-" I swallowed as the plane tipped up and then bottomed out again. "See?"

Lee chuckled and kissed the back of my hand. "We'll be on the ground soon."

I swallowed, attempting to keep my stomach in place. "Lee?"

"Hmm?"

"I think we should tell our family everything – no more secrets."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his head swing away from the window and fix his gaze on me. "You mean – tell the boys the truth about our job and tell everyone we –" he dropped his voice to a whisper. "-got married in February?"

I nodded, clutching the armrests as the plane continued to pitch and roll.

"I thought you wanted to wait until the boys were a couple of years older."

"It's not going to change what we do – we're still going to be – intelligence operatives. And if we have a baby-"

"Whoa!" He raked a hand through his hair. "Is there something you need to tell me, Amanda?"

I smiled, turning towards him and placing a hand on his cheek. "No, there's been no new developments in that area – but if there were – how would you feel?"

"I think you know how I'd feel about a mini-Stetson." He closed the gap between us and breathed a kiss against my forehead. "For me, it's just one more reason I want everything out in the open – I can't wait to make a baby with you."

My eyes fluttered shut as the low timbre of his voice shot a thrill of desire through me. Just in time, I remembered where we were and I pushed back, looking into his eyes. "And you wouldn't expect me to quit the field and stay in the car or God forbid, stay home entirely-"

"A-man-da." He drew out the syllables of my name, lifting a hand to run a finger across my lower lip. "You are a beautiful, talented, sexy woman that deserves to have it all – and I'd have to be out of my ever-loving mind to even think of holding you back. Baby or no baby, I'm never going to ask you to quit the field or stay in the car – and it's going to be no one's decision but yours when you decide to retire."

"I love you."

"Don't look at me like that, Mrs. Stetson," he growled. "Not when I can't do anything about it."

I laughed.

He dropped his hand down to take my hand. "So, are you going to tell me what's brought on this desire for full disclosure?"

I sighed and nodded around the plane, indicating the people on it. "This case involving the girls – and Luis and his uncle, Agent Andrew Johns. All the pain, the secrets, the lies – I know that full disclosure in our business isn't possible, Lee, but I'm done with my secret life. I'm done living a double life. I want to be as honest as I can with mother and the boys. I want them to know that you and I have been together – dating – whatever you want to call it – for longer than a few months. That we've kept it a secret to protect them, but it isn't necessary any longer because we trust them with our secret. I know they won't go blabbing it to all their friends – even though they'll be tempted because Philip especially is going to think it's pretty cool that we're spies – I know, you don't like that word -but – what?"

Lee was shaking his head at me and trying not to laugh.

"Something I said particularly amusing to you, Stetson?"

"No – just – I do enjoy a good Amanda ramble."

I rolled my eyes. "I remember a time when you didn't. In fact, I remember a time when you used to cut me off mid-ramble-"

He pressed his lips to mine, and I allowed the contact for a few seconds before pushing him away.

"You didn't use your lips to shut me up, however."

"Hmm, I should have. Think of all those years wasted-" he waggled his eyebrows, and I playfully slapped his shoulder as we were thrown forward in our seats as the plane touched down.

As our plane taxied to the gate, I noticed a small crowd of people standing just beyond the fence.

"Lee, did the press get wind of our case?"

"No, Smyth ordered a press blackout – in fact, isn't that him lurking in the back of that group with Maggie?"

"Lee!" I gasped. "Those are the girls' families!"

The plane came to a stop and a staircase was wheeled to the airplane door. Meg was the first one to the top of the stairs and she waved wildly as Maggie cried her name. She flew down the steps and Maggie met her at the bottom, embracing her granddaughter tightly, spinning her in a circle.

I watched from the window as tears flooded my eyes.

"I didn't think the old curmudgeon had it in him," Lee grunted.

I leaned my head on Lee's shoulder and sighed. "Perhaps he's finally learning that there are more important things in life than work."

A/N: Fun fact - the turbulence scene was inspired by my true-life experience of landing at Dulles International Airport the one and only time I visited Washington DC when I was a junior in high school. It was terrible - the man next to me said, "You're missing your first view of our capitol!" and I said: "I'll see it when we're safely on the ground!" LOL

Hmm, will Lee and Amanda tell the boys and Dotty everything? Only 1 chapter left before a super-sized epilogue (so really there's still about 3 chapters left :). Leave some love in reviews - they feed the muses!