Connie held the little baby in her arms. He wriggled and smiled up at her, reaching toward her face. She kissed his cheek; he grabbed her hair, pulling it. But she didn't care. She held him close, snuggling against his silken cheek.

My little baby boy.

Everything else faded—just her and her sweet little red-headed baby….

"He really likes you," said Natasha, jolting her back to reality.

She pulled away, not quite sure how long she'd been holding him. Natasha took him, smiling down at him. He laughed, pure joy ringing through the air.

Natasha nuzzled Dima's little nose and he shrieked with laughter. She kissed both his cheeks then spun him around as he giggled.

"Should I spin the fan?" said Nika.

"Sure!" Natasha stopped twirling and Nika jumped up to spin the fan in the center of the living room ceiling.

Dima quieted, mesmerized. He moved his little fists slowly, as if in awe.

Natasha kissed the top of his hand. "The fan can entertain him for hours."

"It's nice that simple things entertain him," said Ana.

"He's a very good baby. He was always happy, even in the—" She stopped short, her face haunted. "At least now… he'll never be trapped…. Never know anything but love." Her eyes shone with wonder. "Sometimes I still can't believe I'm here…"

"Me too," said Nika. She rubbed her stomach, which was a bit more noticeable than last time Connie had seen her.

Clinks and clanks came from the kitchen where Ksenia and Raj were finishing preparations for supper. The hearty aroma of meat and vegetables and spices wafted through the room, making Connie feel hungry. I am eating for two now! she realized. So many things I'll need to readjust to…

"How is your baby doing?" Connie asked Nika.

"He kicks a lot more now," said Nika. Her eyes shadowed. "It's getting a little more real all the time… I'm getting worried about having the baby again. But it helps a lot now that Nat is here. She had Dima…there… and he was still healthy…. Sometimes I still wonder if I'm going to be a good mom, but when I see how Natasha and Dima love each other—how it helps her… I feel love." Her eyes shone with guarded bright hope.

"Suppertime!" called Ksenia, and they filed into the dining room and took their places around the large round wooden table. Viktor hung back, looking unsure, until Natasha tapped the back of the chair beside her, cradling Dima in her lap. Ana sat on Viktor's right. They were both closest to the door, which Connie thought wasn't a coincidence. Since they arrived about half an hour ago, he'd been quiet, hanging close to the door, only feeling safe enough to sit down the past few minutes.

Ksenia and Raj set a few more dishes on the table and their son Rohan set the pitcher of water on one side. He was ten and had dark hair, bangs swooping over his forehead, vibrance in his large dark eyes. Raj was tall and well-built with a perpetual hint of a smile. Ksenia had short brown hair and was a livewire of latent energy, her glowing soul nearly visible at the center of all she did.

Rohan sat beside Connie and Raj said a prayer.

"I hope you all like it," said Ksenia. "We had enough time to work on it." She looked at Raj.

He laughed. "Shredding the squash took a while." He gestured to the dishes in the center of the table, white china with delicate floral patterns along the edges. "This one is squash ravioli." He pointed to the blue flowered dish. "This is beef." He pointed to the pink flowered one. "We're used to vegetarian things because Alana's vegetarian—but she's not here tonight. Still—it's healthier. Take one or the other or both."

Connie took some of both, along with the beans and carrots and cranberries, but she didn't take as much as she felt like. She tried to hold back, wanting to devour everything at once.

"Alana's at a sleepover," said Ro, breaking her out of her food reverie.

"Really?" Connie said.

"She's with her friends. I think they're getting in trouble."

"Ro," said Raj warningly.

"Well—it is the mountains. You never know what goes on up there. Last time they almost fell in a well."

"They what?" said Ksenia.

"She didn't tell you that?"

Ksenia shook her head.

"See?"

"Well, she better behave this time." She glanced at Raj. "There are worse things they could be up to, though." He gave a nod and dove into his potatoes. She looked at Connie. "Lan's an adventurer at heart. I really can't hold her back. She's eighteen now. I do get worried…."

"She is going to college in Rakima next year," said Raj. "We'll have to get used to her being on her own."

Ksenia stabbed her fork into her beans. Then she looked at Ana. "Do you have any plans for college?"

"I'm not sure yet. I better figure it out…."

"You still have a couple years," said Natasha.

"I…want to help stop people from being trafficked."

Ksenia's eyes sparked. "Oh—that would be a wonderful thing."

"I'm kind of doing an internship now, but… I might not ever be able to really make much of a difference."

"Why not?"

"I'm…not cut out for this. I was on an investigation—not really doing anything—and I panicked."

"What triggered it?"

"Well… it was a hotel… some possible traffickers… I had to get out of there."

Ksenia's brow creased. "That's understandable. After what you've been through."

"But it means I might never be able to really rescue people… I might always have to be behind the scenes…."

"Nothing shameful in that. Every part of a team is valuable."

"I suppose." She gave a small smile, stirring her ravioli with her fork. "I can't expect to be the best… especially with my background. I want to push myself … but.. I might always have these limits…." Her voice faded.

Ksenia and Raj looked at her, expressions laden with sorrow. "Maybe you can't accomplish all you want," said Ksenia gently. "But everything you do away from them is….something they cannot take away from you. And you'll be able to accomplish a lot. Even if it's not all you want—I can see it in you. You won't let it stop you. You will accomplish wonderful things—and you'll be able to help rescue people—whatever that role ends up being."

"Thank you," said Ana, her face fighting emotion. A single tear spilled onto her cheek and she bowed her head, leaning both arms on the table.

Viktor looked as if he might reach out for her but seemed to think the better of it and shrink further into his own world.

"So, what would you like to be?" said Raj, looking at Viktor.

Viktor looked startled. Then he seemed to consider. "I'm not sure. I wanted to study philosophy before… but now…. I don't know…." His eyes unfocused.

"Philosophy!" said Raj. "That's interesting. Even if you don't go into it, you can study it. Do you have favorite philosophers? That is—if you still like it."

"I do… I think I do. I haven't read much…. Not since…. It seems like another life."

"You can…slowly get pieces back of your old life," said Natasha quietly, jouncing Dima, who looked on the verge of fussing.

"I don't know… you didn't do what I did…." His jaw trembled.

"All of it was nothing I want anyone to know."

"But I—" He seemed to suddenly realize he had a larger audience and spoke barely audibly. "I gave in."

She smiled sadly. "We all did what we had to to survive." She reached out one hand. Slowly she laid it on his shoulder; he leaned into the touch a little.

Raj exchanged sorrowful glances with his wife. The table was silent, the cloud of the storm that had swept through each of the young people's lives still hanging heavily, sweeping into the cracks, entangling in hearts.

A squeak nearby. At first Connie thought it was Dima, but he had nodded off and was sleeping peacefully. Then she glimpsed something gray and fuzzy in Ro's lap. A kitten!

"Ohhh, cute!" said Connie.

"See?" said Ro, petting the kitten's head. It wriggled out of the boy's hands and jumped into Connie's lap.

Ksenia leveled a gaze at her son. "What did I tell you?"

Ro shrugged.

"No kittens at the table. Otherwise you can't keep them in your room."

"But Mom!"

"No buts." She glanced at Connie, a faint smile appearing on her face. "I'd say put the kitten down, but now Connie has it."

Connie lifted the kitten up and kissed its fuzzy stomach. It mewed loudly. She set it on the floor reluctantly and it bounded away. "What's its name?"

"That's Fog. The other one's Dusk. The orange ones are Sunset and Noon."

"Beautiful names."

"Thank you!"

Outside, the clouds had swept away again and the sun was glinting through the trees, brilliant orange-gold. It shone onto the pasture where the white goats grazed alongside the white pony.

"Wow," she said.

Ksenia nodded. "We are blessed to have this place. It was our dream since college. We worked hard and then—we were able to give this to our kids to grow up in. Well, Mike, our oldest, was ten already but. Still lots of time. What we didn't have." She glanced at Raj. "That's why we wanted to show our love to a family of our own. And share all of this—as much as we can." She looked around the table.

Ksenia brought in a chocolate layer cake. Connie nearly died from its heavenly deliciousness. After supper she helped bring dishes into the kitchen and helped Ro load the dishwasher. Natasha headed into the living room to feed Dima, who was fussing again.

Viktor, Nika, and Ana headed outside and Connie stepped out onto the porch. The sun glowed on the field of sunflowers that covered the rolling hills past the woods. A soft breeze blew. It smelled of hay and late summer flowers.

Nika led Ana and Viktor to the pasture to pet the goats and the pony. Connie didn't feel like she should intrude so she sat on the porch swing and watched as they enjoyed each other's company.

After she put Dima to bed, Natasha came out sat beside Connie.

"He seems better out here," said Natasha quietly, looking at Viktor in the pasture, her voice almost subsumed by the breeze.

"I think he feels trapped sometimes," said Connie.

"I do too. But Dima distracts me a lot. He does have his sister—I'm thankful for that. And it seems he has Ana too. I'll try to be there for him… but it's nice he has a friend in the city who knows what he's gone through."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. There's a lot to do here. And if I feel panicky, I can go outside. And being with Nika… I haven't gotten over it. I… can breathe." She looked out at the dying sun just as it slipped behind the horizon.

Something stirred in Connie's heart. A deep, burrowing ache…longing for what, she wasn't sure— She could almost touch it, like the barest edge of a dream….

A new dream, perhaps…

She dared not entertain it. For fear it would vanish like mist in daylight. And because she couldn't consider anything in the future, not yet….

But it kept pressing on her heart as Viktor, Ana, and Nika came back from the field and joined them and Ro brought out the rest of the kittens followed by their mother, a long-haired orange cat, Sun. Sun went back and forth, making sure they were okay, even though they were seven weeks and could walk around on their own.

She cuddled Sun as the sunset glowed its last gleams of gold, fading into the dim delights of purple and midnight blue.

They left as the first stars stabbed their brilliance through the undying violet, hinting at the endless vastness of space.

Viktor and Ana both fell asleep on the way home; it had been a long day. Connie had to force herself to stay awake on the way back. Her heart brimming with bittersweetness—so much so she couldn't parse its contents, could only let it happen, endure it, immerse in it.

Viktor and Ana had fallen asleep against each other, hugging each other close. When Connie pulled up beside Amber's house, he sleepily pulled away, looking rather sheepish. Ana squeezed his arm and they exchanged a smile. Then he stepped out onto the sidewalk, the porch light flicking on for him.

"I'm glad you could make it," Connie said.

"Me too. It was hard… but now I know I can. At least in the country…." He stepped up the walkway to greet his sister on the porch steps. Adela waved as they drove away.

Connie dropped Ana off at the women's shelter and headed back to the palace. She crept into the darkness and felt she should do some research, but she was too exhausted and collapsed onto her bed.

As soon as she woke up in the morning, she picked up her phone and looked up Enhanced Security. It looked legit, but that wasn't surprising. It was a relatively small company in Rakima but it had good reviews. She sent the info to Eugene to see if he could find out more. Then she looked up the employees and took screenshots of their faces and sent them to Viktor to see if they looked like the men he'd seen putting in the system at Locke's house.

She sat up, the sunlight streaming through the window. It was a beautiful morning, but she barely registered it. Except that it meant time was running out.

She grabbed her laptop and sat against the headboard, eating a granola bar, and sent the info to Leila, Markov, Amber, Dana, and Whit. Then she called Tasha.

"Hi, Connie," said a weary voice.

"Hi! Are you okay?"

"It's that obvious?"

"Well…"

She laughed lightly. "I'm okay. Just can't get much sleep. And… it's getting frustrating."

"Are you finding anything?"

"We're following the breakthroughs in Konterr. Tracing the leads, most of which lead out of the country. We're finding some patterns—and a few human trafficking sites from what the informant gave us. It does seem like Kazfaq is a front for a massive trafficking network."

"Yavesh?"

"Maybe. We're being careful, not giving ourselves away. Mainly observing. That's what I'm doing—nothing too strenuous."

"Is your injury getting better?"

"It's mostly healed. I still get sharp pains sometimes. But for the most part I'm capable of anything they throw at me. I have a feeling that Robin isn't giving me all that he could. Definitely not all he knows I'm capable of. I—need to be doing all I possibly can. But they won't let me."

"Is it because of your injury?"

"That's what Robin says. I have a strong suspicion that's an excuse."

"Why?"

"Because—of how I acted out of the gate. I was being careful, especially since it hurt to move, but I let my bias show. I should've concealed any actual feelings… I was compromised after the injury, with pain meds clouding my mind. First of all, they had me interrogate Karl. He—tortured Jason. I thought I could be detached. I'd…gotten used to Gray, after all. But the moment I saw him—I wanted to rip him apart. For one thing, he was totally unrepentant. Making smirking insinuations. I held back and didn't let him bait me. I'm not that unprofessional. But… Robin was there. He noticed I was in less control than normal. He took me off interrogation."

"Oh."

"What is it?"

"I was just going to ask you. If you could ask Karl about his security company. If he put security systems in orphanages or foster homes…"

"Have you found out something?"

"It's just a theory. Yesterday I found out a little girl was kidnapped. A security system was just put in at her foster home. And Viktor—someone Jason rescued—was there with us. He said he saw some people putting a security system in where he was enslaved. And those people didn't think anything of it, like they were involved in it somehow."

"Hm. A security company could have access to a lot of places…."

"I looked into the company, Enhanced Security. They look okay… but…"

"That doesn't mean they are. If they're involved, they're thriving off secrecy … I'll look into it."

"Thank you!"

"I'll tell Robin about it, too, but I'm thinking of…doing some off-the-books investigating."

"Really?"

A smile hinted her voice. "Really. That's so… unlike me. But Robin's probably right. I am compromised. Two men I care about are kidnapped. To a place I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. That's why I can't just stand by… why I have to do everything humanly possible. Whether the NSA sanctions it or not. That's a dangerous game… but I'm not sacrificing Jason and Gray on the altar of protocol." She sounded a little taken aback but determined.

"I want to do all I can too…. If I can find the smallest thing that might help…."

"You never know. A small hint could trigger an avalanche of clues. I…will see if I can get back on interrogation detail. Otherwise, I'll ask if someone else can ask him. He's being pretty stubborn. Yavesh people are hard-headed, I'll give them that. They're trained to resist interrogation. Probably the worst kind, too—the kind the NSA wouldn't resort to."

"Do you think Kazfaq is Yavesh HQ?"

"It could be just a node. It does look legitimate, not just a shell company. There could be just a cell inside it, like there's a cell inside of Kovane. Most employees probably don't know about it. It could be something the owner agreed to on the side or he could've started it. We don't have enough information yet."

"Could he be inside the building?"

"I doubt it. He might not be at Yavesh HQ at all…. might have been but they could've moved him."

"So he could be…anywhere." Sweeping desolation hit her.

"There's a lot of info coming in. Some of it should yield results."

"So—we'll probably find him soon?"

"I hope so."

"Anything could be happening to him!"

"I…try not to think about that."

"I can't help it!" She'd been better at keeping the images and feelings away, but they were crowding at the edge of her mind all the time…

"I… know how much it would crush me to let myself dwell on what could be happening. I push it away—compartmentalize—keep going forward. I put it in the same place in my mind as the prison in Iran… the things I try not to think about, but…could be happening to him…" Her voice caught.

Connie felt like she couldn't breathe. "Jason…"

"Jason," said Tasha, intense love in her voice. But Connie didn't begrudge her that. She wouldn't take Jason from her but cared for him enough to go all out finding him. "I… have to keep holding onto that thread of hope—that we'll find him any minute, and he will be free soon. I… hate to think what trauma he'll have to overcome if… when…." There was silence, heavy, steady breaths. "Sorry," Tasha said, her voice hoarse.

"I'm glad you're… with him too."

"I always will be. Take care, Connie."

"Stay safe."

"I will."

As soon as she hung up, Connie saw Viktor had sent a message. None of the employees' pictures she'd sent looked familiar to him. "I could be wrong," he texted. "I wasn't exactly in my right mind…."

Connie texted Sierra next; she wasn't sure what Sierra was up to, since she hadn't heard from her for over a week. She asked if she could find out what Locke's security system was. To her surprise, Sierra texted back.

I'm in an interstitial space, wrote Sierra, so communication is possible for the moment. I've been undercover. Nothing definitive yet. But it looks like your path might be one worth following. I'll look into Locke's security system and that of his contacts, as well as the other elite. Even if they're different companies, they could be connected. If Yavesh is behind this, they'd be extremely careful to keep all parts separate. I'll contact you when I find out.

Connie called the Rakima orphanage and asked what their security system was, and if there had been any disappearances recently. The director, who Roderick had installed, seemed a little offended. "We are meticulous in our security!" he said. "It's not what it was when Ali was here."

She told him her theory about the security system.

"Well, we have changed our system since, so you don't have to worry about any more kidnappings."

I hope not, she thought. "What was it before?"

"Watchdog Limited. They're pretty established, but we switched to one with an unimpeachable reputation."

Connie looked into Watchdog and it seemed normal. Who knew, though. She'd have to get more information somehow. And she wasn't a professional investigator; she was just learning as she went along and didn't know all the tricks, didn't even know how to find out about what worked.

She did what she could, though. She called several other orphanages and foster homes; each of them had a different system.

So maybe my theory isn't a good one after all….

She was about to go to lunch when her phone rang. It was Jeanne, the agent who had taken over Esther's case.

"We have had some…developments," said the agent.

"What happened?"

"We found Esther's mother. She left Rakima against the judge's orders and apparently arranged for someone to snatch Esther from the foster home. We tracked Mrs. Ravik to Konterr, where she was meeting a buyer."

"For her daughter?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, the deal already went through. Mrs. Ravik was alone. We're hoping she can tell us more about the buyer and where he took Esther."

"How do you know there was a buyer?"

"Because of what Ravik said when we arrested her. She said her daughter wasn't with her; she was more trouble than she was worth and that she got a lot more money than she'd get selling her piecemeal."

"She—told you that?"

"She's not earning any mother of the year awards. Her words will be admissible in court and she's going to get as least as much time as her husband."

"Good. Was there a trace of where Esther was taken?"

"We're working on it. This buyer is high-end, so he's slippery. But we'll find him."

"I hope so."

"We'll glean a lot of clues from her mother. She's no professional, so we'll probably get more out of her than she'll realize." Jeanne chuckled. "We'll keep you updated."

"Thank you."

After the call ended, Connie lay back against her pillows. Esther torn away from a home where she'd felt safe, betrayed by her mother, taken by a trafficker—it was the worst case scenario. At least the NSA was looking for her. But like with Jason, she was just one person; it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Almost infinite places.

They're finding patterns.

It's only a matter of time, she tried to convince herself.

Wearily, she took a shower then got dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt. She trudged out to the breakfast room and put together a sandwich from the ingredients in the small fridge in the corner. After lunch, she wandered out into the palace; it was deserted except for a few maids cleaning and the security guards in the hallway.

She headed outside; it was sunny, warm, but with a cool wind that hinted of the autumn that was only a few days away. The triplets were playing in the garden and she joined them, forgetting about everything as they laughed, playing tag and hide and seek among the roses. Even Arina was joyful, energetic—many of the shadows shed from her still guarded eyes.

After the girls went in for a rest with Kristina, Connie wandered the grounds, meandering out toward the hills and trees. Somehow, she ended up a familiar place that shot a pang through her heart, sharper than the brambles that barbed her as she crept through the underbrush.

Last time she'd been here, she'd been with Jason.

Somehow, it was just as magical as it had been before. The glade bursting with brilliance, sunlight glancing through the trees and setting the waterfall alight.

Reminiscence struck through her soul—the bright bittersweet tang of memory. When she'd lain here on the moss with Jason…. Such heights of ecstasy… the beautiful afterglow of resting beside him, reveling in the beauty of the dream she wanted to last forever….

We should've stayed in this moment. We should never have left. No matter what was happening out there, it was nothing compared to the beauty here…

She lay back in the moss and closed her eyes, sunlight glancing through her eyelashes.

Laid her hand on her stomach.

My sweet little one….

We could've all lived here together, immersing in paradise….

The tang of the gorgeous dream sang on her tongue like the blend of water and wine… like the crisp prickle of fall and the heady warmth of summer… all seasons merging in glowing warmth…. Coziness burning beside adventure…. Love encompassing everything—both the incredible heights of pleasure and the gentle softness of being with him

Jason.

"My Jason," she said, his name bursting with beauty and wonder—

Sharp pain carved through her heart, the deepest agony of longing she'd ever known… stronger here because it had been their place…. An amazing, dreamlike time alone together….

But the paradise had been an illusion. Its beauty was real, and so was what she'd experienced with him… but it didn't belong to her and couldn't last.

He was gone. Memory was ephemeral and it would fade. Had already faded from what it had been.

He was in the opposite of this place—somewhere akin to hell.

To cling to the fantasy when she knew what had happened to him was unbearable. So she stood, brushed the leaves off of her clothes.

A butterfly flitted past, leading her gaze to the waterfall.

A shadow moved there.

She was startled until she realized it was James. Had he been there the whole time? He looked at her, his face partly lit by the sun. He was sitting on a rock near the edge.

She waved; he waved back. She walked over to him.

"How are you doing?" she said.

His brown hair was tousled. There were leaves in it. His shirt was brushed with dirt, skittered with bits of leaf and moss. Almost as if he'd partially merged with this place.

James shrugged.

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

"I'm…not sure…" he said hoarsely, looking a little bewildered.

She sat down beside him on the more uneven rock. "Maybe you'd better come back to the palace then. When is the last time you ate?"

"This morning."

She looked out at the waterfall, partially draped in shadow now, since the sun had subtly shifted north. Shielded by the cliff that tapered off into the trees. "You spent a lot of time here with her, didn't you."

He looked startled, then nodded. "I wish… she was still here…"

"She's safe, though. You risked your life to save her."

"But she—left me."

"You think she owes you?"

His brow furrowed. "No—I'm not—I… don't know. I just thought… it would be good again. She'd be back here… she'd be happy to be with me. I thought… I was her safe space. But she didn't even… hardly even looked at me…" His voice caught.

She thought of how she might feel if Jason ignored her when he was back. But then she thought of what he might feel. If something happened to him, he might have things to work through…. Trauma is a complex thing…..

"It might take some time," said Connie. "She needs to recover… be with her family. She still probably feels more—herself with the people she grew up with."

"She grew up with me, too…"

"It's different. She was with them all the time."

"I—tried to help her…"

"You did help her. But… you can't always help. You can't always be the one to heal. Even if you love each other, there's more to her life than just you. If you love her, you have to be okay with giving her space." That's what Jason did for me…. I can't imagine him pushing me… and I did come back to him….

He looked down at his hands in his lap. "I suppose so. But I can't help it. I wish she was here."

"I bet she'll come back. But you can't expect to force anything. Think of it from her point of view. Imagine what she might be feeling after what she went through."

He nodded slowly.

"She has to be the priority. Sacrifice… isn't just being willing to give up your life or your freedom for her. Sometimes it's… doing what's best for her even if it means… she might not be with you. Might not ever come back to you."

He looked at her, his eyes shot through with pain. "I don't know if I can bear that…."

She laid a hand on his shoulder. "If you love her, you'll always do what's best for her."

He leaned his forehead in his palm. "I had this dream… I thought she shared it…. We saw our future together…. but that was before. You're right. I have to….think of how she's feeling…. Not how I want her to feel… even if it means…changing the dream in my mind…." Immense pain roughened his voice.

"There's something else too. The little girls. Your new sisters. They need you, too."

He looked at her, then nodded and looked out at the waterfall.

She stood, leaving him to think and headed back up the brambly hill.

The triplets met her in the garden and they played again until the investigation pressed in on her mind. She had to keep looking for Jason. But once she got back to her room, she wasn't sure what she could do. She'd looked into the leads…. Now the agents were following them.

Maybe there wasn't anything she could do at the moment… not until someone called with more information. So she lay back and took a nap, then jolted awake with worry about her baby. She googled pregnancy after miscarriage and immersed in information about it, following tangents, until darkness fell.

She ate a cheese sandwich for supper and was about to go to bed early when her phone rang.

It was Trysta. The one person she'd forgotten to send info to, since she was rather new to the team. But she felt rather guilty, because she'd told her she'd share info. And Trysta had led them to the network in Konterr…

Eagerly she answered, hoping Trysta would provide new information.

"Hi!" said Trysta. "I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."

"No… it's okay." She doubted she could get to sleep right away anyway. It usually took about an hour lately… which was why she thought she'd start early. But info about Jason took precedence.

"I've found out some things."

Her heart leaped. "Really?"

"It's just the beginning but still. Would you like to have a meeting tomorrow? We were going to meet every once in a while but… I guess we got diverted a bit. I haven't heart from Evrim or Sierra lately, either. What about you?"

"No."

"Well, if they can't come, would you and Whit be able to?"

"I can. Whit won't be able to. He's—" She was about to say he's undercover but she probably shouldn't even say that much. "Investigating."

"If you'd like, you can join us for dinner tomorrow and we can discuss the case. Even if there's just two of us, it's still a meeting. And I don't want to speak of this over the phone."

"What time?"

"Six o'clock sharp. Optional on the sharp." She laughed.

"Who is us?"

"Me and my family. Our home is a sumptuous place… and very secure."

"Sure," she agreed, not wanting to pass up something to actually do. "I'll be there."