That meant she’d had what she’d been looking for the entire time.

  A family.

  ****

  Greg held Ericka’s hand tightly as the plane with her parents taxied down the runway and lifted into the blue sky. Before long the plane vanished just like so many other things had vanished recently.

  He swallowed.

  The fake relationship that he’d tried to cultivate with Heidi had dissolved before it started. He’d tried, or so he thought, to give it a real go, but he was fooling himself.

  There was only one person that really meant anything to him, and she was standing by his side. She’d been by his side for a long time. When everything fell apart, when he lost his position, when he became her equal, she hadn’t left, she’d stood with him.

  Maggie and Tristan were happy.

  Quinn and Fanny were happy.

  In the next couple of years, he fully expected to be invited to or to participate in two weddings.

  What was wrong with him? The woman of his dreams had been in front of him for almost a year and he’d still not taken the leap and asked her out.

  Tears cascaded down her cheeks.

  The only thing that she’d wanted in life, a family, had just gotten on a plane and left for good.

  Robert had agreed to go into witness protection with Morgan. Together they would be secreted away in some tiny corner of the United States. They would never get to see or talk to Ericka again. Director Manis had explained that it was the only way Ericka would be safe.

  Those people who had been returned to their countries might come after the woman they perceived as Maria Petrov. As Maria, Morgan had committed horrible atrocities. Her testimony against Regina Shaw as well as others who had benefited from the Black Dahlia’s actions was all that was keeping her out of jail.

  Robert could have accepted a different fate, but he seemed to feel that he owed Morgan a debt. He was partially the reason that things had turned out as they had.

  In the end, who was the one to get screwed over again… Ericka. No family as a child. No family as an adult. She’d said she was fine. She was used to it. But he knew better.

  The tears, if nothing else, proved it.

  He pulled her to his side, and she laid her head on his chest. He turned to face her. He placed both his hands on either side of her face and drew in a deep shaky breath.

  “I love you, Ericka Stone. I should have told you much earlier, but I was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same. Can you forgive me?”

  There was no verbal answer. She rose on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him until he felt the earth had dropped away. He squeezed even tighter. Nothing and no one would ever take her away from him.

  Their love would never vanish, it would be around forever.

  Excerpt from Curveball, Ericka Stone Case #011

  Director James Manis stood before the five teams that had made up his office. Pain shot through his chest. He’d thought recently that he was having a heart attack, but the doctor had diagnosed him with panic attacks. He’d told him this new job of running the Police Assistance Unit was too much for him. They’d told him to step down.

  James had refused.

  He’d also not shared the recommendation with anyone. Not his bosses, and not his son.

  He massaged his chest as he stood before the group. Some were still trickling into the conference room. The design of the offices when he moved in had not been his idea. Chief Ron Wexell, the liar and murderer, had designed the offices before he was found out. Then he and his teams had needed to deal with the arrangement.

  The rooms were designed to separate the people. The more distant they were the less likely they were to work together. That meant that less was accomplished. The plan had been brilliant. It had worked.

  Today the teams would be even more separated. One of his worst regrets was that Tito wasn’t on the same team as Ericka. After everything that had transpired between him and that lying captain of the White Lily, maybe it was the for the best. Maybe he needed a break from women.

  Then again maybe not.

  Blake looked at him with a cocked brow. He had his leg cross, and his foot bounced with an intense level of impatience. Too bad. James didn’t relish sharing bad news.

  Then there was Greg’s team. They sat together and laughed. They looked so comfortable in a shared space. Ericka was leaning heavily against Greg. Something had transpired between them recently. He’d noticed it. Love was in the air. Sometimes he wished he was on their team.

  And with everything they had been through of late, it had only made their bond stronger. Detective Ericka Stone was one tough cookie. She had come through the loss of her parents stronger than before.

  They weren’t really gone; they just couldn’t be a part of her life.

  After Morgan’s brainwashing and Robert’s attempt to bring her in without government help, they were both lucky to not be in jail. He’d helped with that, but he wouldn’t be telling anyone else. That was his secret to keep.

  “Director, what is this about? We have cases to get to.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “What?” Nick blurted it out before anyone else.

  That boy was going to get himself in trouble. He fancied that he was another Blake Hager, but he wasn’t. Blake somehow lived a charmed life. He’d survived many times when he shouldn’t have. But Nick wasn’t him.

  “Orders have just come down from above. For the time being the PAU is being dismantled.”

  Now everyone leaned forward in their chairs and talked all at once.

  James increased his voice to be heard over them. “Your cases have been given back to the appropriate authorities. You are being assigned new cases, in, um, new locations.”

  Burle leaned forward and rubbed his hands together. His retirement package had fallen through in the last few months. No one was sure what the hold-up was, but James had an idea. It was this. The curveball had come. The plan to send these teams all over the country had come from the highest level. And they wanted Burle McKay with Beta Team, at least for now.

  James held up his hand and the room quietened. “I know you all have questions. I promise I will answer them, but one at a time. Now let’s get down to business.”

  Author’s Note:

  Thank you for reading my newest series, Ericka Stone Cases. Each time I end one story, Ericka speaks and here we go again.

  Now that Ericka has found her biological family, a chapter in her life has ended and a new one has begun. I hope you will continue with me as Ericka pursues another adventure.

  Curveball, Ericka Stone Case #011, will be available by or before October 1st. Keep looking for it!

  As always, thank you for reading and I hope you’ll take time to leave an honest review. I value your feedback.

 

 

  Felicia Rogers, Vanished, Ericka Stone Case #010

 

 

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