Robert swallowed—hard. His back touched the cold metal of the bedframe. It was the only reason that he knew he wasn’t dreaming.

  “Sasha?”

  “Yes. She left Mr. Baxter and is a free agent. I helped her, she helped me.”

  “What did you do for her?” Robert fought a surge of jealousy.

  “Her sister and her child were taken to be sold.”

  “The White Lily…”

  “It is still operational, sadly.”

  “But how?”

  Robert and Felix had worked in their youth to rid the planet of all vessels stealing and transporting adults and children. The vessel called the White Lily surely couldn’t be the exact same boat, but it could be doing the same things. At least he hoped it wasn’t the same boat. The boat was a death trap to anyone forced to travel on it.

  “Josef had the business but now that he is gone, I must assume that Sloan will move into his place.”

  “You’re probably correct.” Of course, Sloan would move into his place. That must be why he was being followed. He probably was one of the only ones alive, other than Felix, who knew the true capabilities of the White Lily.

  “So, you will allow me to call Sasha and give her this number?”

  “What will I have to do to repay her?”

  “I do not know. Maybe it won’t be too unpleasant.”

  Robert rolled his eyes. Nothing about Sasha was unpleasant. That wasn’t what he worried about. He had different priorities than before. Love of a woman was not one of them. He only wanted to secure his daughter. Nothing else mattered but her.

  ****

  Andre Rubert climbed from the cab of the transfer truck. Bright sunlight struck his face. He lifted his chin and drew in deep breaths of the clean air. He’d been traveling in smelly trucks for days.

  The only plus had been that the truck was better than walking. He hoped Eliott had felt the same.

  Andre thanked the driver and gave him some money for his assistance.

  “Thanks, buddy. I hope you have good luck.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Andre hitched his bag higher on his shoulder and took off across the street toward the small clothing boutique. Letters painted in gold and outlined in black read, Rochelle’s.

  Rochelle had been his friend in France. She’d come to America first and attempted to secure passage for him and Eliott. She’d acquired all the necessary documentation for him to leave France. The French National Intelligence Agency had had different ideas. While they didn’t want what he could provide, they also didn’t want him to leave. To keep from being found, he and Eliott had spent months in dive hotels and deplorable places until the everything was prepared.

  Then their passage across the ocean had been disrupted. He’d been able to escape, and he’d been able to get Eliott of the ship. The tiny lifeboat had initially gone unnoticed when it dropped into the water. He had rowed for hours before they reached land. Then there were more complications. Complications he hoped that Rochelle could assist with.

  The bell above the door rang as he entered. Smooth jazz played from a record player. The grainy sounds of the needle going around and around filled the boutique. A portrait of Rochelle was behind the cash register. She was dark skinned with dark hair and eyes.

  A smile lifted the corner of his lips. Rochelle and his sister had often been mistaken for twins instead of friends because of their similar coloring. The similarity had come in handy when he needed help with Eliott. Now he needed help again.

  He would find Rochelle and she would fix the snafu with the boat and those that were chasing him and then he would find Eliott. He’d left him in a secure spot.

  Once that was over then they could get on with their lives. They would finally be free. He would no longer have to look over his shoulder.

  Finding Eliott and him being happy and safe was all that mattered.

  ****

  Sasha whistled under her breath as she wiped down the table before dinner. Her nephew used the glossy surface to play with everything from building blocks to racetracks.

  The phone on the counter began to vibrate. She picked it up but didn’t recognize the number.

  “Hello?”

  “Sasha, it is Dove.”

  “Dove?” Her heart hammered in her chest.

  “Yes. Before you ask, I’ve found my family. I am happy.”

  She sighed. “That is wonderful news.”

  “But a mutual friend needs your help.”

  She should have known that happiness was fleeting. Once she had casted her lot in with the men of the agent world, she’d never been able to go back. Not that she wanted to. The occasional excitement assisted with the days of complete boredom where she answered telephone calls and placed orders for people who couldn’t enter in the numbers from a catalog. Working in a call center was rarely exciting.

  “Who might that be?”

  “Robert.”

  She fell into a chair that was pulled from the table. That was the last name that she expected to hear.

  Robert Stone.

  He’d been one of her friends back in the day. She’d been considerably younger than him, but still he’d been a friend. She would have said more than a friend, but he was occupied by Morgan. In a manner of speaking.

  “Will you help him?”

  Sasha drummed her fingers on the tabletop. She could say no. He was giving her that opportunity, but if she said no, then what would happen to Robert? He wouldn’t be asking her for assistance if he wasn’t desperate.

  This she knew.

  “What does he need?”

  “He’s in a seedy hotel on the New York state line. He’s been followed by one of Sloan’s men, he thinks. He needs help escaping the hotel and getting somewhere else. He wants to see his daughter, but he can’t do that if he is being watched.”

  “So, he needs a rescue and a place to hide until things calm down.”

  “Essentially, yes.”

  She swallowed. The door opened and her sister and nephew entered. He ran to her and embraced her then ran into his room to play. She had people who loved her now. People that she wanted to protect. If she went off and tried to help past acquaintances, they could be put in danger.

  Then again if she didn’t help him then he wouldn’t be able to protect his family. She did owe Dove more than she’d given back.

  “Where do I need to go?”

  Dove mentioned the name of the hotel and the room number.

  “Text him and tell him on my own my way.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet.”

  Sasha hung up the phone but still studied it. In the background her nephew and sister conversed in a jovial manner. Other than their one brush with disaster, they had had very little trauma in their lives. For that she was grateful. If she could protect them, she would.

  She rose and went to the kitchen.

  “Sasha, why so serious?”

  “I have to go away for a few days, maybe a week. Will you be all right until I get back?”

  “Of course we will. Do you need any help?”

  She shook her head. “No, just helping a friend move.”

  Lexie patted her on the back. “You are a nice person.”

  Leo ran up and hugged her leg. “Don’t forget me.”

  Sasha squatted before him. “Never.” They hugged once more then she rose and went into her room. She packed a bag for a week of all the necessary essentials including her disguise kit.

  Then she gave her family one last hug before stepping into the hallway and heading toward her next journey.

  Chapter Six

  Greg used his finger to remove bubbles from atop Heidi’s nose. She giggled like a schoolgirl, and he fought hard to maintain a straight face. He wasn’t sure if he found it cute or weird.

  They’d cleaned some of the dishes after eating the pizza. Now he wiped his hands on a dishtowel. “Maybe we should go into the living room. I can finish these tomorrow.”

  The entire kitchen, every pot, every pan, she’d dirtied. And there hadn’t even been a meal to eat! The pizza had been late, and she’d had him try one bit of something she’d burned in a pan while they waited for the pizza. He could have done without that experience.

  And she wasn’t that great at cleaning dishes either. The ones they’d already done, he’d have to do again. It was best to get her moving.

  Maybe the whole thing was meant to be cute. Right now, he was struggling to accept that.

  She removed her apron once again. “Sure, let’s go to the living room. We could turn on some music and dance.” She put her arms above her head and wiggled to imaginary music.

  Aside from all the pizza swimming around his stomach that threatened to come up, he might not have minded, but he’d just gotten home. He’d been on the road for three days. Now there was a kid involved that needed to be cared for. And the office was under investigation. This didn’t seem like the best time to dance around his living room.

  “You don’t look happy about me being here.”

  “What? Oh, no, it’s not that, it’s just…”

  “That you’re not happy that I’m here.” The weird dancing had stopped and now a frown had replaced her smile.

  “Let me be honest.”

  “Please.” She stood still with her hands clasped in front of her.

  “It’s just today.”

  “Today?”

  “I’ve been traveling, I feel gross, and I haven’t slept well and—”

  She covered her open mouth. “Oh, my goodness! I didn’t even think about that. I’m sorry! I’ll just get out of your hair. We’ll do this another day this week.”

  He smiled. “I would like that.”

  She grabbed her coat from the back of the couch and walked to the front door. She opened it, and then blew him a kiss. She cocked a brow until he pretended to catch it.

  Then she closed the door, and he could hear her steps as she bounded off the porch.

  Her car motor fired up and he saw her taillights as she backed onto the road and drove away.

  He fell into a chair and leaned his head back against the soft cushion. He sat there just a moment before he realized that now he had indeed been left with all the dishes to wash.

  The desire to leave them until morning was there, but he decided against it. He pushed up from the chair and headed to the kitchen. He resisted the urge to peer through the windows as he passed.

  Instead, he turned on the radio and sang under his breath as he washed and cleaned. When they were finished, he went to the shower and hurriedly washed before climbing out, drying, and dressing.

  By the time he was done he didn’t have the energy to do anything but fall into his bed. Tomorrow was going to be interesting. They would have to figure out what to do with Bud as well as what to do with work. He’d thought the investigation into the office had been set up by Chief Wexell before his arrest, but in fact it was not.

  The board of some such organization he’d never heard of was reviewing their work to determine if they should even be a thing. Their case load had doubled, and their rate of worked cases had tripled, but still their viability was in question?

  If they were displaced or dissolved where would all the agents go? No one precinct could take them all. They would probably be scattered across the state or forced to find new positions all on their own.

  Greg didn’t like either thought.

  He set an alarm and turned onto his side. Moonlight streamed through his window. He hoped that Ericka was getting some rest next door. She needed it.

  ****

  During the movie Bud slept like an angel. He laid his head on Ericka’s lap and didn’t move a muscle. As soon as the last line was spoken, he rose, lifted his arms above his head and squealed.

  Ericka just looked at him.

  Tito looked at him.

  “What is he doing?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Bud? Hey, Bud? What’s wrong?”

  Bud continued to squeal. He didn’t seem to be in pain, nor did he really seem to be awake.

  “I think he’d dreaming.”

  “What could he be dreaming about that would cause that kind of noise?” Tito put his hands over his ears as Bud’s volume increased.

  “Pain?” Ericka could only guess, but she had dreams like that. Dreams that caused her to yell out. She’d done it in front of Greg on a few occasions.

  “What do we do? Do we wake him?”

  Ericka tried to pull Bud into her arms, but he resisted. His tiny hands flailed around, and he caught her in the cheek. Tito narrowed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Bud’s waist. He pinned his arms to his sides. Then he whispered quietly in Bud’s ears. Finally, he settled against Tito.

  Tito laid him back on the couch and covered him. “That boy has some trauma.”

  “Agreed. Maybe Dr. Ellen will talk to him while we are at work tomorrow.”

  “So, you’re taking him to work?”

  “What else would I do with him?”

  “I don’t know, call Social Services?” Tito was serious.

  Ericka wasn’t pleased. “I won’t be doing that yet. If he goes into the system, there is no telling what will happen to him. I want to find his family first if possible.”

  “Ericka…”

  “Don’t tell me that he isn’t me. In a way he is me. He doesn’t remember who his family is.”

  “True, but maybe he would get a great foster family. You don’t know.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He can stay with me for now, so he is staying with me.”

  “But you can’t work. And the office is under investigation. We need to show that we have a reason for being or we will all be out of a job.”

  She gnawed on her bottom lip and fought back tears. She wasn’t a crier. She didn’t like to cry. But the week was catching up with her.

  Seeing her dad slip through her fingers was catching up to her. He could have come to see her. He could have spoken to her, he could have done a million things to be with her, but he chose something different. She didn’t know how to get past that.

  Tito lifted her to a standing position and wrapped her in his arms. She laid her head against his chest.

  “I’ll help you. Maybe the building has a daycare that we don’t know about. Or maybe we can take shifts. I’m sure that Greg will help as well.”

  She nodded and sniffled.

  “I know you need rest. So, let me help you put him to bed, and you can go to sleep as well.”

  She’d only had one bed before she left. She wasn’t sure what she had now.

  “You saw a twin mattress in that spare room. Let me move it next to your bed. What do you say?”

  “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.”

  He released her. Within minutes he had a mattress on his shoulder, and he was hauling it to her room. How he found a place to put it was beyond her, but he made it fit.

  She found sheets and placed them over the mattress. They were big but they worked. Then she found a pillow and extra covers.

  Tito lifted Bud and placed him on the mattress, and she covered him up. The little angel was back. The dreams seemed to have stopped. Now she just needed to make it through the night.

  Tito grabbed her hand and walked her to the front door with him. He planted a chaste kiss on her cheek. Heat flushed her face.

  “I’ll pick up a booster seat and bring it by in the morning. Don’t leave until I get here.”

  Not like she could, she still didn’t have a car.

  She nodded and held open the door as he exited. When he pulled out, she closed the door and locked it. Ten minutes later she was in her pajamas and snuggled under the covers.

  She needed the rest.

  She prayed she got some.

  ****

  Robert had his bag packed and sat it on the bed. He paced back and forth across the room hitting his knees against the corner of the double beds on more than one occasion.

  He’d received a text, but Felix had also called and said that Sasha was on her way. He had no idea what to expect. Sasha had been so young the last time he saw her. Young and beautiful.

  He rolled his eyes skyward. Why would he remember that of all things?

  Morgan had talked frequently about Sasha and how she envied her tenacity. Morgan had been in the agency but dropped out with her discovery of pregnancy. Robert had offered to marry her, and she’d accepted.

  Despite the legality, there was no real love there. She threatened to leave and take Ericka. He’d begged her not to. He’d been faithful, he just didn’t have a long-term interest in her. They’d worked a case together and gotten a little too close, nothing more. Felix had tried to tell everyone of their great love, but he had only seen what they showed the world, not the truth.

  Would Ericka be disgusted with him if she knew?

  In the end, Morgan left him.

  She’d sought a divorce.

  The government had given it quietly because he was going into WITSEC, and it solved some of their problems. The last he’d heard Morgan had been forced to move in with a brute of a man named Harry Crate.

  Penny, Morgan’s friend, had tracked Robert down and told him what had happened, but he couldn’t come out of hiding to help. That was probably why Morgan had dropped toddler Ericka at the hospital portico.

  He could still see her lying outside in a basket covered in a pink blanket he remembered purchasing when she was a baby.

  He’d wanted to help.

  He’d wanted to go to her.

  She was his daughter.

  But he couldn’t without blowing his cover.

  Stupid.

  He’d been so stupid.

  The knock on the door caused him to stop in his mental persecution and his pacing. He eased to the door and picked up the nearby curtain.

  His heart sped up. Sasha was more beautiful now. Her facial features were the same, but her body had filled out in all the correct adult womanly places.

  He opened the door a fraction.

  “Rose garden.”

  He opened the door farther and she entered. “How did you remember that?”

  She shrugged. “There isn’t much about that time of my life that I’ve forgotten.”

  He didn’t remember how to run and operation, but, the people he remembered perfectly. Especially Sasha.