Ericka dropped to the couch and cradled her chin in her hands.

  “I like being the cop. That way I know things.”

  “I know.”

  She stared to rise and pace again, but Greg flashed her a look that said don’t. She lowered back down.

  The news was rife with speculation. The sound guy at the studio had already called and left a comment that Rosetta and her manager were there during the explosion.

  Everyone was thrilled about the news, everyone accept Ericka and the team.

  “Do you think she really did go to the bus?”

  Greg was asking her?

  She gulped.

  “You do!”

  “She said she was going to. And she’s missing.”

  “But there was only one body.”

  “I know. I can’t explain it.”

  The cell phone on the table rang and Greg lunged for it. He put it on speaker.

  Tito didn’t offer pleasantries. “The body at the scene was definitely Benji Hunley.”

  Ericka gasped and looked at Greg.

  “I’ve explained the situation to the medical examiner, and she’s agreed to withhold the information for now.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Of course. So, what do we do now? If Benji was there, we know Rosetta was there. What happened to her?”

  Greg looked at the phone. Ericka’s heart hammered.

  “I have no idea.”

  ****

  Charles pushed the rusted metal door open on the warehouse. He reached over beside the door and lifted Rosetta into his arms in a wedding style embrace. Mud followed behind him, but he’d been hurt. Blood poured from a wound in his leg.

  “Why didn’t we just wait on the police?” Mud had said that more than once since the explosion. Every time he said it, Charles regretted waking him and bringing him along.

  “Because someone tried to kill Rosetta. We need them to believe they did so they’ll stop coming after her, and you.”

  “Me?”

  “Well, they know you work for her so if they can reach you then they’ll think they can find her.”

  Mud stopped talking, whether because he understood or because he no longer could, Charles wasn’t sure.

  The warehouse was dark and smelled like urine and unwashed bodies. If someone squatted there now, he didn’t see them. And he was looking. He couldn’t stop himself from searching every inch of the place.

  He busied himself with Rosetta. He placed her upright against a pile of pallets. She hadn’t made a sound since they left the scene. A serious gash covered her forehead. He’d staunched the flow of blood by wrapping a portion of his shirt tightly around the wound.

  “Rosetta, you cannot die. That wouldn’t be a fair fight. With Ericka it must be fair. It must.”

  Her eyes never wavered. Her pupils changed size. They were equal and dilating so no stroke or anything of that nature.

  He sat beside Rosetta. He hadn’t moved her for her. He’d moved her for Ericka. Ericka had taken her place. During boring moments, he’d watched news on his phone. He’d seen television footage of “Rosetta” entering The Plaza, a studio, a clothing store. He’d known it wasn’t Rosetta. Ericka was the only other person who could have pulled off taking her place.

  So, Ericka would be in more danger if those attempting to kill Rosetta succeeded.

  This had been the only way.

  The sound of heavy breathing stopped. Charles noticed that Mud had slumped over until he almost folded in half. The man had died, and Charles had played no part. Sad, really.

  Father would have been disappointed.

  But it did give Charles an idea.

  A very good idea.

  ****

  Don flung his book against a wall. He’d been reading a novel. A pleasure he didn’t often indulge in when he happened to pass the television set. The news had been filled with interesting facts that affected him of late. So, he’d left it running.

  Now he couldn’t believe what he saw.

  “Rosetta Vilo’s tour bus exploded this morning in an empty parking lot on the East Side of New York. One body was recovered. No information has been released on the identity of the body.

  “Rosetta Vilo is a twenty-four-year-old Christian contemporary artist and the daughter of North Carolina House Representative Don Vilo. Vilo is currently running for reelection. His opponent, Michael Barnes, was recently arrested under an accusation that he attempted to poison Rosetta Vilo. Barnes was released for insufficient evidence. It seems this family has suffered more than a fair amount of tragedy lately.”

  “That’s for sure.” Don’s whispered voice sounded odd, like he was in a hole.

  The phone was against his ear and ringing without him knowing who he’d dialed.

  “Director Manis.”

  He should have called Ilsa. His little fox hadn’t come home, but she’d called. She was in New York shopping. She might be able to find some information on Rosetta.

  “Director Manis, here.”

  “Yes, Director, um…”

  “Representative Vilo, we don’t have any information yet, but there was no reason for your daughter to be near the bus. Right now, we are testing all our options to decide how to handle this. Our agent was in the field as Rosetta, so the public knows she’s still out there. We think this is the best play, but we are considering all options.”

  He’d said options twice. What did that mean? Don said, “So, you don’t think she was there?”

  “We do not.”

  He fell to the seat and released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Thank you.”

  “Of course, I’ll keep you updated.”

  The phone went dead in his hand.

  He fell back against the chair. The phone grew hot in his hand. Above him the ceiling fan rotated. Despite the cold air the fan was on. Around and around the blades went until his stomach felt upset.

  He rose and placed his elbows on his knees. A sinking feeling in his stomach came from more than the rotation of the fan.

  What if this had been coordinated by Ilsa? Ilsa had been using Yuri and other friends to make threats against Rosetta. At first, they were simple threats, nothing to elaborate. Just enough to scare her and make people feel sorry for him.

  But if this had been Ilsa then Yuri had taken the little ruse too far. What if Rosetta had been on the bus? That was farther than he was willing to go. He heard her mention the initial plot on the phone and he’d staunchly refused to participate. She might have taken that as permission to do it without him.

  Ilsa did things her own way. He’d known that. He’d also known how power hungry she was. But Rosetta could no longer be a pawn in his political campaign.

  That line of thinking had to stop.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Continue, just continue what you’re doing.”

  Greg took the order from Director Manis.

  “Benji Hunley’s death will remain out of the public forum until we find the people responsible for all this.”

  Greg knew he was right. It was their only choice.

  “Any word on Rosetta’s whereabouts?”

  “None. We know she left the safe house with Benji. I received an interesting phone call from her father as well. He has no information, so we know she hasn’t contacted him. Currently, she’s in the wind.”

  Greg paced the living area of the hotel room. Ericka watched him. He’d have to explain to her how they had to continue on like everything was fine. Like her bus hadn’t exploded. Like someone wasn’t trying to kill the person that she pretended to be.

  Could she do it?

  He hoped so.

  “Kane?”

  “Sir?”

  “I’ll reach out to Beta Team. You and your team stay on course.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The phone went dead in his hand, and he pocketed the device. He motioned everyone to the table. Updating them only took a few minutes, processing the information would take much longer.

  “So, we order dinner, eat, sleep, and go on like everything is normal?”

  “I think that is best.” And what they were told to do. Sometimes he was glad he was no longer in charge.

  “Should we put Ericka out front and let her say what a tragedy it was to lose the bus and a friend.”

  “Not until we know more details. We know Benji died in the explosion but where was her other people.” Quinn opened up a file. “Jamus, Mud, Toad, and the new guy Lewis, who we never got papers for.”

  “Manis didn’t mention them. Maggie, reach out to the protective detail and ask who they still have. If Ericka needs to answer questions, we’ll need something to say first.”

  They talked around her, but Ericka didn’t contribute. Greg understood. Rosetta had been the intended target. Since that was the case why blow up the tour bus when she wasn’t even supposed to be there. None of it made any sense.

  Room service knocked on the door. Quinn answered and took the tray. Nothing appeared unusual about the order. It was their regular guy. They also had an officer hidden in the kitchen after the last incident watching preparation and for anyone out of the ordinary that entered the room.

  Maggie sat at the table. Greg offered grace. Everyone dove in except Ericka. Whatever was on her mind she wasn’t currently inclined to share.

  “I think I’ll take a shower.” Ericka pushed back from the table and walked away.

  Greg lowered his fork. How would they get through the rest of this assignment? They kept bouncing from one thing to the next without a break. They needed a break. They needed to just be in the office. Just be at home and watch television, maybe a terrible movie.

  This pace would take them all down.

  “She’ll be okay. It can’t be easy knowing someone is trying to kill you. Even harder because it could be because of Rosetta’s parent and Ericka doesn’t know her parents.” Maggie rubbed her hands on a napkin. “I mean, Tito gave her the information about her family, then she had that memory, and immediately had to come here and become someone else. I honestly don’t know if she’ll ever have time to search for her own parents.” Maggie sipped water.

  She had a point.

  A good point.

  All this put together made Greg think they were looking in the wrong direction. Maybe it was the representative who they needed to look at and not Rosetta’s supposed crazed fan.

  Something wasn’t adding up.

  ****

  Ericka laid her head against the shower wall. Hot water cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. Slow deep breaths one after the other held her upright.

  One look at her hand shaking and she held it tightly to her chest. In the last few months, she’d experienced fear.

  A lot of fear.

  Fear of losing her friends. Fear of losing her job. Fear of never finding her mother.

  She knew it wasn’t healthy. Fear and worry did very little for a person, and constantly worrying about survival was exhausting. It was one reason she’d left the military after serving her time.

  Death.

  It wasn’t an easy thing to contemplate. Not for oneself or for someone else close to her.

  The water turned lukewarm, and she cut the faucet and grabbed a towel. Her stomach growled. She’d been hungry. But eating seemed too normal, somehow unfair.

  She reminded herself that Rosetta hadn’t been found on or near the bus. If she had been there with Benji, which was a pretty good conclusion since he never left her side, then somehow, she’d managed to get away.

  But how?

  Where had she gone?

  Maybe she’d had help.

  Once Quinn discovered who was missing then they would have a better idea who that helper might have been.

  Towel wrapped around her hair and swathed in a bathrobe, she left the bathroom and went into the bedroom. She took a seat on the edge of the bed. The plush carpet wrapped around her bare toes once more. Carpet might be a good investment for her bedroom at home. She found she enjoyed the soft feeling squishing between her toes.

  The moment of pleasure passed quickly as realization about the next few days set in.

  The press would likely chase her down and bombard her with questions at tomorrow’s activity. Ericka couldn’t remember if Rosetta would talk to reporters or not. If they’d had more time to talk about things it would have been helpful.

  Ericka climbed into bed and wadded the pillow under her cheek. She would rise and put on her happy face. She was trained. She could and would complete her mission.

  Before falling asleep, she prayed, “Lord, please allow Rosetta to be well. And help Tito and Beta Team to find those responsible so I can go home and enjoy cocoa by my fireplace. Amen.”

  ****

  The door opened.

  Don was ready.

  Ilsa entered and laid her giant briefcase shaped purse on a hall table. He leaned against a pillar, waiting.

  “Oh, Don! Why are you hiding there? You scared me.” Her hand covered her heart as she went to walk past.

  He grabbed her other hand. His grip tightened. “Ilsa, what did you do?”

  She avoided his gaze. “What do you mean?”

  He could feel his irritation growing. “The bus. Who blew up the bus?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He tightened his grip.

  “Don, you’re hurting me.”

  Don released her. She rubbed her wrist as she went to the bar and poured herself a scotch. Drinking that early in the day meant she knew a lot of things that she just didn’t want to say.

  “Ilsa, we discussed this. You and Yuri wanted more than I was willing to give, and you agreed you wouldn’t take it this far.”

  “Darling—” She’d relieved herself of her glass, turned around to face him, and laid her palms flat on this chest.

  He stepped backward. “No, no, no. I told you no. I told you no after the shooting. And you still—”

  “Look, Yuri already had it in the works. And Rosetta wasn’t supposed to be there, and she wasn’t, right?” She paused. She poured another fifth of scotch and drank it in one gulp.

  “You thought she was in there.”

  “What? No, of course not.”

  “Yes, you did. You thought my daughter was on that bus and you let it go up anyway!”

  Her voice rose and grew shrill. “Yes! I had to! It was too late. Too late.”

  Ilsa had been about to let his daughter die.

  His only child.

  He would have told her to get out, he couldn’t stand to look at her, but he couldn’t. He ran his campaign on family, and family values. The good people of North Carolina wouldn’t vote for him if a scandal broke out involving his family. Plus, she could implicate him in the scheme as well. Other than his word, he had no proof that it wasn’t his plan.

  He grabbed his coat and walked out the front door. He needed time to think about his next move. Director Manis’ assurance helped. At least he knew that Rosetta hadn’t been on the bus when it exploded.

  At least.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Thursday…

  Ericka entered the living room. Greg noticed her puffy eyes. She must have cried half the night. Greg opened his mouth to ask about her, but he was too late.

  She clapped her hands. “Where to today?”

  “The hospital.”

  “Oh, yeah, the children. I’m ready to go.”

  “Breakfast?”

  “I don’t know that I can. I’m nervous enough and kids are harsh critics.”

  If that was all they had to worry about today it would be great. Greg had already ordered extra security around the place. After the shooting and the explosion, it seemed warranted even if she wasn’t the real celebrity.

  Certain kids had been pre-selected for the event. It was based on level of illness, request, and parental stability. All parents and family members had been vetted for criminal pasts and other important information.

  Maggie placed a cup of coffee and some cantaloupe in front of Ericka.

  “Thank you.”

  “Can’t have you passing out in front of the kids.”

  “Good point.”

  She slowly sipped at the coffee and nibbled at the cantaloupe as if she could prolong the inevitable.

  Quinn placed his hand to Greg’s ear then removed it. “Greg, the car is waiting.”

  “Ericka?”

  She took a quick swig of coffee and one more bite of cantaloupe, when she stood, he finally noticed her outfit.

  She wore black leggings with leather boots up to her knees. She also had on a knit dress, but it was covered by a white fur-looking coat. On top of her head was a white beret and those signature amber aviator glasses.

  “Don’t judge me. This is the outfit in a bag marked for today.”

  He coughed under his breath. “I see.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Gold bracelets, multiples of them, dangled against her wrist as she walked toward the door. Greg couldn’t fathom how uncomfortable she must feel in that get up.

  He wore tan pants, and a navy blue collared button up shirt. He was happy with the clothes at least.

  Poor Benji.

  For whatever reason he’d gone to the bus, he assumed Rosetta’s pride and vanity, it had gotten him killed. His time here was gone. He was on a new adventure, where Greg couldn’t say. He hoped and prayed to see him in Heaven one day. He’d managed a Christian artist, so it was at least a good possibility.

  The limo had been switched for a luxury sedan with tinted windows and armor protective panels. Ericka was placed between him and Quinn in the back seat. Tim drove and Maggie sat in the passenger seat. Sam stayed at the hotel.

  When they arrived at the hospital they parked in a special visitor’s lot. A guard escorted them into a staff elevator. Ericka said nothing. He wished he knew what she was thinking. One thing about his assignment was definitely that they had zero time alone.

  He didn’t like it.

  The elevator opened.

  They were escorted to a special kid’s room. Kids sat around the room in wheelchairs or on low plastic chairs. Some smiled. Some did tiny silent claps.

  Ericka stepped from behind Greg and several kids squealed. Greg couldn’t help but smile.