“I’ve got to get through to this kid,” she mumbled to her empty bathroom. She placed David’s file on her vanity, planning to read it once she was in the tub, but the phone rang just as her foot dipped into the practically boiling water.

She thought about ignoring it, but with everything going on with Calista she couldn’t take the chance. “Hello?”

“Is this Lexi Thatcher?”

“Yes it is. Who is this?” She glanced at the clock and realized it was only eight o’clock.

“This is Detective Munson. We need your help down at the station. We have a homeless woman down here who we think may have witnessed a murder, but no one can understand her and she’s becoming hysterical.”

“What language is she speaking?”

“That’s just it, we’re not entirely sure. It could be Russian or another Slavic language. I hate to be politically incorrect but it all sounds the same to me.”

Lexi inwardly sighed. Of course she would come down, she always did. That’s why they always called her first. “Give me twenty minutes, I’ll be there.”

She pulled the plug from the drain and stared wistfully as the whirlpool of water disappeared. Another time. She threw on a pair of jeans, a sweater, and grabbed a thick coat from her closet. After a quick glance in the mirror, she figured she was presentable enough for the police station and made her way to her Volkswagen parked in the driveway.

“Almost forgot,” she said aloud to the cloudless starry night, but before she had a chance to turn around blackness engulfed her.

****

“All right, I think I might have something that’s going to ease your fears. Look at these pictures. Nikolai just emailed them to me.” Dane pulled his laptop around on his desk so she could get a better view.

“Those eyes,” Calista spoke more to herself than him. She’d seen them before, but couldn’t place where. “Why does he look so familiar?”

“Hon, it’s probably because he’s that bottom feeder Mike’s brother. We’ve cross referenced this picture with all the men we have on the list, and so far we haven’t pulled up anything even remotely resembling him.” He pulled her into his lap and nuzzled her neck.

“Stop.” She half swatted him away and closer scrutinized the picture. “It’s more than that. I’ve seen him somewhere else, but I can’t place it and it’s driving me crazy.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your brain and your body have been going into overload this past month. Not to mention, he’s probably had work done on his face.”

“What about his stepfather? Have they been able to find out anything?”

“Thankfully, yes. Nikolai has cross referenced his name in every possible database. It’s a fairly common name, but so far we’ve only come up with three in the system and only one fits the profile of the man we’re looking for.”

She stared at the picture on the screen. When nothing registered she turned away and massaged her temple. “Who is he?”

“He’s an arms dealer who lives in Cuba. Records indicate he was married to an American a little over ten years ago, but she died of cervical cancer three years ago. He kept her existence very quiet for the obvious reasons. A man in his position can’t appear to have any weaknesses. They didn’t have any children together, but she had two sons she brought into the marriage. Mike and George. Mike kept his mother’s maiden name, but George apparently allowed himself to be adopted by Alejandro. They don’t have a close relationship, but in recent months he’s been in frequent contact with his father.”

Calista was impressed. “How do you know all that?”

“Nikolai has a contact at the DEA. They’ve had Alejandro Angel under supervision for the past year and that includes his phone conversations. He managed to get some transcripts between father and son. It’s officially off the record, but for our use that’s fine. We just need information.”

“Anything you can use to track him down?”

“Maybe. According to the transcripts he told his stepfather that he’s a freelance journalist and photographer trying to make his money by taking celebrity pictures.”

Calista’s eyes widened. “He’s one of the paparazzi?”

“Maybe. It would explain how he knows so much about your whereabouts, and it would give him ample access to different celebrity functions, but I’m still not sure that’s his angle. His father also calls him William, not George, so it looks like he did change his first name.”

Calista was quiet as she took in all the new information. Then another thought occurred to her. “He’s going to be upset by the news today. Are all my friends still protected?”

“After the announcement last night, I informed all our guys to be even more careful. These guys are professionals. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“If you don’t mind I’m going to go make a few phone calls just to reassure myself.” She stood up before he could object. Its not that she didn’t trust his men, she just needed to hear her friend’s voices for herself.

“Wait…” his voice trailed off.

“What’s wrong?” She stopped at the doorway and swiveled to face him. The uncertainty in his voice sliced through the air. That tone was a new one for Dane. His beautiful blue eyes mirrored the foreign emotion she heard in his voice.

“Calista, what I feel for you is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.” He held out his hands, but didn’t continue.

She sighed and came back into the room, taking a seat on the bed across from where he sat at the desk. “Me too. And I must say it’s infuriating. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“But it did, and when this is over I want to be with you. I want to live with you. I’ll move here, whatever it takes, because I think we have a real shot at…”

He stopped talking when her mouth dropped. She couldn’t help it though. He wanted to live here? With her? Tough, intimidating Dane Leven wanted to uproot his life? Over the years she’d waded through her share of bull-shitters and leeches who all wanted a piece of her. Not him. No sir. He wanted her for who she was. Not what she could give him or do for his career.

“Sorry, I don’t want to scare you off, but that’s just the way it is.”

In amazement, she watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Wow. I don’t know what to say.”

It was hard to fathom what he’d just admitted. A few months ago she’d have loved nothing more than to tear him limb from limb. Now…now she wanted nothing more than to tear his clothes off every time they were in the same room.

“Okay.” The word came out clear and concise. It didn’t stick in her throat and her voice didn’t waver. For once in her life she knew exactly what she wanted.

“What?” He asked.

“Okay to us. I feel the same way, and it feels liberating to say the words out loud.” She smiled when he moved to the bed and pulled her into his lap. He started a trail of kisses across her neck. There were no declarations of love from either one of them, and Calista had a feeling that word was foreign to a man like Dane. She knew the things he’d just admitted took a lot for him and she was willing to give him time. Her entire body ached for his kisses and touch, but she pushed at his chest. “I need to make some calls before we get carried away.”

He reluctantly released her, but not before stealing one more kiss. She smiled to herself as she walked back to her room. She closed the door behind her, sat on the edge of her bed, and grabbed her phone off the nightstand.

Crap, only one bar left. Calista frowned at her cell phone when she realized the battery was low yet again. She plugged it in and started dialing. Amber was the first and much to Calista’s relief she was still at the restaurant with three of the cooks who would be staying with her until she closed up. Luckily, she managed to get a hold of Sarah who was at the airport and would soon be leaving for New York. She had a huge lead and if things went her way she’d be closing a big deal by the end of the month. The last call she made was to Lexi. Lexi sometimes kept late hours mainly because she volunteered her services to the police department and they called at all hours of the night.

Calista snapped her cell phone shut when Lexi didn’t answer. She tried to reassure herself that she was overreacting, but couldn’t help the ominous feeling that washed over her. Just as she was about to panic her cell phone rang and Lexi’s name appeared on the screen.

She sighed in relief and picked up on the first ring. “Lexi, thank God.”

“I’m sorry, Lexi is unavailable at the moment.” A menacing male voice came across the line.

“Who is this?” Calista demanded. Her voice was surprisingly strong and in direct opposition to the terror forking through her veins like lighting.

His voice was eerily calm. “I think you know who this is.”

“What do you want?”

“You already know the answer to that too. Now, no more questions. If you want your friend to live you will do exactly as I say.”

Calista was silent as he rambled off instructions, but she had some demands of her own. “I want to hear her voice.”

“No.” His voice rose, the previously monotone pitch changing slightly.

“I hear her voice or I’m not going anywhere.” Calista stood her ground, knowing she’d do whatever he said anyway. She heard a muffled sound against the phone then Lexi’s terrified voice pierced her ears. “Cal? Don’t do anything he says—”

Lexi was cut short. Calista could hear a brief struggle. With sweaty palms she held the phone tighter against her ear, as if that would bring her closer to her friend.

“Now that you know your friend is alive, you better hurry. As we speak there is a rope tied around her neck and the only thing keeping her up is an unsteady chair. Lucky for her she doesn’t weigh much.”