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meantime, I was willing to
work with this man. I was willing to work in this town.
     
    ***
     
    I returned to the hotel just in time
to see the kids coming back from the pool. They were exhausted, with their hair
mussed, still dripping. Alaina volunteered to get the kids dressed and sent
them into the room to grab their clothes. When we were alone in the hallway she
asked me the question.
    “So? How’d it go?”
    “It was great,” I replied. “He’s sending me the papers
tomorrow. He’s going to make me an offer.”
    Alaina squealed in delight and hugged me. She was still wet
from the pool and the damp curls of her hair rubbed against my face. She
stepped back quickly.
    “Oh…”
    She’d soaked me. I couldn’t help but laugh.
    “I’m so sorry!”
    “It’s no problem. I’ll go change,” I said. “We’ll have
dinner later, okay? We fly back tomorrow.”
    I closed the door to my room, letting Alaina deal with
changing the little monsters on her side. I shrugged out of my coat and pulled
off my tie. I hung it on the door knob to dry and laughed to myself.
    Alaina was cute. I had to admit that. She was from a Latin
background so between her dark hair and dark eyes and youthfulness, she was
very pretty. But the circumstance, the timing, the whole idea of being with
Alaina, was just not there for me. I tiptoed around her. She was who she was
and she was fantastic with the kids. I’d never do anything to compromise the
professional relationship we had. Hell, I wasn’t in any place to even think
about such things. My emotions were still raw from all that had happened. To even
think about sleeping with the nanny was just… scandalous. I knew that issue
began and ended with me. She was a good kid, but… no, not going to happen.
    I was changing out of my clothes when my cellphone buzzed.
It was a different tone than my usual ring. I picked it up. There was a message
from my home security system. I’d configured it to call my cell if anyone ever
tried to get in. It had cost an exorbitant amount of money, but I’d hired a
private security firm out of D.C. to wire it together.
    The phone had video capabilities, so I hit a sequence of
numbers and it transmitted the live video feed to my phone. The little screen
lit up and I recognized the front hallway. Two men—no, three men were sweeping
methodically through the house. They were dressed in black, wearing ski masks.
I could see the motion detector on the wall and the panic light flashing. I
knew the light was accompanied by a deafening siren, but the men seemed
unfazed. They had finished their task and walked out the door of my home.
     

 
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
    I stepped into the lobby of the
office building and walked directly to the elevators. The doors opened and I
stepped inside and punched the button for the seventh floor. The doors hung
open, waiting for more passengers and when none came, silently sealed me in. I
was alone for the first time since my last visit to Chicago when I’d watched
helplessly over my video uplink as men raided my home.
    In the moments afterward, I knew I had to make a choice. Do
I tell my kids and Alaina what had happened? Do I ruin the trip for them with
news that their home, their sanctuary in the aftermath of everything had been
defiled, corrupted by men in masks? Or do I stay silent and let things take
their course?
    In the hotel that night, I made a phone call to a friend of
mine. Ken Gibson was a detective on the Alexandria police force. When I was
with Blackthorn, he’d been my liaison whenever I required police assistance, or
as was occasionally the need, police indifference to our activities. Ken was a
friend and someone I could trust. I’d recruited him through non-official
channels, but he could still be a help.
    I explained the situation in the grayest of details, not
putting too fine a point on anything. I didn’t share the news of my resignation
from Blackthorn, nor the fact that I was calling him for