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don’t go back.”
    He waited for her to question him or respond. When she did neither, he asked, “Em are you there?”
    “Yeah, I’m here. They’re coming after me aren’t they? They’re going to kill me.” Her voice was emotionless and for that he was glad. She was past the point of being an emotional liability. Now, she focused on survival.
    “Do exactly what I tell you to do and everything will be okay. Once you leave the hotel, I need you to go to a public place. Stay there and blend in if you can. By the time you get to Springfield, I’ll be driving down from Kansas City. When you find a place, you’re going to wait for me there. Text me the address. Wait for me to acknowledge I have received the address and then throw away the phone. I’ll find you, Ember. Don’t leave that place for any reason. Don’t purposely engage in conversation with anyone or get into a secluded area. Do you understand?”
    A whisper thin response drifted back to him. “I understand.”
    “Em, you have to trust me. I may be going overboard on this, but I won’t take any chances, okay?”
    “That is eerily similar to what Dale said last night.”
    Joseph leaned forward in the plush leather seat and almost groaned from the thrumming of pain through his back. “Ember, I’m not Dale. Listen, I’m sorry your boyfriend is gone. I can’t change that. I assure you that none of the people following you can take me out. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Please do exactly as I say. I’m on my way. Remember, just take one thing at a time, alright?”
    Her pause was lengthy. “Joey? Dale…he wasn’t my boyfriend. I’m not involved with anyone. We were just friends and damn it, you better come get me, or I’m going to be really pissed.”
    “That’s the spitfire I used to know. Hang up the phone now and take the battery and SIM card out. Put them back together only to text me the address when you know it.”
    So, she’s still single. That small piece of information packed a hell of a punch and made him feel pretty damned good. Her not being involved with anyone worked for him.



Chapter Four
    Ember gazed out at the horizon as it sped by. The tinted bus window shaded the world grey. Appropriate. Her entire life right now was muddled. Grey. Confusing, and if she was honest—terrifying. Two days ago, she was the lead emergency room physician at a major trauma center. Today, a friend was dead, probably murdered. A man she hadn’t spoken to in sixteen years was flying in to rescue her from the people who killed Dale. The reason? The small thumb drive in her pocket. She shook her head and smirked as she looked out the window. Riiiight , s o much for life without additional stress .
    When the bus stopped in Springfield, the driver announced a thirty-minute comfort stop. Ember casually exited the bus with the other riders and strolled across the street looking disinterestedly in shop windows. Turning the corner, she hurriedly walked away from the bus terminal and hailed a cab. The driver suggested a hotel nearby and she gratefully accepted his suggestion. Giving him a sizable tip, she exited the cab and entered the lobby of the hotel.
    Paying for a room with cash wasn’t a problem as long as she put down a deposit for any damages. The desk clerk pulled out a map of the downtown area and circled two drug stores within walking distance and a strip mall two blocks away that had several clothing stores. Ember flipped back her thick red hair that had spilled over her shoulders and smiled at the man. She watched as his eyes lingered on her breasts before he commented. “If there is anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”
    Ember walked to the drug store and bought black hair rinse. Off-the-shelf bleaching kits for red hair were not an option. Unless you want to look like a flaming orange sunset or a cartoon character. She’d learned that lesson in college when her roommate tried to bleach a