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knows most of them by name,” Elias explained. He lifted one hand and gestured vaguely toward the door. “As for giving you backup, the other three agents are heavily involved in cases I can’t pull them off of right now. With where you’ll be staying, we won’t have to worry about anyone tracking Kendra down.”
    Elias went on to explain that the assignment was actually in Pinewood, a sleepy summer town twenty miles south of Flagstaff, and then relayed William’s plans for Charlie’s living arrangements.
    Charlie listened intently and then finally asked, “Do you really think Kendra will even let me talk to her? She has to be freaked out about what happened at her concert.”
    “William mentioned to her that a lawyer friend of his would be staying in one of his cabins. She’s only a couple of years younger than you, and with your family background, I’m sure you can find some common ground.”
    The muscle in Charlie’s jaw jumped. “Excuse me?”
    Hit a sore spot , Elias thought to himself, even as he appreciated how quickly Charlie controlled his emotions. “You were raised in the fishbowl of Washington politics. Kendra grew up in the limelight of Hollywood. That should give you some common ground.”
    “Forgive me, sir, but how did you know about my family? I didn’t think background checks were included in personnel files.”
    “Normally they aren’t, but because of the sensitivity of this assignment, I asked headquarters to fax yours to me.”
    Charlie nodded, his lips drawing together in a thin line. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d appreciate it if that information could stay between us.”
    “Don’t worry, Charlie. You won’t get any special treatment here.” Elias stood up and glanced at his watch. “I’m going to have Ray Underwood coordinate with the LAPD about the bombing at Kendra’s concert. I want you to hand off all your active cases to him so he can reassign them for now. Then go home and pack. I want you settled into that cabin by this afternoon.”
    Charlie stood as well and nodded.
    “And, Charlie?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Remember, this is a sensitive situation. I expect you to keep the details to yourself and report directly to me.”
    “Yes, sir.”

Chapter 6
    Snowflakes danced in the wind as they drifted downward. Kendra switched her windshield wipers to high. The roads were becoming more treacherous by the minute. When her grandfather had checked the weather reports two hours ago, the forecaster had insisted that this winter storm would hit well north of Flagstaff and miss Pinewood completely. Obviously, someone had miscalculated.
    Her fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly as she took her exit, slowly steering the car down the ramp that led into town. The roads were already covered with several inches of snow, and only a single set of tire tracks disturbed the pristine white.
    She shook her head as she considered her current situation. She couldn’t fathom who would want to hurt her, and the events of last night seemed more like a bad dream than reality. She’d heard of obsessed fans—people who developed an unhealthy fixation on public figures—but she didn’t have any of those. Or did she?
    She let out a sigh and forced the tension from her shoulders. She had to be safe now. She still felt bad that she had left her manager to deal with her family and the police, but at least her concert tour was basically over. Only tonight’s concert would have to be canceled.
    Kendra wasn’t sure what story her manager would fabricate about why she had dropped out of sight, but she was relatively certain that whatever was printed in the newspapers was likely to be a work of fiction. He wouldn’t want to tell the American public that she had gone into hiding because she’d had a panic attack—even if it had been justified.
    Perhaps that’s what scared her the most: the fact that both the police and her grandfather believed that she was the target of the bomb at her