Around 2:00 A.M., Greg woke her from a light sleep. A rerun of ER was on.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Kate murmured, feeling for his hand.

“I stopped in on Tina,” he said. “They had to do a procedure. To relieve pressure in the brain. They drained some fluid and scraped away a little of the dead tissue.”

Kate raised up, alarmed. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fighting, Kate.” Greg climbed in next to her, still in his clothes. “You know Tina-she’ll string this out forever just to make us sweat,” he said, trying to sound upbeat. “I’m really sorry, baby. About Ben. About your family. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for you.”

Kate nodded, anguish on her face. “I saw the pictures, Greg. Of what happened to that woman agent in Chicago. It was horrible. They have no idea where he is. I was thinking, if they did that to her to get to him, what if…”

“Don’t think if, Kate.” He pulled her toward him, nestling in beside her. “Don’t go there. You don’t know.”

“He wouldn’t just leave, Greg. Not like that. Whatever you might want to say about him, he wouldn’t just disappear.”

“I know…” Greg said, gently stroking her hair. They lay there for a while, Kate pressed against him tightly. Then he chuckled. “So I met Ruiz.”

Kate did her best to smile. “You’re the one who always said you wanted a doorman building.”

He stroked her cheek. “I know you’re scared, Kate. I wish I could just take us away somewhere. I wish I could just shield you from all this. Protect you.”

“Like Superman,” Kate said and squeezed him. “Superhombre…”

Greg lifted her chin with his finger. “I know you’re going through a lot. All this. Tina. But here’s one thing you can count on, pooch: I won’t leave. I’m here, Kate. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

She rested her head against him and closed her eyes. For the moment she felt safe. Far away from it all. That feeling was the one thing she was able to cling to right now.

She nodded softly against him. “I know.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

The phone rang. Kate groggily opened her eyes.

It was light. Almost eleven. She must’ve been exhausted. She never slept this late. Greg was already gone. The phone rang a second time. Kate fumbled for the receiver. “Hullo…?”

“Kate? Hon…?”

The voice jolted through her like a shot of pure adrenaline. “Mom! Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me. How are you, honey? They won’t let me talk a long time. I just wanted to let you know we’re all right.”

“Oh, God, I was so worried, Mom! I know about Dad. I know he’s missing. The WITSEC people were here.”

“They told me,” her mother said. “He’s been missing since last Wednesday. No one’s heard from him, Kate. We don’t know where he is.”

“Oh, God, Mom.” Kate shut her eyes, flashing to those horrible pictures of the night before. “Mom, I don’t know what you know, but Margaret Seymour is dead. Cavetti was here. They showed me pictures of her. They think it was Mercado’s people. Trying to extract information, maybe about Dad. It was gruesome, Mom. They tortured her. You have to be careful. They may know where you are.”

“We’re okay, Kate. They have us under round-the-clock guard. It’s just that we’ve had no word about your father.”

“What are they telling you?” Kate asked nervously, pushing back the fear that her father might truly be dead.

“They’re not telling me anything, honey. I don’t know what to think.”

“Me either. How’s Em? And Justin?”

“They’re okay, Kate,” her mom replied. “We’re trying to keep things as normal as we can. Em’s got a tourney this week. She’s doing well. And Justin’s Justin. He’s almost six feet now.”

“God, I’d like to hear their voices.”

“I can’t, Kate. There’s a WITSEC person here. They’re telling me I have to hang up now.”

“Mom…something else has happened you should know about. Something bad. Tina O’Hearn’s been shot.”

“Oh, Lord,” her mother gasped. “Shot?”

“On the street, just outside the lab. The police think it’s some kind of gang-related thing, but listen, Mom, I don’t believe that. She was closing up for me that night. I think they thought it was me.”

“Kate, you have to stay out of sight. You have to let these people protect you.”

“They are, Mom, they’re here. It’s just that-”

“How is she, honey?” Sharon asked. “Is she dead?”

“No, but it’s bad. She’s hanging on, but they’ve had to do a couple of surgeries. They just don’t know. Mom, I really need to see you guys.”

“I wish we could do that, Kate. I really do. There are some things I’ve been holding back for a long time now that you need to know. But, Kate-”

A male voice cut in on the line, instructing them that they had to hang up now.

“Mom!”

“Kate, stay safe. Do what they tell you. They’re making me go now. I love you, sweetie.”

Kate jumped up, cradling the phone with both hands. “Mom!” Tears filled her eyes. “Tell Justin and Em I love them. Tell them I miss them. That I want to see you soon.”

“We miss you, too, Kate.”

The line clicked off. Kate just sat there, letting the receiver fall in her lap. At least they were safe. That was the best news she could possibly have.

Then something occurred to her. Something important. Something Sharon had said that now, rolling it around in her brain, didn’t seem right.

Margaret Seymour. Cavetti had said that she’d been killed outside Chicago. Last Thursday. To gain information.

Thursday…

So how could her killer have used what he learned to find Kate’s father? He had disappeared the night before.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

“Is my father dead, Agent Cavetti?”

Kate pushed through the doors of his office in the Javits Building at Federal Plaza and looked the WITSEC agent solidly in the eyes.

There were two other people there: Nardozzi, the angular Justice lawyer, and a tall, balding man with light red hair who remained in the corner. He was introduced as Special Agent Booth from the FBI.

“We just don’t know, Kate.” Cavetti met her eyes in turn.

“I think you do. My apartment was broken into last week. A bolt on the door that we never use was closed. At first I was worried someone might be after me. But then it occurred to me when all this started happening…”

Kate gazed at him accusingly. “Are my phones bugged, Agent Cavetti?”

“Kate.” The WITSEC man stood up and came around the desk. “You know that our agency has been compromised. One of our agents has been brutally murdered. Someone was trying to gain information from her. We know it was related to your father’s case.”

“But it turns out my father disappeared on Wednesday-isn’t that right, Agent Cavetti?” Kate demanded. “Margaret Seymour wasn’t killed until the following day. So I’m asking you again: Is my father dead?”

“Ms. Raab…” Nardozzi cleared his throat.

“Herrera.” Kate glared sharply. “You’re the ones who wanted me to change my name. It’s Herrera.”

“Ms. Herrera.” The lawyer stood up. “You should know that there are over forty-five hundred people currently protected in the Witness Protection Program. Many are ordinary people who simply wanted to do the right thing in the face of reprisal. Whistle-blowers, witnesses. Others are some of the best-known figures in organized crime. People who have brought down crime families. Helped create numerous convictions. Names that would be highly recognizable if they were divulged.”

“You’re still not answering my question,” Kate insisted.

“There are others”-the Justice Department prosecutor didn’t respond-“with whom the government has, at times, struck deals privately, who have helped us on a number of investigative fronts. The reliability of this protection”-he nodded for her to take a seat-“to offer a secure life to those who put themselves at risk for their testimony has become the backbone of the federal justice system as we know it today. It is why organized crime has been dealt a major blow in the past two decades. It is why major drug commerce has been significantly reduced. It may also very well be the reason this country has not been attacked again since 9/11.”