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“You did what?” Deborah shouted at Danny, who stood before her desk with his arms crossed.

“She was questioning my continued presence in her life.”

“And you decided to handle it by telling her the truth?”

“The assignment would have been over otherwise. There was no way she would let me near her, let alone have any influence over her engagement party.”

“You should have made something up. Telling her you work for the FBI was not the right move.”

“Why? Because of her mother?”

Deborah rested the arm of her glasses against her lip. “She told you about that?”

“She thought I already knew.”

“It was an accident.”

“That’s not what she thinks,” Danny said.

“She wasn’t there.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Was the FBI responsible or not?”

“Natalie was carrying drugs for a drop. We were surveilling, but we were made. Our team chased her. Over the course of the pursuit, she fell and died. From what I understand, Jael does not believe the fall was an accident.”

“But you’re saying it is.”

“We don’t kill people for the fun of it.”

“That’s not a no.”

“None of our guys laid a finger on her. The autopsy showed she had drugs in her system at the time, so that wouldn’t have helped.”

“But she was being pursued?”

“Should we not have chased a criminal because something bad might happen?”

“I’m just trying to get my head around it.”

“What you think doesn’t matter. Now that Jael knows you work for the FBI, that changes things.”

“No, it doesn’t. Whether I work for the FBI or not is irrelevant. The engagement is not going ahead, and that’s got nothing to do with me.”

Deborah lowered her voice. “Oh, it absolutely does. Now she knows who you work for, you can make her cooperate.”

“She’s not going to marry Christopher at the behest of the FBI.”

“She better, or we’ll find a dozen charges to bring against her.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I can and I will. Not only that, either you convince her to follow through for us, or I’m taking away everything I’ve given to you. Including Adisa’s freedom.”

Danny’s mouth hardened into a thin line. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to come back. You haven’t changed one bit.”

“I do what I have to in order to get the job done. If you weren’t so busy placating Jael, you’d understand that a happy ending doesn’t exist for her. It never has. And I refuse to give up the opportunity to put a terrible man behind bars because of your crush.”

“I told you, there’s nothing going on.”

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem following through.”

“What if there’s another way? Other charges we can bring against Artus?”

“Like the murder of Gregory Heber? We don’t have enough to move on that. I already told you, without a better option, we’re sticking to our original plan.”

“Have you even looked into it?”

“We have.” She smiled. “And so have you.”

“You’re following me?”

“Keeping tabs. That’s all.”

“I’ve set up everything. I’ve organized to buy the same drug Artus used to kill Gregory. All I need is four weeks.”

“That not enough to guarantee we can put Artus behind bars. Leave the clerk to us. Focus on Jael. If she’s on our side, that makes everything easier. She can guarantee the venue for the party?—”

“She’s not marrying Christopher.”

“She doesn’t need to marry him. She just needs to be engaged to him. And who knows, if she plays the part well enough, she may even get Christopher to open up herself while onsite. If she hates him, she can work with us and be rid of him for good.”

“She can’t stand to be in the same room as him. How is she supposed to convince him she’s in love with him? Especially after everything that’s happened.”

“You mean the domestic issue I had to resolve? That was an interesting phone call.”

“He may not want to marry her after that.”

“I know men like Christopher. If Jael goes to him full of remorse for her actions, he’ll take her back. There’s nothing he would want more.”

“That’s disgusting.”

Deborah shrugged. “We all do what we have to. I’m sure it’s not the first time Jael has had to follow through on something revolting.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to. But I bet she’ll agree to it. I’d say she wants to bring Christopher down more than we do. She’s got what it takes to do what’s necessary. I hope you do too.”

Danny pinched his bottom lip in thought. “If we do this,” he said. “You have to make sure it counts. And he can’t get wind that she was involved. Even from prison, he can have her killed.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. And we’re already getting everything in place to make a move. We’ve got specific information relating to the Siseras’s new activities with Heber Industries. I’d say it’s connected to the reason they killed Gregory. And if we can get the clerk on the drug, we’ll have enough to pressure him as extra leverage.”

“Okay, but if I get other information?—”

“No,” Deborah said. “I’ve had enough of this back and forth. We’ll use everything we have on the night of the party. From now on, we’re sticking to the plan. And that’s final.”

Danny was surprised when Jael answered the door at Gregory’s house instead of the housekeeper. She was wearing a baggy T-shirt and tights. Her hair was piled on top of her head and gave her a look of innocence that made it hard to speak.

“Hey,” she said. “Did you come to give me an update? Because you could have called.”

“This isn’t something I can do over the phone.”

“More bad news?”

“Can I come in?”

“So it is bad news.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

She stepped back to let him in. “Coffee?”

“No. I’m fine. Is it strange being back here?” he said, following her to the living room.

“I’ve been sleeping in one of the guest rooms to distance myself from it all, but yes. It’s strange.”

He looked around the living room when they entered. She’d changed it. Most of the furniture had been replaced.

When he sat on a plush cream-colored sofa, he rubbed his hand over the silky leather. “This is new.”

“This is the room where I found my dad. I couldn’t stand having it the same. It was like a memorial to his death.”

“You plan on staying here long?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. Even if I sell it all, I can’t have anything unless I marry Christopher. Maybe I’ll give it all away. I still haven’t come to terms with everything. Probably the easiest thing to get my head around is that fact that Artus was responsible for my dad’s death. It makes so much sense. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before.”

Danny looked at the floor, unsure how to proceed. The opportunities for pain in her life seemed to abound. “There’s something else.”

She laughed softly. “There always is.”

“It’s about your mom. When I spoke to the deputy director, I asked her about what happened.”

Jael didn’t flinch. “Why?”

“I thought you might like to know the truth. With so much uncertainty in your life, I wanted you to know.”

“You think it matters how she died?”

“Doesn’t it?”

She shrugged. “You’re going to tell me it was an accident?”

“It was. She was carrying drugs, and they chased her. While on the run, she fell.”

“I know.”

“But I thought?—”

“That I hold them responsible? I was angry. At my mom more than anyone, but she was dead, and I needed someone to blame. The FBI was an easy target. It suited my life the way it was. Gave me an outlet for the rage that was always just below the surface. Vita Nova changed that for me, and I guess that’s why I hang onto it so tightly. I know what my life would be like without it. In a way, the fear of what the future looks like has helped me understand better what her life must have been like.”

How could he ask her to help him now? She was so sad and broken. She’d likely say yes to his request, but he wasn’t sure he was willing to ask it of her.

“Is that why you’re here?” she said. “To tell me about my mom?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.” When he didn’t say more, she scooted forward in her seat. “The FBI still wants the engagement party, don’t they.”

“How did you know?”

“I know how they work. How everyone works. They’re as hungry for control as my dad was. And I’m always the one in the middle doing the bidding of whoever has the most leverage.”

“I don’t like it, but all they want is an engagement party. That’s it. There doesn’t have to be a marriage.”

“What if they don’t get what they’re after?”

“Then we’ll get him another way.”

“And if you don’t? Where does that leave me?”

“He won’t know you’re involved,” Danny said.

“He will if I don’t follow through on the marriage.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure we bring both Artus and Christopher down. If the engagement doesn’t work, then we’ll find a way for you to disappear for a while. That will give the FBI room to work without you in the picture.”

“If I refuse to go along with your plan, you’re supposed to bring me in, right?”

“They’re prepared to do whatever it takes to get you to cooperate.”

“Like they threatened you with prison.”

“They didn’t threaten me. I gave myself up.”

“Why?”

Danny took a breath. “Because I needed to face the consequences of my actions.”

“What did you get for helping them now?”

“It was someone else they helped this time.”

“And if I refuse to do what they ask, what happens?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

She nodded. “They’ll revoke their help. I know how these things go. The threats. I’ll call Christopher today and make amends. The engagement will be back on.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. This has never been about me anyway. At first it was about keeping the doors of Vita Nova open, but I can’t do that with Christopher. Allow me to help in what little way I can.”

“Don’t give up on your foundation.”

“I was prepared to give up everything for Vita Nova. Taking down the Siseras will be the same. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop them.”