Brian sat at the end of the bed watching Howie talk animatedly on the phone. They’d been in this hotel room for three days, and still nothing. The private investigator had followed a few leads, but had come up with nothing. Until now.

Brian could only hear one side of the call, but he was pretty sure that the PI had some new info. He sat quietly and listened until Howie hung up.

“So, what’s going on?”

Howie looked over at Brian and for the first time in days he had a smile on his face.

“He thinks he might have a real lead this time. Apparently she had a friend here in San Francisco that none of us knew about.”

“Really?”

“Well, maybe not all us. Apparently he spoke to her neighbor who said she saw a woman that looked like Noelle at this girl’s apartment a few days ago, but she had seen her there plenty of times before with a tall, blond, good-looking young man.”

Brian walked over to the kitchenette and poured a cup of coffee for himself. He looked at Howie and motioned to the pot, but Howie simply shook his head no. Walking slowly so as not to spill the coffee he made his way over to the table where Howie was sitting and took a seat across from him.

“So, this girl not only knew Noelle, but she also knew Nick.”

“It appears that way. The witness seems to be one of those nosy neighbors, an older lady with nothing better to do. She didn‘t know who Nick was, just a vague description.”

Brian took a sip of his coffee and thought for a moment before he asked the next question.

“Does he think this girl has something to do with her disappearance?”

“No. The older lady said that she showed up a few days ago, was here for a few hours, then the girl left and Noelle left not long afterwards with her bags. The lady said she seemed spooked, but she left alone. Then some guy showed up and waited inside the apartment until the girl got home. He left a few minutes later, and then the girl left early the next day with a bag and hasn’t been back since. The PI believes she may have caught a flight here.”

“What about Noelle? Does he think she caught a flight too? Just think, she could have been right here in the airport and we never knew. What does he suggest next?”

Howie looked at Brian and shrugged.

“He didn’t really say. He said he’d call back in a few hours. I guess we just wait.”

Brian let out a long sigh. Seems like they had been doing a lot of that lately.

Jenn made her way through the crowds at the airport. As much as she loved Hawaii, she definitely wasn’t looking forward to this trip.

She fished her cell phone out of her purse, turned it on, and dialed the familiar number.

“Yeah?” came the gruff voice after the second ring.

“I’m here. I decided to come early just in case.”

“Oh thank God!” The sudden outburst caught Jenn off guard.

“Dan, what’s wrong?”

“I need you here immediately. We have a potential problem. You’re going to have to make your presence known earlier than I’d hoped.”

A chill ran down Jenn’s spine. Something was seriously wrong here.

“Why? Has something happened to Elle?”

Dan let out a heavy sigh.

“Nope. She’s just decided to go out to dinner. A little place called ‘The Local Bar’.”

Jenn gasped and panic began to fill her.

“I’ll be right there.”

Noelle looked down at her plate and sighed. She’d finished off her entire meal and still felt fine. This relieved her to no end. She was worried that the stress was making the morning sickness worse, and that it would eventually cause a problem, but as of now she felt great.

She pulled some money out of her purse and laid it with the ticket on the table, placing the salt shaker on top of it to keep the wind from blowing it away. Then she stood up and stretched, deciding a walk down the beach would be heaven. It was almost completely dark now, but the moon was full and it cast enough light to see easily.

Slowly making her way down the beach towards her cottage she began to let her mind wander. She thought of a beautiful little boy with blond hair and blue eyes. She could just see him running in and out of the warm water, giggling, being chased by his father. His blond hair stuck to his head from the water and the sun glistening off his wet skin, he’d scoop the boy up and put him on his shoulders, then they would turn and wave at her.

She didn’t notice the tears slipping down her face, or the two sets of eyes watching her intently.

He had watched her through the open windows, the blond on the patio. He was sure he didn’t know her, but there was something so familiar about her that it made him long for home.

He took in a ragged breath, straightened his shoulders, and began to inventory the bar again. He would not think of home again. No matter how much he missed it, his family, his life… and her.

Dan glanced over at Jenn. She was watching Noelle so intently that he hoped he was doing the right thing by involving her in this. She wasn’t trained for this, but he hadn’t been the one to involve her in the first place. She had been drug into this long before he got there.

He was contemplating telling her to go home when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He reached into his jeans and pulled the phone out, sighing with relief when he saw the number on the screen.

“Yeah?”

“We’ve got it.”

“Everything?”

“Yep. We have all the sworn testimonies of the witnesses and they’ve all agreed to testify in court if needed. The DA is getting the warrant as we speak. We should have it in a few hours. Grab the girl and get back to the states. When this hit’s the air I don’t want her AWOL. Is Jenn there with you?”

Dan glanced over at her. They were walking down the beach, holding hands, playing the part so they could follow Noelle down the beach without being conspicuous.

“Yeah, she’s here. I’ll have her go over there tonight. Hopefully we can get a flight back tonight or tomorrow morning. You want us to fly into Florida?”

“No, go back to San Francisco. Mr. Dorough is still there trying to find her.”

“Got it. See ya soon.”

Dan flipped the phone shut and looked at Jenn.

“Looks like its time.”

Jenn’s eyes widened a bit and she nodded her head.

“This should be interesting.”

Noelle unlocked the door and stepped into the quiet little cottage. She looked around the room and sighed. Although she felt completely comfortable here, she was lonely. She absolutely hated being alone, but she’d done this to herself. If she had just had the nerve to tell Howie.

“He’s such a sweet and caring man, and he loves me. I’m sure he would understand. He may even be happy that a part of his best friend will live on.”

She giggled a little a shook her head.

“Dear lord, I’m talking to myself now. Am I crazy or what?”

Just then she felt a flutter, a slight movement, and reached under her shirt to pull out the pregnancy pillow she had put there as part of her disguise. She placed her open palm flat against her stomach to see if she could feel the baby, but it wasn’t strong enough yet.

She sighed and headed down the hall to the little bedroom. She glanced around at the pieces of white wicker furniture placed sparsely around the room. The comforter had big palm leaves all over it, and on the wall were the matching prints, two large palm leaves framed above the head board. Talking a deep breath she caught the scent of the salt water breeze blowing in through the open window and her mind began to replay a distant memory.

She glanced back over her shoulder through the open sliding glass doors to see Nick talking animatedly on the phone. He caught her watching and smirked, stopping her heart for a beat or two.

Turning her gaze back to the ocean she sighed. Could life get any better than this? They’d only been dating about six months, but so far everything was perfect. There was no other word for it. She couldn’t imagine being this happy with anyone else.

As his arms wrapped around her waist, she leaned back into his chest and smiled. He rested his chin on her head and she giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. I’m just happy. This place is amazing. I never imagined it would be this beautiful. Thank you for bring me here.”

“Well, you said you’d never been to Hawaii, so I thought it would be the perfect place for some relaxation, among other things.”

She turned to glance up at him. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she giggled.

“Why Mr. Carter, are you trying to seduce me?”

“Is it working?”

“Depends on what your offering.”

“How about a week with me with no interruptions.”

Noelle glanced up at Nick squinting her eyes and cocking one eyebrow questioningly.

“No interruptions? I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Nick’s grin grew into a huge smile.

“Well Brian knows where I am in case of an emergency, but no one else has a clue. And just to be sure…”

As his voice trailed off she watched him reach into his pocket and pull out his cell phone. He looked at it for a second and then tossed it over her head and the balcony. They both watch as it sailed through the air and landed in the ocean below.

“Now, as I was saying, no interruptions.”

Noelle was brought out of her thoughts by someone knocking at the door. A bit hesitantly she made her way back down the hall and into the living room. She opened the door and was shocked at what she saw.

“Jenn, what are you doing here?”

She glanced from Jenn to the man standing behind her, and then back to Jenn.

“Elle, there is something I need to tell you. Can we come in?”

Noelle stood frozen for a moment, then moved out of the way to let Jenn and her companion in. She watched as they both sat down on the couch, looking at each other nervously, but Jenn wasn’t the first to speak.

“Mrs. Dorough we need to get you back to California. Its not safe for you here. We’ll explain on the way, but you have to understand that staying here is not an option.”

Noelle sighed. She should have known that Howie would figure out where she went and track her down. She was just surprised he didn’t come himself. Maybe he thought he’d scare her off.

“I know it was stupid of me to run off like I did, but I needed time to think. I’ll call Howie and tell him I’m ok. I’m just not ready to head back. I have things I need to work out.”

Jenn stood up and walked over to Noelle pulling her into a hug.

“Oh Elle, if it were only that simple. You have to come back with us. We want you to call Howie, but not yet. We want you to wait until we make back to California. We need everything to work out right.”

Noelle stepped back and looked at Jenn.

“What are you talking about? What has to work out? Aren’t you here because Howie sent you?”

Jenn just shook her head no and turned to look at Dan.

“Mrs. Dorough, I promise we will explain as much as we can on the way, but we need you in the air now. Jenn has to make a stop and then she’ll meet us at the airport.”.

Jenn looked at Dan, and then nodded. She knew what she had to do. She turned to look at Noelle once more, then hugged her again and headed out the door.

Noelle looked at Dan and contemplated him for a minute. Did she trust him? Jenn certainly did, and she thought she could trust Jenn, but uncertainty in that was what landed her here.

Dan could tell she was wary, and he couldn’t blame her. It had to be scary having people track your every move. He always felt sorry for the people he had to protect.

Glancing once more towards the door where Jenn had just left, Noelle decided to ask Dan one question. His answer would determine if she left with him or not.

“I won’t leave with you until you answer one question. What is this really about? Its obvious that you aren’t working for Howie trying to find me, so make it a good answer. I won’t go with you unless I believe you.”

Dan watched her as her head slowly turned from the front door back to him. He knew he had one shot to make her understand she had to come with him. So he cut right to the chase.

“Nick Carter’s murder.”