"Bird!" Hisashi pointed through the kitchen window. "Feeeeenix."

He knew phoenix, flamingo, and toucan but struggled with crow. Damn Bradley and his exotic gifts. Since last month, my son had been obsessed with My Little Pony, and I wasn't quite sure what to do about that.

Linc was little help. "Maybe we could buy him a truck. One of those electric ones."

"He's not even two."

"It's never too early to learn."

And Linc spent a lot of time teaching him things. When I went back to school, he'd begun caring for Hisashi in the day, albeit with the help of a new nanny, or an au pair as Emmy called her seeing as she was from Europe. Despite Linc leaving Blackwood, we hadn't managed to escape its clutches completely, and our new assistant was the daughter of Blackwood Germany's regional head.

"She just wants to experience a different culture," Emmy had said when she first broached the subject, and having been in that position myself, I'd grudgingly agreed to the idea.

What Emmy had failed to mention was that Monique was a champion pistol shooter and spent her spare time kickboxing. I couldn't win them all.

The other reminder of Emmy's reach was the bodyguard who accompanied me whenever Linc wasn't by my side. True to her word, Emmy had toned their presence down a bit, but the newest recruit still looked stiff as he carried his violin case in one hand. Goodness only knew what he kept stashed away in there. Emmy promised he'd blend in quickly—apparently, he'd spent the last six months on tour with a rock band, and the peace and quiet unsettled him.

Speaking of violins, our ensemble had a new member. Sabine was a timid girl but played with a fiery passion she didn't show in other facets of her life. Best of all, she didn't exhibit any psychopathic tendencies and seemed content to practice with Jude and me twice a week.

"Are you ready to go, sweetheart?" Linc asked, appearing in the doorway with his keys in his hand. "I've put Hisashi's stuff in the car."

I couldn't wait. We'd decided to go hiking, and after days of rain, the weather gods had blessed us with brilliant sunshine. I took a last look around Linc's house to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. No, not Linc's house. Our house. We'd made it official last week when I handed back the keys to my old apartment. Ever since Jansen died there, it had given off bad vibes, a constant reminder of the pain of my past. After three months, I couldn't stand it any longer. I'd only lasted a month and a half before I let Linc back into my bed, and with the amount of time we spent together, it seemed pointless to keep two homes.

I'd worried about what the landlord might say, not only regarding the lease but the whole dead body issue, but Emmy confessed that her husband owned the property. An emergency purchase, she called it. See what I mean? I could never escape Blackwood's grasp.

At least a day in the hills gave us a welcome break from city life. Linc carried Hisashi while I took the bag with the picnic, and we found a wooden table in a clearing where we could eat lunch with nature. I hoped to teach Hisashi that animals didn't always come in pink, green, and orange.

"Do you want juice or water?" I asked Linc.

"Juice, and can you pass one of those biscuit things for Hisashi?"

I reached into the bag then froze as a twig cracked behind us. Linc heard it too and reached to the small of his back. I knew he had a gun there—Emmy insisted on it.

Over the past few months, we'd become our own therapists. I talked about my past, and confronting it became easier to handle. And after weeks of hesitation, Linc headed to the gun range with a buddy from Blackwood and faced the noise again. He'd shed more than a few tears that night, we both had, but the next week he went back. And the one after, and the one after that. We were both healing, slowly.

Now, I turned to look at the woods. "Do they have bears here?" I whispered.

"Nope."

"You think it's a deer?"

"Maybe. Or perhaps a lesser-spotted Blackwood employee."

I groaned. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Emmy just couldn't help herself. With Linc's experience in the field, he was far better at picking out the shadows than I was, and we'd grown used to it now.

"Look." He pointed to the sky above my head.

Just over the tree line, a black helicopter was visible for a second, and then it disappeared.

"At least we'll never get lost." I had to think positive. "All we'd have to do is wave our arms and half a dozen ninjas would pop out and point us in the right direction."

"But it does mean I can't lean you back over this table and kiss you senseless. I'm not giving them a show."

"Maybe we should head home soon?"

He grinned. "You can't get enough of me, can you?"

"Never."

Without any warning, he swept me off my feet and spun me around. "Right answer."

On a Sunday two months later, the doorbell interrupted breakfast, and I paused with the spoon halfway to Hisashi's mouth.

"Should I get that?" Monique asked.

She had her hands buried in a mixing bowl, making bread she said came from her grandma's special recipe. I'd peered at her ears carefully whenever she wasn't looking for the first few weeks, anxious to check for hidden communications. Thankfully, she came up clean.

"I'll go. It's only Sabine. We arranged to practise before the concert tomorrow."

It would be our first important test, so much bigger than a recital, and we'd be playing one of Beethoven's pieces as a duo. I fed the spoonful to Hisashi then went to open the door, remembering to check the peephole first. I'd learned my lesson there.

Sabine averted her eyes, shy as ever. "I brought fresh croissants."

Croissants, a piano, a perfect son, and Linc riding up and down shirtless on the mower in the backyard. What more could a girl want?

I gave Sabine a quick hug. With Linc's help, I was gradually getting over my fear of touching people, starting small at first.

"Ready to begin?"

"Sure."

We'd played through our piece three times when her phone beeped with a message. Although she carried on, her eyes kept flicking to the screen.

"Oh, just look at it. Is it from him?"

She put down her bow and tapped the screen. "Yes. Again."

Jude messaged at least twice a day. Even though he'd flown back to England to attend his cousin's wedding in rural Berkshire, he was still thinking of her. Ever since he'd asked her out on a date—just three days after she joined Holborn—and she'd told him she wasn't into party animals, he'd tried to change. More cello, less karaoke. It showed in his playing and his attitude. And although she kept turning him down, Sabine liked him too. I could tell.

"Are you going to put him out of his misery yet?"

She smiled her shy smile. "I'm considering it."

"Please say yes. If I eat any more of the chocolates he keeps bringing you, I won't fit into my clothes."

"Okay, okay. I'll—" The doorbell rang, another interruption.

"I'll get it." Linc walked through the music room, wiping his hands on a cloth, and I completely lost my place. I gave up trying to play entirely when he came back.

"Look who came to visit."

"Heard you were playing in a big concert tomorrow, so we thought we'd stop by to see if you need any moral support. How's things?"

Emmy sat on the sofa and crossed her ankles, and Sofia dropped down beside her, while Sabine put her violin back on its stand and perched next to me.

Moral support? They'd probably toss anyone who didn't applaud out onto the sidewalk. "That sounds lovely. Would you like something to drink?"

"Why not?"

Monique appeared in the doorway. "I'll make coffee."

Emmy was her usual evasive self while Sofia stayed quiet. She did take Hisashi on her lap for a few minutes, and he seemed to have forgiven her for the poking episode. I couldn't help wondering who the real Sofia was—the sweet girl who lived with me, the cold monster who shot Jansen, or the almost mute woman sitting next to Emmy. One woman, three different faces.

I didn't get to the bottom of the puzzle that day and suspected I never would. One drink later, they got to their feet, and Emmy drew a package from her purse.

"Bradley sent a gift."

"Will you thank him for me?"

"Sure. Or you could call him. He loves to talk to you."

I still struggled with this socialising thing, although I was getting better. A new couple had moved in across the street last week, and when they came over to introduce themselves, I'd invited them to our place for a barbecue. Baby steps.

"Okay, I'll call."

She leaned in for another hug, followed by Sofia, who wrapped her arms around me awkwardly. Her new demeanour was a far cry from the old, and I still couldn't quite believe who—or rather, what—she'd turned out to be. A cold-blooded freaking killer. If she ever decided to change career, there was an Oscar waiting with her name on it.

"See you tomorrow." Emmy stood on tiptoe and waved at Linc, then walked out the door.

Wait. What? I blinked a couple of times, unsure whether my eyes were playing tricks on me. Why had Sofia just winked at Sabine?