The nanny Anna had hired to watch over Ronnie whenever she wanted to go to town was running late today, and Anna was beginning to get worried. She stood in the kitchen, making Ronnie's food and constantly peering into the walkway. When there was no evidence to suggest she would be at her house any moment from now, she decided to give her more time.

Focusing on the icing she was applying to Ronnie's cake, she tried to push aside the scenes from earlier in the morning. She had stopped herself from imagining how Ethan had handled the men in her absence. In any way, she was glad Ronnie hadn't witnessed any of the dreadful events. After she had made the nine-one-one call, she took Ronnie to her next-door neighbor's house and while he spent the time playing with his friends, she narrated what had happened to the cops.

The local cops took down her statement and gave her a card to call if the fugitive showed up, which she had discarded. Now more than ever she was convinced Ethan was innocent and all the accusations against him were false. When the men Ethan knocked out came into consciousness, the cops cuffed them and took them to the nearest station.

Following Ethan's advice to relocate, at least after everything had been settled, of fear that Clinton might send men after her, she called her husband and shared her plans to spend some time with her parents in D.C., which he had approved.

She had packed Ronnie's belongings and hers with the plan that they'd be leaving first thing tomorrow morning. She stared at the cake she had beautifully designed for Ronnie. She walked to the fridge, picked a bottle of water, and started sipping. The nanny should be in the house any moment from now.

Deciding that if the nanny didn't show up within ten minutes she'd call her, she left the kitchen and joined Ronnie in the living room. He was engrossed in one of his favorite cartoons that he didn't notice her presence. Two minutes elapsed before she heard a knock on the door. Placing the person to be the nanny, she hurried to the door but didn't open it immediately.

She looked into the peephole to confirm it was her. Satisfied with the image she saw, she unlatched the door and let her inside.

"Hi, Anna," she said happily.

"Hi. What took you so long?"

She began to walk back into the living room while the nanny explained her reason for the tardiness. Since it wasn't her habit, she didn't scold her. They entered the living room and Anna announced Dorine's presence. Quickly, Ronnie jumped from the couch, ran toward the woman, exclaiming her name, "Aunt Dorine!" and hopped into her arms before a second ticked.

Dorine carried him and stroked his hair. He said, "Guess what!"

"You did the work I gave you the last time."

He shook his head swiftly, then excitedly he said, "Daddy was here. He fed me breakfast. Then we played catch-me-if-you-can."

Dorine's face beamed. "Really?"

He nodded, then added, "Daddy went to hide in the closet and I caught him!" He started laughing and Dorine joined him, following Anna to the kitchen while she gave out instructions. Anna stopped by the fridge.

"His food is in there. When he's hungry, microwave it for him." She fingered the cake she had prepared. "And if he eats his food give him the cake." Then putting more emphasis on her statement, she said, "Only when he eats his food."

Dorine pulled a teasing face at him. "I will make sure of that."

Anna walked to her, took Ronnie from her arms, and shooed him away. When he wasn't within earshot, she neared Dorine and said in whispers. "I don't mean to freak you out, but you have to know what happened in the morning."

Dorine looked startled. Anna smiled warmly at her, assuring her there was no need to get tensed up and that all she required of her was to not let her guard down. She liked the nanny because she was neither too authoritative nor too lenient with her son. But right now, those weren't only the qualities she expected from her, especially now that she anticipated danger to be lurking around the house.

She walked her through the incident that occurred in the morning. Anna hadn't done that to scare her. She wanted her to know what she was up against babysitting Ronnie. It hurt her that her normal life had changed. Two days ago, she wouldn't have been thinking about her life being in danger.

She looked concerningly at her. "I've locked all the doors. When I'm out, lock the front door and don't open it for anyone. I'm not going to take long. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She nodded, but her facial expression said otherwise. Stepping backward, she opened a drawer and brought out the gun Ethan had given her. At the sight, Dorine became fazed and almost recoiled from her.

Anna glanced dubiously at her, said, "Can you do this?" and immediately added, "Or maybe you should get the things for me from the supermarket?"

Hastily she said, "That's better. I've not handled a gun before and I'm afraid-" Her voice trailed away.

Anna understood her fear. She patted her shoulder. "It's all right. Let me jot down the things. Get Ronnie."

With a nod, she left the kitchen. Anna replaced the gun and fetched the notepad and pen from the cabinet. She started jotting down the things she had intended to get from the market. She was halfway through the list and Dorine hadn't shown.

"Dorine!" she called out to her from the table she was crouched over and writing in the notepad.

No one responded and she assumed she was playing with Ronnie. She tore the sheet from the notepad and strode into the living room, her eyes glued to the sheet and counting the items she'd written down.

"Dorine!"

Still no response.

She lifted her head from the sheet and when she saw that the couch was empty, but the TV was on and Ronnie's favorite cartoon was still being played, she gulped hard. Adrenaline surged and she started hyperventilating. Throwing the sheet of paper somewhere, she ran into the kitchen, grabbed the gun, and retraced her steps into the living room.

Counting each step she took, Anna skittered into the short hallway that led to the front entrance. The door was left ajar, and she saw trails of footprints leading to the porch and onto the driveway. Anna dashed out of the house and in the driveway, she found Ronnie's Superman toy. She had to assume the worst. Ronnie was gone. And Dorine too.

She started screaming Ronnie's name and Dorine's, but stopped when she heard the telephone ringing in the room. She ran back into the house and picked the telephone sitting on the table in the lobby.

Tucking the gun under her armpit, she clamped the phone to her ear and trying not to burst into tears, said, "Hello!"

"We talk again, Anna Hunt."

Her mouth slowly uttered the name. "Clinton?"

"That's correct."

She burst into uncontrollable tears. "Please. I'm begging you. Don't hurt them. They're innocent. I'll do anything. . .just name it."

"You know what I want."

She knew all too well who he was referring to so she said, "Ethan's out of my life. He's never coming back."

"Ethan has taken something of mine. Something that shouldn't get out and he plans on using it to destroy me."

Anna dropped the gun, pushed her hair backward with a lot of force, and cried. "Please, Clinton. Let them go. I'm begging you. Please."

Her plea for Clinton to release them was taken with a pinch of salt. Sniffling loudly, she tried to connect the dots. If Clinton had abducted Ronnie and his nanny and Ethan had something of his, then this could only mean one thing. Right now she was certain Clinton wouldn't hurt Ronnie because he was leverage. But she didn't know that for Dorine. She prayed he wouldn't harm her.

"You want to trade?"

"Exactly. I like your instincts."

She wondered how a sane person could abduct an eight-year-old child and his nanny right from their home and exploit them so cunningly. Then she realized Clinton wasn't sane.

"I need to speak with Ethan. It's urgent and since he's so good at hiding, I can't. Here's the deal."

Anna stopped pacing and listened. She had ceased the crying too because she didn't think that would bring Ronnie back or touch Clinton's heart to release his hostages. Only if he had a heart at all.

"Tell Ethan I'm giving him until sundown. If he doesn't call me, I will have no other choice but to kill the boy and the nanny. Am I clear?"

She thought he was bluffing, but then she told herself she was speaking with a psychopath.

"Very."

#. #. #

It was the first whirr of a car that caught her attention. Deciding that she wanted to finish painting her nails before she checked if she had a visitor, Jane spent the next three minutes grooming her nails. The person outside her house kept blowing the horn that her ears wanted to split.

After placing the person to be her ex-husband whom she had told she wanted nothing to do with anymore, Jane sprang up from the large bed in her room and, constantly cursing Edwin for ruining her therapeutic moment, walked to the windows, then pulled back the curtains.

There in the driveway sat a sleek SUV that was glittering in the sun. Hell no! Edwin doesn't ride expensive cars. Perhaps he had recently bought it and wanting to impress her, he had brought it straight to her house. The prospect of that made her smirk.

It shocked her that Edwin still didn't have the decency to leave her alone and was always flirting with her like she was his new crush. Jane left the window, got downstairs, passed through rooms, and tied straps on her nightgown before finally, she got to the porch.

She lifted a hand in the air for him to know she had acknowledged him, and that he could step out of his new car and suit himself into the house. But when nothing happened in the next three seconds, her curiosity heightened.

She took her first step onto the cold ground, but didn't land when a hand ceased her body, attempting to pull her backward. Instincts told her to fight back, but after the person spoke, she stopped and was dumbstruck.

"It's me."

She turned around and looked agape at him. "Ethan?"

After she let everything sink in, she chidingly said, "What are you doing here and why are you being all sneaky?" She placed a palm across her chest. "You scared the crap out of me."

"I didn't want you calling the cops."

She scoffed. "Then someone in this hood will definitely do. My neighbors have keen eyes. Let's go inside."

Ethan followed Jane into the comfortable ambiance of the house, taking in the plain paintings of the wall, the heavy portraits of silhouetted items, and the beautiful scenery. When they entered the living room, he said, "Nice place you've got out here."

"Thanks."

Pulling her massive hair backward, she neared him. "Can I get you anything?" Then in a tone not too harsh, said, "You look like hell. What're you up to? The news. . . the kidnap of a judge. . ." She let her voice trail away.

"They're not true."

"Except for the second part. Why did you kidnap Judge Terry? What were you thinking?" She started walking toward the kitchen and he trailed behind her.

"I didn't hurt her if that's why you're saying that."

"I know, Ethan. You couldn't even kill a fly as a child, much less hurt a human."

She fixed coffee for him, knowing that was his favorite and the appropriate beverage for the cold weather. Smiling wistfully, she gave him the mug and said, "I'm just worried about you. That's all."

He was as well worried for himself. Now that he had evidence to prove he was framed, he prayed everything would be executed as planned with the hopes that his framers wouldn't try a dangerous move against him. He took the mug, thanked her, and started sipping.

"Why are you here exactly? I'm not so sure you came for a friendly visit."

Ethan stared at his childhood friend and thought again for the hundredth time if dragging Jane into this mess was a wise idea. He'd die if she winded up hurt or dead like his friends. That's the main reason he'd sneaked into her house and not appeared formally. Just in case someone was spying on her after they had figured out his relationship with her. Coming to Jane for assistance was a decision he had taken hours to make and act on.

He placed the mug on the table.

"I need your help."

"I'm all ears."

Following her back into the living room, Ethan asked her if she could sell a story for him.

She replied hastily, "Of course, yes. As long as it's intriguing." She looked at him, sat down, and grinned. "Consumers love something intriguing."

Jane had taken this very lightly and Ethan got cold feet. His best friend was carefree, full of humor, and very good at her job. But he was afraid she might not be able to handle this one.

"I'm not trying to garner attention, Jane. I'm trying to expose two dangerous men in power and possibly a Russian Mafia."

Her facial expression changed and he could detect fright in her black eyes which she quickly hid from him. "All the better for me. A story like that will get me somewhere."

"And put your life at risk too. Can you do this?"

"Yes."

"People have died because of this. Friends, colleagues, innocent people. . . I don't want you getting hurt."

She glanced at him, pulled her fingers forward, and took his. "You remember when we were kids and I get so scared at night at your place?"

He remembered everything they'd done during their childhood days. From climbing the wall of an old man who lived in their neighborhood and smashing his windows with stones just because he resembled a bad guy in one of their movies, to assaulting bullies in school, Ethan remembered every single bit of those memories.

He nodded and she said, "You used to tell me everyone's got fears and admitting them isn't weakness. You also said at some moments we'd need someone to help us."

Did he? Those were sagacious words. Even as a kid, he had been wise. He wondered what Jane was driving at.

"Your point?"

"You helped me when we were children and right now, I'll help you when you need me. I'm doing this, and you're not talking me out." Smiling ruefully, she said, "What have you got?"

If it had been the other way round, he would have wholeheartedly helped her too. He walked her through the horror of the events. From getting the phone call that brought about this mess, to kidnapping Judge Terry, taking Eleanor as leverage and finally getting access to the evidence.

Jane listened with rapt attention. For a carefree person, she seemed to be caring profoundly. Halfway through their conversation, Ethan's phone rang. He answered the call, and said, "Dan, how are you? I was worried sick about you."

"I'm fine."

He sensed the fraught in his voice. "You don't sound fine. We need to talk, but not on this phone. Shelby Willet must be listening -"

"No, Ethan."

"No?"

"Something happened. You've got to come down to my place right away."

After everything he'd experienced, he knew under coercion, people were made to say things against their will. Perhaps, someone had taken his friend at gunpoint and lured him into a trap. He said anxiously, "Dan, are you all right?" He lowered his voice. "Is somebody with you?"

The voice that materialized on the line wasn't Dan's. "Ethan?"

"Anna? Why. . .are-"

She cut him off and in tears said, "Clinton," then cried before she added, "he's got Ronnie."