"You can't rush into this," Theo told her. His phone kept ringing but he ignored it.

"Aren't you going to go to the meeting?" she asked, her eyes on his phone. "I don't think I want to go to the auction after all so I'll just stay here."

"That's exactly what we are going to do. We stay here and plan this through."

"Theo, you don't have to miss the meeting—"

"And leave you here to think the most ridiculous plans?" he retorted.

"The underground must know about Khaye's appearance by now and you have to be there to—"

"They are not going to touch her. She has gone public and I bet everything I have that it's what they have planned this. Having people's eyes on her will keep her alive."

"I know that. But do they know that you guys also have people—"

"That's why we need to plan this one out perfectly. My father will have people looking and watching. Not just Khaye but also anyone who might attempt to approach her. They don't care who killed Jamaica. What they care about is how much Khaye knows about the underground."

"We have to warn her—"

"There's no cause for concern right now. She's having the best protection right now."

"But what if it fades? Surely the press will turn to the next big story out there and she will be left unguarded. She needs to—"

"As I said, we'll plan this right," he firmly said. "If she has valuable information that will help us catch Jamaica's killer, she won't give it right away. Remember, you went missing. And she is likely to think of you as a suspect just like everyone else. She may know the killer, she may not."

Desiree took a shuddering breath. "Okay. Okay. We'll do this the right way."

"Patience, Des."

She shot him a look. "I am being patient."

"You want run out the door and find Khaye right now."

"Fine. I'll be patient."

He nodded and picked up his phone. "I'll call Richard. We'll need to make sure he doesn't go to her before you do."

*****

"Are you okay?" Marco asked her. They were driving back to the city, leaving behind the traces of any life she spent in the small town for four months. Everything she managed to collect was left behind. She sent her friend a message that she was going home. And she was. And she wasn't sure what was waiting for her there.

"I've been worse," she answered his question.

"It's going to be alright, Khaye. You're still alive, aren't you?"

She just nodded.

"Where do you want to go home to?"

Her first instinct was to say she wanted to go where he was going home. But that would only mean they were in the same situation like four months ago.

If she was going to do this, she would do this right.

"My father's home has been unoccupied for years. I can go back there. I still have some stuff left at the old place."

"I'll stay with you tonight."

She shook her head. "No. I want to be alone tonight, Marco." She said it rather too sharply. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow," she added with a small smile.

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow."

A long silence followed.

"Thank you. If I get through this, I owe it all to you."

A weird look crossed his face but he quickly covered it with a smile. "You'll get through this. And you'll get your old life back."

All she could do was nod.

*****

Richard's sources said that the murder case was about to get closed.

"Then why the hell would they let her go public?" asked Theo.

"Because that's what she eventually has to do," Desiree uttered quietly. She looked up and stared at the two brothers. "If she wants her life back, she has no other choice but to do it. And if this publicity offers protection, it was right for her to do it in such a grand manner."

"What does the underground think?" Theo asked his brother.

"They're not saying much. They all know that if they make a move, things can very well turn to our direction. Majority of the votes say that we just step back and watch. The woman might not know a lot about us. And it is obvious that she doesn't know who the killer is. If she does, words would have leaked out already."

"But she was there the night Jamaica died. She must know something," Deisree insisted.

"And we'll find out what in time," Theo told her. "We have to know what she knows first."

Richard was silent for a while, his face hesitant. But he finally couldn't help it and he said, "They must have done it to bring you out," he said to Desiree.

Her heart stopped beating for a moment. "What?"

"You are fucking missing, Desiree. They've been looking for you. This might be a ruse to make you come out."

Theo was silent but he was clenching his jaw. Desiree knew he agreed with Richard.

"I will not come out unless I have strong evidence to clear my name. That's why we need to get to Khaye."

"We already talked about how we are going to do that."

"Right. Wait for the commotion to subside. Wait until she gets back on track. Wait until what? One of the people underground—the killer—to strike again?"

"We understand your—" Richard started but Desiree shot to her feet and glared at him.

"You don't understand. My friend has been murdered and the killer is out there. Don't you guys fucking want to know who did it? It can be anyone you know underground!"

"Jamaica betrayed the organization," Richard said stonily. "If I can speak for the majority of the people underground, I'll say she should have seen it coming." He looked angry and Desiree was certain that anger was directed toward Jamaica.

"Calm down, Des," Theo told her. "We want this murder case over as much as you do. We can't have the authorities looking into the organization."

"But you are not going to stop that by killing Khaye. Not over my dead body."

"We didn't say that."

"I didn't say you will. I said the killer will."

Theo closed his eyes to compose himself. "You've had a long day. We can't do anything right now but wait for the perfect time to make our move."

*****

The very next day, Khaye received hundreds of messages from people all over the country wanting to get her for an interview.

The first person she contacted was her agent.

"Right about time, Khaye," the man boomed into her ear. "Before you say anything, I want to ask: are you fucking alright?"

She smiled. "Yes. I guess I am alright. And alive."

"Good. Because we have a lot to do right now."

She groaned. She didn't feel ready. But she could already see her life returning to normal. Not all of a sudden, but slowly. If she could get through this whole mess, she would be alright.

"I'm glad you finally picked up a phone to call me because I have a lot of things to say," her agent said. "Should I go over there or are you going over here?"

She wasn't ready to go out yet so she told him he should come to her father's house.

"Stay safe and alive while I get there, honey."

"Yes, Thomas. I will."

As she waited for Thomas, she prepared herself some coffee and walked to stand in front of the window overlooking her father's unkempt lawn. It was brave of her to do so. But she was getting bold. She survived a night without someone breaking into the house to kill her. She could very well survive the day standing in front of the window for everyone to see.

Thoughts of Jamaica floated in the air.

I'm sorry, she whispered. She couldn't do a lot now, could she? The case was being closed. It would be what the people from the Liaisons wanted. And Petroff was gone. Whatever happened to him, Khaye hoped he stayed gone.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't be replaced by someone from the same organization.

Well, fuck them all, she thought. The Liaisons could all fuck themselves because Khaye was going to live her life the way she wanted.

If they wanted her gone because she might spill the truth about them, so be it.

She was going to live.

*****

Marco faced his superior's angry outbursts the very next morning.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!"

"I had to do it," he said.

"The case is going to be closed. And now everyone is talking about it again because of you! Do you know how many calls we've received since you brought that girl in front of the press? And do you know how stupid we sounded because we couldn't give them anything strong? What the fuck were you thinking?!"

She just clenched his jaw. "It was for her," he said. It was not completely a lie. "She needs to get out in public anyway."

"Well, fucking good for her!"

"Sir, if you don't have anything to say, I should go back to my work. You gave me another assignment."

The man looked like he was about to shoot Marco in the face but he grunted instead, a sign that their conversation was over.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Khaye was okay and safe where she was yesterday!" Gian hissed close to his ear the moment he stepped out of the chief's door.

Marco stopped and stared at his partner. "Where were you when she was running for her life? And where were you when she was finally safe? Nowhere," he bit out strongly. "You don't have any say on this as far as I am concerned, Gian." He pushed his way forward and stopped. "Or maybe you do if you think Khaye should stay...gone."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." And then he walked off.

"Whatever you are planning, you are making a big mistake, Marco."

Marco kept walking. Petroff was gone and Gian wouldn't be able to make a move without him if he was working with the Liaisons.

He couldn't tell anyone about his plans.

He couldn't tell anyone he was waiting for someone.

He checked his phone, reading a report. Khaye just called her agent and he was on his way to her house.

Then he checked his computer and his brows rose in surprise. It a series of photos from one of the men he hired to keep track on Richard Karlsson. And he was looking at Richard Karlsson himself. The first photo was of him getting inside a restaurant; and another exiting the same place; and another that of a woman outside the same door; and another of a car picking up the woman from the same place.

Marco thought he might not need to wait for Desiree to call Khaye after all.

*****

One week later, Desiree was desperate.

It had just been made known that Kane would take over Petroff's position. The man was considered dead by everyone.

"If she is the killer, she can get to Khaye without rousing suspicion," she insisted to Theo. "Have you seen the papers? Have you checked online? Khaye's face is everywhere. I just saw a fucking magazine with her on the cover! She's back in the agency, Theo. Kane can get to her anytime."

Theo took her hand and squeezed it. "We'll get to Khaye just in time."

"When?"

"I had someone get her number. But her phones could be tapped by the authorities. We have to be very careful."

"I can speak to her. If she knows it's me, she'll talk to me."

He was shaking his head. "No. You can't go out there. Not yet. Not when all eyes are everywhere."

She knew he was right. "I'll trust you on this, Theo. But if you can give me any means to get in touch with her, I'll find my own way."

"I know. That's why I am doing my fucking best, Des."

She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand. "Okay. Okay. Just do it fast."

*****

"It feels like I am almost back to my old life," Khaye told Marco that night. "It had just been one week since I came back and three days since I went back to work."

"But?" he urged, looking at her in the darkness of her bedroom.

"But I also feel like I'm new. I don't know. I don't feel like my old self at times."

"Maybe it is a good thing."

She drew out a shaky breath. "Well, I sure hope it is a good thing," she said, her voice growing sleepy.

They never talked about Jamaica. Khaye would still shake at the memories of the months before. Maybe she'd have to deal with that soon, but not now. And Marco was trying his best to let her deal with everything the way she thought how.

He drew her closer to him, their bodies cool from sweat. "You're safe. You got your life back. You feel new. That's a good thing," he whispered against the top of her head.

She did not answer. She was falling asleep.

Marco looked down at her, deep in thought.

It had been one week. No call from Desiree yet. And no signs of Karlsson either.

He'd wait. He'd wait forever if he had to.