“Put your stuff in the rooms on the right down the hall and come back so I can brief you.” Dante nodded to the hallway. Dean and John both picked up their bags.

Dante sat down with Laurie in front of the TV. She stared up at him, smiling. Dante held her hand for the few minutes he knew he had, silently mourning the hour or two alone with her. He ran his thumb over her palm a few times, then gave her hand a squeeze. He let go of it when he heard footsteps coming back down the hall.

“All right, boss. We’re ready for the download.” Dean bounded into the living room.

“Kitchen.” Dante jerked his head in that direction. He looked at Laurie. “Please stay here until we’re finished.”

“Okay, okay. I will.” Laurie shot daggers at him with her eyes.

Dante smiled in spite of himself as he headed into the kitchen. Dean and John were sitting at the kitchen table waiting on him. He briefed them on Kaimi’s kidnapping job, Laurie’s encounter with him, and everything that had happened with Laurie since he took her into protective custody. Well, almost everything.

“Damn, she’s been attacked twice already? God, he really wants her dead.” John shook his head.

“He should. No one’s ever been able to place him in direct connection to a crime. Once we find him, Laurie’s testimony will put him out of work for a long, long time.” Dante ran his hand over Laurie’s file folder. “Now—some ground rules. Given the severity of the situation, Laurie goes nowhere without us. Rick gave us permission to take her out hiking while we were at Hilo, but after last night, that’s no longer an option I’m willing to take. Laurie knows this. She knows she can’t have contact with any family members or friends unless it’s through me.”

“Mob wives have had more freedom than that. No wonder she doesn’t want to listen to you.” Dean took a sip of his soda, grinning at Dante over the rim.

“She’s doing just fine with it.” Dante glared. “I will want you two to get some sleep. I’m putting you both on night shift, since I won’t know this Marshal from California, or how much experience he’ll have. I want perimeter sweeps every half-hour, equipment checks every day. I want you both to keep your bags packed at all times, so we can move at a moment’s notice. If anything happens—anything—the first priority is to get Laurie somewhere safe. Is that clear?”

They nodded.

“Good. One more thing.” Dante took a breath and lowered his voice. “Laurie has a problem with nightmares. She might seem steady, even content, during the day, but by night, it’s a different story. You might hear her call out for help or to me directly. I’m in the room next to her. I’ll deal with it. She’s used to me waking her up from the nightmare. I don’t want anyone she’s not familiar with doing it. Understood?”

They nodded, the two men exchanging solemn glances.

“Good. Get some rest. You take over for me at 10:00 p.m.”

“What about dinner?” John looked alarmed. “We haven’t eaten yet.”

“Right. Yeah, Laurie and I got groceries earlier. Fix whatever you want and we’ll eat later.” Dante got up from the table.

Dean grinned, opening his mouth to say something, but Dante folded his arms. Dean kept ginning but thought better of his comment.

Satisfied, Dante turned and went into the living room.

“See, I do follow directions.” Laurie gave him a look of feigned innocence as he sat down beside her.

“Picking and choosing which directions to follow doesn’t count as following directions.” He turned on his laptop.

“Have you worked with these men before?” Laurie lowered her voice.

“Yeah, I have. John and I entered the Marshals Service together. Dean has been in for about two years. They’re good men.” He watched her fidget with the remote and waited.

“Are they married? Do they have kids?” She studied the remote.

Dante leaned back into the sofa, looking at her. He wished he could hold her hand, but he knew he couldn’t.

“They’re not David, Laurie.”

She looked up at him, sadness sweeping her expression.

“All of these men have families of some kind. They’re all highly trained. They know the risks.”

Laurie nodded. She looked away and went back to fidgeting with the remote.

Dante studied her for a few minutes. Then he turned back to his computer.

“Dante?”

“Yeah?” He looked back to her.

“Have you talked to Cheyn yet? Or Max?”

“No, I haven’t. Why don’t we call them and see how they’re doing?”

“Yes, I’d like to do that.”

“Okay.” He gave her leg a squeeze right above the knee.

He pulled out his cell phone, dialing one of the numbers Rick had e-mailed to him earlier. The phone rang and rang, but no one picked up. He left a message. He tried the other one, with the same result. Laurie went back to studying the remote.

“They probably took them for tests, or they might be sleeping. We’ll call again tomorrow, if they don’t call us back first.” He squeezed her leg again.

She nodded, turning back to the mindless TV show.

Dante watched her for a minute. He wished he could comfort her, put his arm around her, something. But he didn’t dare. He dashed off an e-mail to Rick, asking about Cheyn and Max. If he had lost another team member due to complications or problems, he didn’t know what he would do.

He started working on his report just as John and Dean finished dinner and wandered into the living room. John sat down on the arm of the sofa right next to Laurie. Dean flopped down on the chair next to her. Laurie didn’t seem to notice, she was lost in her own thoughts, but Dante clenched his jaw. He stopped typing and began tapping the top of the laptop with his index finger.

“So what do you like to do during the day, Laurie? Play card games? Watch movies?” John bent over her with a smile.

“Oh, I read or watch TV, sometimes we watch movies.” Laurie looked up at him, but she didn’t smile back.

“I can teach you poker. We taught our last witness poker. He kind of got a little too good at it, but we can teach you.” Dean leaned forward until he brushed against her knee.

Dante felt the muscles in his neck and shoulders tighten.

“Maybe.” Laurie shrugged.

“What kind of books do you like to read?” John clasped his hands in his lap.

“Well, I’ve almost finished my law degree, so I read books related to that, but I’ll read almost anything.” Laurie shifted away from John and Dean.

“Wow, law school. We have a very smart woman here gentleman.” John tapped her on her shoulder.

Laurie gave him a half-smile.

“Didn’t I tell you two you were starting a shift in a few hours? What happened to getting some sleep?” Dante interrupted.

“Come on, Dante, you know I don’t need much sleep. I can stay up for hours, no problem.” Dean winked at Laurie.

“I had two team members on last night who thought the same thing, and they both ended up in the hospital. Now, I need you both alert tonight. I’m not joking. Go get some sleep. Now.” Dante gripped the pillow next to him to keep him from launching out of his seat.

“All right, all right, boss. We’re going!” Dean got up.

John stared at Dante, not moving. Dante stared back. Neither budged for a minute. Then John gave up and slowly got to his feet. He walked out of the living room, disappearing into the hallway.

“That was a little harsh.” Laurie turned to him. Dante looked at her.

“I don’t have the luxury of being lenient anymore.”

Laurie lowered her gaze, staring at the remote again. Her cheeks were pale, a frown creased her forehead and the corners of her mouth. She poked at the remote buttons with her long, slender fingers. Dante sighed.

“Why don’t we fix dinner?” He forced a smile. “We can make that tomato sauce you wanted to try.”

Laurie’s gazed flicked up to meet his. She considered him for a moment, then put the remote down on the coffee table.