“I’m going alone,” Karen explained to Hauck.

They met for coffee again at Arcadia in town. Karen told him how Charlie had contacted her at last, and about his instructions. “He said just me. That was the deal I made. I’ve got to do it, Ty.”

“No. You’re not.” He put down his coffee and shook his head. “That doesn’t fly, Karen. You don’t have any idea who else he may be involved with. There’s no way I’m going to let you put yourself at risk.”

“That’s the deal, Ty. I agreed.”

“Karen.” Hauck leaned in close, lowering his voice so people at the nearby tables wouldn’t hear. “This man walked away from you and your family. You know precisely what he’s done. You also know what he has to protect. This is dangerous, Karen. This isn’t some high-school stunt. You told Charlie exactly what you’d uncovered about him. People have died. No way in hell would I let you go down there alone.”

“You don’t have to remind me what the stakes are, Ty.” Karen’s voice was strained, and growing louder. She looked at him pleadingly. “When I came to you, I trusted you. I told you things I could never tell anyone else.”

“I think I’ve earned that trust, Karen.”

“Yes.” Karen nodded. “I know you have. But now you have to trust me just a little, too. I’m going,” she said, her eyes lucid, unwavering. “This is my husband, Ty. I know him, whatever it may seem. And I know he would never harm me. I told him yes, Ty. I’m not going to lose this chance.”

Hauck exhaled a deep breath, his stern gaze reflecting his resistance. He could stop her, he knew. He could blow the whole thing wide open today. Take the heat he had brought upon himself. But this was what he’d always promised her. From the beginning. To find Charles. And as he ran through his remaining options, he realized that in many ways he was already in too deep.

“It has to be somewhere very public,” he said finally. “I have to be able to watch out for you. That’s the only way.”

She widened her eyes. “Ty…”

“That’s not negotiable, Karen. If the situation seems safe once we know all the details, you can go see him. Alone. I give you my word. But I’m going to be around. That’s the deal.”

Karen’s face carried an admonition. “You can’t use me to get to him, Ty. You have to promise.”

“You think I’m going down there to arrest him, Karen? What do you think, I’m going to call in Interpol and set up a sting like on Miami Vice?” He fixed on her. “The reason I’m going there is that I’m probably in love with you, Karen—don’t you understand that?—or something pretty damn close. I’m going there because there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you get in over your head and get yourself killed.”

The look in his eyes was determined and unbending. The shining blue in them had hardened into more of an intractable gray resolve. For a while the two of them just sat there, Hauck bristling.

Then slowly Karen smiled. “You said ‘probably.’”

“Yeah, probably.” Hauck nodded. “And while I’m at it, probably a little jealous, too.”

“Of Charles?”

“Of eighteen years, Karen. This is the person you built your life with, whatever the hell he’s done.”

“That part is over, Ty.”

“I don’t know what’s over.” He looked away for a second, then sucked in a frustrated breath. “Anyway, I said it, stupid as it sounded, what the hell.”

Karen reached over to his hand. She pressed his palm inside both of hers, massaging the soft cushions. Eventually he met her eyes.

“You know, I probably love you, too.” She shrugged. “Or something close.”

“I’m overwhelmed.”

“But if we do this, Ty, we can’t do it like that. Please. This is the most important thing for me now. That’s why I’m going down there. Afterward…” Karen pressed her thumb into his palm. “Afterward we’ll see. Is that a deal?”

He wrapped his pinkie around hers and granted his reluctant agreement. “Do you know this place?”

“The St. James Club? We were there once. We pulled in at the dock for lunch.” She saw his concern. “It’s like in Condé Nast Traveler, Ty. It’s not exactly the setting for an ambush.”

“So when do you go?”

“We go, Ty. We. Tomorrow,” Karen said. “I already booked the tickets.”

“Tickets?”

“Yeah, Ty, tickets.” Karen grinned. “You honestly think I thought you’d ever let me go down there on my own?”