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Georgia where he was stationed at the base and one in Spartanburg.”
    He looked at the clock. “It’s too late to call today—they’re closed. We’ll try first thing in the morning.”
    â€œOkay.” Out of habit, she touched the spot below her throat where the locket usually rested. Ian was looking at her hand. She followed his gaze, wondering if she had dirt or something on it. “What?”
    â€œHuh?” His eyes snapped up to hers.
    â€œYou’ve got a funny look on your face. What?”
    He reached out and took her hand in his. Heat zipped through her arm and up into her neck. Why did he affect her so? She focused on his words. “You’re not wearing your ring.”
    Gina snatched her hand away and clasped it with her other. “No. I took it off.” She stalked back to the window.
    â€œWhy?”
    She tossed her hands up. “What does it matter?”
    He shrugged, “I guess it doesn’t, but it just struck me as odd.”
    She stamped a foot. “Oh, if you must know, I took it off in a fit of anger. When all this started and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Then I realized Mario had done something to lead these guys to me…” she swallowed hard. “I was mad at him. Mad at him for whatever he’d gottenhimself into, mad at him for getting himself killed—and mad that he left me to deal with the fallout.” Ian looked stunned at her outburst, yet understanding flitted across his face.
    Abruptly, she spun around and said, “I’ve got to call my parents. They’ve probably already called my brother, Joseph, and reported me missing—and I can just imagine what he thought when he saw my house…. Plus, I need to warn them….” She trailed off and sucked in a deep breath. “They need to be cautious. I didn’t call them before because I didn’t want the people after me to think that they might know where I was…. But I just can’t stand the thought of them worrying about me.”
    He thought about it a minute. “You’re right to be careful. But Joseph’s FBI. He can take care of himself—and your family. You should call him and he can decide what to tell your parents, if anything. Here, use the encrypted cell.”
    She took the phone from his outstretched hand and gave him an embarrassed smile. She should have just said she’d taken the ring off and left it at that. Grateful that he let her get away with the topic change, she said, “Thanks.”
    Thirty seconds later she had her brother, Joseph, an FBI agent in her hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, on the phone.
    He wasn’t happy. “Gina? Where are you? What’s going on? I went to your place and it was trashed! Why didn’t you call me?”
    She held the phone a few inches from her ear. Ian’s raised eyebrow indicated that he had no trouble hearing Joseph’s explosion.
    â€œBreathe, Joseph. Calm down.”
    â€œCalm down? I get a call from Dad that no one’s seen or heard from you in days and you tell me to calm down?We’ve got a missing persons report filed with the police department, and Mom’s just about ready for a straitjacket. Don’t you tell me to calm down!”
    She winced. “I’m sorry. I should have called earlier, but I was afraid the people after me might…” She blew out a breath. “Look, I’ve…run into some trouble.”
    â€œAnd you don’t think I might have been the person you should have called? Why didn’t you call me?” His growl rumbled through her and she paused. Why hadn’t she called Joseph? She looked at Ian leaning back in the comfortable leather chair. He made no effort to hide his interest in the conversation.
    â€œBecause Mario told me to call Ian Masterson.”
    â€œIan? Ian? The dude who deserted his unit? The one Mario was so furious with? And how—and