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wasn’t real. She wasn’t here. She was dead, and I’d never see her again. When Grams died, I would be alone.
    â€œAre you going home?”
    â€œThey moved.”
    â€œThat’s not what I meant.”
    â€œI know.”
    Grams, don’t die. Please don’t die.
    I woke up and of course Rachel wasn’t there. But Grams was, and she was petting my hair like I was her puppy. I cried again.
    â€œShh,” she whispered. “You’re stronger than you think. Believe in yourself, Peter, like I believe in you.”
    â€œI don’t want you to die.” My voice cracked and broke like my heart.
    â€œWe don’t have a choice when our Father calls us home. Go get the last book. Read it to me, Peter.”
    Five days later, an hour after I finished reading The Last Battle, Grams died.

 
    CHAPTER NINE
    Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
    Sean Rogan woke up early Thursday morning and walked eight blocks to the gym with his partner at RCK East, Patrick Kincaid.
    â€œDid you find anything on Laughlin?” Patrick asked.
    â€œSo far, he appears clean and I haven’t found any connections between him and Lucy or with anyone in your family. But it’s taking forever to get what I need.”
    Patrick laughed. “You get pissy when you can’t break the rules.”
    â€œI don’t break the rules.” Much. “I bend them.”
    Sean usually sent the grunt work for background checks to RCK headquarters in Sacramento—they had more staff than the two-man office he and Patrick ran in D.C. In the digital age, information and how it was obtained changed rapidly. It took time to legally and quietly research anyone, and running a background on a federal agent had to be handled with special care.
    In addition, Sean didn’t want his brother looking over his shoulder. Duke wouldn’t have a problem with a pro bono request from Lucy, but Sean preferred to keep his personal projects personal.
    â€œSo what do you know?” Patrick asked.
    â€œLaughlin’s thirty-nine, from Missouri, been an agent for fourteen years, master’s from Northwestern in accounting—who gets a master’s in accounting?”
    Patrick rolled his eyes. He opened the gym door for Sean and they both swiped their membership cards at the kiosk.
    â€œHe’s worked on the White Collar Squad in Detroit for the past five years, part of the joint gang task force, where his specialty is money laundering. He’s SWAT certified, but not part of the Detroit mobilization team.”
    â€œSounds like a good guy.”
    â€œOn paper.” He was harassing Lucy, and that made him an asshole in Sean’s book.
    â€œWhat does Lucy think she’s going to get from this information?”
    â€œI’m not done.” They dropped their bags against the wall and picked up free weights. “She just wants information to help her figure out why he dislikes her.”
    â€œSlight exaggeration?”
    â€œIf you’d talked to Lucy, you’d think the same thing. If this guy’s harassing her—”
    â€œYou’ll stay out of it,” Patrick said. “Don’t make waves, not now.”
    It irritated Sean that Patrick thought he’d jeopardize Lucy’s career. “I’m doing what she asked. She can use the information as she sees fit.”
    Patrick hadn’t been happy when Sean first started dating his sister, but Sean supposed if he had a younger sister he’d be protective as well. Patrick seemed to have adjusted over the last few months, which was a relief, since they’d been friends long before Sean fell in love with Lucy.
    Sean continued, “I think she talked to Kate, and whatever happened, Lucy is now more concerned. She didn’t give me the details, but there’s something weird going on. I trust her instincts.”
    â€œSo if Lucy knows his history, she can profile him and adjust the way she