The buyer did not react to Cole's last sentence.

That frightened me more than anger would have. He only looked at the black recorder on the table. Then at me.

"Roman DeLuca values the child that much?"

Cole answered before I could.

"He will."

I kept my face still.

The first place Roman took me after the warehouse was not the estate.

It was a clinic. Not Harborview. A private one twenty minutes away. I hated every second of waiting.

Then the doctor said the words I needed.

"No bleeding. No abdominal trauma. Everything we can chec

Three weeks later, I went back to Harborview. Not for a hearing. Not for an investigation. For work.

My new badge opened the employee entrance on the first try. That almost made me cry. Supervisor Lang met me near the nurses' station.

"Four-hour shift today."

"I know."

"No