“Get on with it.”

“Don’t tell Griffen.”

Val stopped in her tracks and stared at Mai.

“I have to tell him. He’s my brother, and the last thing he needs after he starts to get everything under control is me surprising him with this.”

“Exactly; right now he’s struggling. He has just started to gain proper confidence, and already burdens are being heaped onto him. This could be the very thing that overwhelms him completely,” Mai said.

“If I don’t tell him, it leaves him in danger. If Nathaniel comes back because of this, Griffen won’t have any time to prepare.”

“Why would Nathaniel come back? Even if he planned this, which I doubt, how could he know? You will worry Griffen for nothing, put his already taxed nerves even more on edge.”

“But...”

Val couldn’t say it. Keeping a secret like that from her brother would be nearly impossible. They were too close, and the strain on her would be great.

“I know it will be hard,” Mai said, and frowned. “But if you tell him, he will want to protect you. He will charge off to find Nathaniel, charge right into Melinda’s territory. This way you protect him, not the other way around.”

Valerie sank into a chair again and stared at Mai. Her mind whirled, but a part of her knew that Mai was exactly right. Between protecting her big brother and being honest with him, protection came first. She nodded.

“It’s for the best,” Mai said, and got up to hug Val again. “Trust me.”

After a moment’s silence, Mai spoke again.

“So, are you going to keep it?”

Val sighed, then shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m still thinking about that one.”

Five

Waiting in front of Tower Records, carrying a copy of the Times-Picayune as he had been instructed, Flynn spent his time surveying the passing crowd.