Darcy heard the murmurings of her temporary Secret Service team before she heard the knock on the door. The whispered “Swan is here” warned her of her sister’s approach.

She stayed in her apartment bedroom, one of the guys in suits would get the door, and continued her packing. In less than four hours she would be whisked away to an undisclosed location for however long it took to find the crazies after her sister. Based on the Secret Service’s current level of competency, she could be gone for months.

Not knowing where she was headed made packing a problem. All she knew was she was staying in the continental United States and that she was expected to stay very low-key when she arrived.

News flash-she didn’t want to walk around flaunting herself. One kidnapping in a lifetime was more than enough.

She grabbed a handful of shorts, some T-shirts and jeans, and tossed them on the bed.

The bedroom door opened and Lauren entered. The two Secret Service agents with her hovered in the hall then nodded at the single agent standing in the corner of Darcy’s bedroom.

Lauren crossed to Darcy, grabbed her upper arms, and stared into her eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked, sounding near tears. “Did they hurt you?”

Darcy had a few bruises from her ride in the back of the van, some sore muscles, and several raw spots around her wrists from the ropes. She hadn’t slept at all the previous night and couldn’t imagine ever not feeling afraid again. But the agent in the room kept her from saying all that.

“I’m fine,” she said.

Lauren didn’t release her. “Are you sure? I was so worried.”

A change, Darcy thought. In the past year, she’d been the one worried about Lauren.

“If anything had happened to you…,” Lauren said, those threatening tears finally making an appearance. “I couldn’t stand to lose one more person I love.”