During their teen years, Barlow and Pet made a game of sneaking off together, the goal being to not get caught. They never were. Either that, or Pet's parents looked the other way. Compared to his mother and father—especially his father—the Hennings were fairly liberal minded about such things.

As Barlow slept in the guest room next to Pet's, he thought about sneaking and wondered if she was also thinking about it. The chemistry between the two of them had definitely rekindled, but rebuilding a relationship took time. He had been the bad guy by leaving her and needed to regain her trust. He didn't want to spoil the second chance they had by doing something stupid.

For the moment, he was happy with being Pet's friend, protector, and chauffeur. The morning after coming home from the hospital, he had driven Pet in his work van to the PA State Police Troop H headquarters in Harrisburg. She confronted Sergeant Gus Tanzin in the records department, threatened to turn him in over leaking information that resulted in the murder of the retired detective. She demanded he get Uriah Collier on the phone with the purpose of arranging an appointment to see the tycoon.

A bold plan for sure. Pet had made Barlow sit in the lobby while it all went down.

"He knew I had him dead to rights," Pet told him later. "He couldn't take the chance. Even the suspicion of his leaking info would end his career. His colleagues would make his life a living hell."

Tanzin had Collier's private office number and had gotten hold of the man right away. Barlow thought it particularly brazen of Pet to take the phone from Tanzin's hand and speak directly to the powerful mogul. After hearing her tell him the story, Barlow wished he could've been in the same room to witness it.

The day after the meeting with Tanzin, Barlow drove Pet to a four o'clock meeting with Uriah Collier in Philadelphia. Unlike the day before when she had been on her own turf at Troop H headquarters, this time she was entering the lion's den. They were arguing about it.

"Your plan is reckless," Barlow said as he exited the PA turnpike toll booth and merged onto the Schuylkill Expressway toward center city. "I don't like it."

"Acting fast keeps the old man off balance."

"I'm not leaving you alone. It won't be just him. Given his wealth and power, I imagine he has an entire security team, maybe even the guy who tried to kill you. There's no telling what he might do or how he's going to react."

"He won't try anything while I'm a guest in his office. Besides, he knows I have a witness. He's going to want to know your identity. That makes you my insurance, so you need to stay in the van."

Everything about the meeting made him uneasy. "I wish you had backup. Are you sure staying quiet about this to your superiors is a wise move?"

"Until I get a better feel for the situation, I won't know for sure whom I can trust."

Barlow gripped the steering wheel. "I should at least be in the building with you. Maybe down in the lobby."

Pet shook her head. "Too risky. If they get to you, we lose our leverage and the case disappears." She turned to him. "Look, Barlow, you've been my protector ever since we were kids. I'm glad to have you by my side, but I'm not a helpless girl anymore. I'm a law enforcement officer with skills. Trust me to take care of myself."

"Your training doesn't mean diddly squat being only one person against what might turn out to be an army."

"Uriah Collier doesn't know I'm acting alone. For all he knows, my entire department is aware of my visit." She pulled down the sun visor and inspected herself in the mirror. "How do I look?"

"Gorgeous, as always."

Pet scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"The truth? You look like someone beat the crap out of you. The swelling around your eyes is going down, but you're still all purple. Are you sure you're up to this? We can come back when you're healed up better."

She pushed the visor back up against the roof of the van. "Maybe Collier will take pity on me and tell me what we need to know."

Although Petronia displayed bravado in front of Barlow, a feeling of dread threatened to overwhelm her. She wasn't sure if she was up to the task of taking on Uriah Collier. The whole thing was a bluff, a fishing expedition. She had no definitive proof, but her gut told her he had hired someone to kill her. Barlow was right. Anything could happen. She would like nothing better than the reassurance of having him by her side, looking out for her, just like he had always done.

She wasn't at her best, and she should have waited until fully healed and reinstated, but she also knew they didn't have the luxury of time. This hastily arranged meeting was meant to put Collier on defense.

The man obviously wasn't going to admit to anything, but by presenting him with the evidence she had so far and threatening to move forward with it, maybe he would make a mistake and let something slip.

Thoughts of Barlow distracted her when she should be concentrating. Petronia had meant to use the two-hour drive to talk with him about their relationship. She desperately wanted to pick up where they had left off ten years ago.

Could they?

He had been acting super careful around her, probably not wanting to push things. But she was beginning to resent him treating her like some fragile China doll. Other than the short kiss two nights ago, he hadn't made any other romantic moves on her.

He couldn't hide his feelings though. She knew him too well, the way he looked at her, and his body language.

During the drive home, she would definitely start the conversation. They needed to air things out, and she wanted to let him know she was ready for more.

"We're here," Barlow said as he turned off the van's engine. He had driven them into a public parking garage beside the Collier main office complex and parked on the roof. High cirrus clouds painted stripes against the sky.

Petronia unlatched her seat belt, took a breath, and reached for the door handle.

Barlow laid a hand on her thigh, stopping her. "Let's test the app one more time."

As a precaution, Barlow had installed the Find-my-iPhone app on his phone so he could track her phone. The test worked perfectly. The location of her phone showed up as a blue dot on his screen.

"If I don't hear from you in a half-hour, I'm going to call your cell," he said. "If you don't answer, I will call the police. If you're in trouble, we need some sort of code word."

That made her giggle. "So melodramatic."

"I'm serious."

She decided to play along, anything to ease his anxiety. "Okay, how about I love you?"

"That's a phrase, not a word."

She tsked and opened her door. "Don't be so technical."

As she got out, she heard Barlow say, "Okay then. That's what I'll expect you to say: I love you."

She leaned in before closing her door. "I love you, too." She turned and walked toward the building's entrance.

The man at the security desk referred to a computer monitor after Petronia gave him her name. He issued her a visitor badge and told her to take the elevator all the way to the top. She approached the bank of elevators and pressed the call button. A few moments later, the door to one of the cars opened unleashing a stream of people.

Apparently four was quitting time and everyone was in a hurry to beat the Friday afternoon rush hour traffic. She was the only one to enter the car going up. That added to her feeling of unease. While the car ascended, Petronia straightened the blazer of her business suit and ran a hand through her short hair.

She mumbled, "Don't know why I bother. The way my face looks, I'm not exactly going to make a formidable first impression."

A chime sounded and the elevator car slowed. The doors slid open. She stepped off. Directly in front of her stood a set of double doors with no windows. Glancing around, she noticed the entire top floor was one giant office.

After taking a few calming breaths, Petronia raised her fist and knocked.

Are you ready for Pet's bold confrontation?