RJ sat on the edge of the fountain. He preferred to stand for bad news.

“Like I told you a few days ago, the passengers of the plane that landed in Sicily were all doctors and researchers from various African countries, on their way to a medical conference in Florence. They met with the new CDC director—Landon Grey, because there’s been a case of what looks like smallpox in a village in Nigeria, and they all wanted to get ahead of it.”

No wonder Grey was looking into the quarantine procedures at the air base.

“Thing is, Landon is new. And that got us looking into the death of the previous director, a guy named Baumgarten. He was killed in a car accident on his way home. Atlanta traffic—we didn’t think much of it. This Grey guy was his assistant and moved into the position pretty quickly.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“He was recommended, years ago, for the job by Senator Reba Jackson.”

Oh.

“You think he’s linked to Jackson’s group of operators.”

“We don’t know if he’s a target, or a player. But either way, we need to talk to him. We need you to go to Florence, find him and detain him until I can get there.”

“You’re coming here?”

“Yes. I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon. The conference is at the Hotel Bernatello, near the river. It’s a beautiful place. I’ve booked you rooms tomorrow night. And I’ve cleared you with the secret service. They’ll be expecting you and Roy—

“And RJ.”

She looked at him. Frowned. But he met her eyes as he leaned into the phone. “If anyone can unravel what he says, figure out fact from fiction, it’s RJ.”

“I agree. Yes, I booked her a room too.”

“And you should add Ziggy to that list, boss,” Roy said. “I’m still nursing a broken wing. I could use her backup.”

Not like Roy to admit that, but maybe Tuscany had gone to all their heads.

“Will do. See you tomorrow. By the way, Grey doesn’t know you’re coming, so keep it on the downlow. Just find him and secure him until I can get there.”

“Roger,” Roy said.

York nearly asked, right then—any word from Coco about the price on my head? The urge pushed him, especially with RJ looking at him with so much…what—gratefulness? No, that wasn’t it.

Maybe…trust.

Oh boy.

“See you tomorrow, boss,” York said as Logan hung up.

Then, silence.

“I’ll go ask Tessa if she can watch Hana,” RJ said, getting up. She looked at York again and smiled. “Then I’m going to go pack.” She kissed his cheek and walked away.

Roy waited until the darkness had taken her before he spoke. “You sure that’s a good idea? To bring RJ with you?”