Just as he’d expected, her expression brightened. “Really? Okay, I’ll get everything together and bring it over. You go ahead home and take some medicine. Maybe a cold compress will help.” She brushed a hand against his cheek before gathering the folders containing the new clients’ contracts.

Once she was gone, Eli walked back through the maze of cubicles to his office on the west side of the building. Even though he was here at least once a week, most of the employees didn’t see him often. He was greeted with a chorus of “Hello, Mr. Alexander” and “Good morning, sir.”

He nodded hello to everyone he passed but sped up so no one would try to talk to him. It was still a bit surreal to think that he was leading this diverse group of people. He’d started the company in the midst of personal crisis. It had been a lifeline when he was drowning. Carly probably thought it was an excuse, but he did like to look over every case personally. It was his way of saying thank you. His way of giving back to the company that had saved him.

He grabbed a client file he’d left on his desk and then walked to the elevators. Another pang shot him right between the eyes and he grimaced. It was going to take more than a few aspirin to get rid of this headache, especially since he was sure Carly was going to bring him more paperwork to look over later.

He stabbed the Down button several times impatiently. The woman waiting there gave him a sideways glance and moved over slightly. He sighed.

Now he was scaring his employees.

After a long day, Eli was always happy to go home, but never more so than the days he spent at headquarters handling administrative work. Although home was a relative term for him as he rarely spent the night in the same location more than two days in a row.

His company maintained several houses and condos in the Washington D.C. area, which they used to keep clients safe. He usually crashed at one of them or in his office. However, he had to admit to harboring a particular affection for the little house he kept in the suburbs. It was the only one he didn’t allow clients to use.

He guessed that made it as close to a home as he’d had in the past decade.

He rode the elevator down to the first parking level and managed to avoid seeing anyone on the way. He threw the client file on the passenger seat of his truck and then pulled out of the garage and onto the bustling streets of Fairfax.

Today what he needed was a beer and some peace and quiet. Carly kept the different houses stocked with the basics, so he figured he could take a load off and maybe order in. When his cell phone rang as soon as he pulled up to his Springfield house, he figured the second part of the equation would have to wait.

“Hi, Mom. How are things going back home?” Eli locked his truck with the remote on his keychain as he walked up to the house and opened the door.

“Oh, I’m just fine, honey. I saw the news. It looks like you have your hands full.”

“I do, but you don’t need to worry. People are riled up right now. But once congress has voted on the bill, things will slow down some. Tensions are always high this time of year.” He kicked the door shut behind him and flipped the deadbolt.

She sighed, the sound coming over the phone and directly into his ear. “I know you’ve always had things well in hand; I just get worried about you, that’s all. You work too much.”

“I like working—you know that. Besides, I’ll be home in a few weeks anyway.”

“Good. I can’t wait to spoil you a little bit. It’ll be nice to have you back home. Things haven’t been the same since you left.” She fell silent on the other end of the phone.

“Is everything all right? Is Dad still having those chest pains?” Eli tensed, waiting for her answer. His mother had mentioned his father having chest pains on his last call and the thought of it had never been far from his mind.

His father had always been larger-than-life. This was the man who’d taught him how to ride his bike and given him the facts about the birds and the bees. The thought of anything happening to his dad made him feel ice-cold all over. Mark Alexander represented everything that held his family together. If there was something wrong, he wanted to know about it.

“No, it’s nothing like that. We just miss you. I’m getting sentimental in my old age, that’s all.”

“You don’t look any older than you did when we were kids, and you know it,” he said, relieved when she laughed. He hated to hear her sound so depressed. His mom had always been the cheerful sort. It went against the natural order of things for her to sound so down.

“I just wish you were here already,” Julia continued. “I’ve been worried about you. Working so hard, sleeping so little. I know you want to succeed and I’m so proud of you. But I also want more for you than just work. You’re letting life pass you by, and I think it’s time you face things head-on.”

Eli gripped the edge of his cell phone as her words sank in. “There’s nothing to face. I just need a vacation, that’s all.”

“Maybe you can lie to yourself but not to your mother. I don’t know what sent you running all those years ago, but whatever it was cost me too. It made me lose my son. I think it’s time I got him back.”

An unexpected rush of emotion stole his voice, thickening his throat like he’d just swallowed a giant fist. He pushed back his shirtsleeve and stared at the tattoo he hated with a passion, a small number seven surrounded by several concentric circles.

In the beginning there was rarely a day that went by when he didn’t think about the things he’d done. His monumental mistakes. Then gradually he’d been able to go days, then weeks, and then finally months without flashbacks. He’d finally stopped looking over his shoulder every few steps, finally trusted someone else enough to invite them into his home.