“Molly?” Piper inquired into her phone.

“Piper! What's up?”

Piper breathed out to calm herself. After the awkwardness of what turned out to be a first date with Rory, her stress levels had skyrocketed. He had spent most of the Sci-Fry maneuvering into a position to kiss her, and she had nearly exhausted her tactics to divert the attention. Now her non-confrontational tendencies had made her stay an hour past the time she intended to leave. She hated asking favors of anyone, but especially Molly. Because Molly had so much more money than Piper, Piper did not want to seem like the mooching friend. Still, the current favor did not involve money, so surely it didn't count.

“Well, are you in the middle of something?”

“Oh my gosh, no,” Molly sounded irritated. “I'm supposed to go out with that awesome guy we met at the party a couple of weeks ago, but he had to postpone until eight o'clock. I had to cancel last week, and Ben was really disappointed about that.”

“Ben?” Piper wondered.

“Well, don't be mad at me, but he had nagged me for so many weeks about setting him up with you, then I thought that I'd rather go out with Bash the first time on a double date since I hardly know him. I told Ben he should ask you out. Then I had to cancel, and I knew you were working today, so no double date. So, Ben is frustrated, and I'm bored from waiting. I'm sitting here chewing my nails off and ruining my manicure. Tell me you have something for me to do for the next couple of hours.”

Piper drew a deep breath, processing the idea of a double date with Bash and Ben, sure that she would not have behaved herself and shown proper attention to Ben with Bash around. Not only did she count her blessings that she had missed out on the date with Ben; she sighed with relief that she would not have to meet Bash again under such circumstances. Her mind pulled her back to the present. “Um, I'm not sure you'll find my request any better than boredom, but I'm kind of in a pinch.”

“Just tell me!” Molly ordered.

“Here goes. I'm standing in Kennedy Plaza, and I just missed the 5:30, and I'm supposed to be at the Prado's house at seven. I'm going to end up being at least thirty minutes late.”

“You want me to come get you?” Molly volunteered cheerily.

“No,” Piper declined. “There's an accident on 95 northbound, and there's no way you could get here and get me back before the next bus could. So,” Piper chewed her lip. “I was hoping you'd drive over to the Prado's and stay with Lily until I can get there. I should be walking up to the door by 7:35.”

When Molly huffed a little puff of air into the phone, Piper could imagine the vexed purse of her friend's lips. “Well,” Molly answered after a moment's delay, “it's not exactly exciting, but I'll do it for you. Still, you owe me big time.”

“Or, we could call it payback for introducing you to Bash.”

Molly giggled. “Or that. Fine. Text me the address. I'll see you at 7:35 sharp.”

“I'll be there,” Piper agreed.

As soon as Piper hung up the phone, she dialed the Prado's. To her consternation, Bernardo answered. She much preferred Vivian's relaxed friendliness to his mousy insecurity. He made her feel nervous watching his nervousness. “Hello, Dr. Prado.”

“Please. Bernardo,” he corrected.

“Bernardo. It's Piper Hayes. I've run into a problem getting there by seven.” When she paused, Bernardo said nothing, and Piper sensed displeasure in the absence of response. “I missed the 5:30, and the 6:30 will get me to your place around 7:30.”

“Okay,” Bernardo replied in a dilated manner, as if his controlled voice reflected the self-control he had mustered to deal with her news.

“But my friend, Molly – she was with me in class the day I met you. She's on her way to your house to cover for me until I can get there. I'm really, really sorry, Dr. Prado. My professor stopped me as I was leaving this big science event, and I really didn't know how to -”

“Piper,” he interrupted her, his tone sounding relieved, “do not worry yourself. If your friend – Molly, you said – will take your place for a few minutes, we will accept it. Your recommendation is enough to allow the substitution. We are more grateful than you can imagine.”

In her embarrassment over the mess up, Piper did not register the words for a second. By the time she realized their significance, Bernardo Prado had thanked her again, said his goodbyes, and hung up the phone...more grateful than you can imagine. Had her apology evoked some dramatic tendency on his part? She could not fathom why he would overstate such a simple act on her part as babysitting his daughter and fixing her own mistake when she screwed up. Since she had met the Prado's, Piper had already babysat three times, and Piper appreciated the hundred or so dollars as much as the couple could ever appreciate her care of Lily.

Who wouldn't adore Lily? Even at just under two years old, Lily spoke several adorable words and phrases. She almost never cried, and she played quietly in whatever room Piper happened to want to sit. My kid will probably scream every time he wants something and think it's hilarious to pull other kids' hair, Piper smirked as she finally stepped up onto the bus.

An hour later, she knocked on the Prados' door and smiled as Molly answered and handed the pleasant little Lily over. “I see why you adore her,” Molly grinned. “What a doll!”

“She is,” Piper agreed, stepping over to examine the detailed instructions left by the Prados. “Did you give her a bath?”

“No,” Molly admitted. “The time was close enough that I thought you might arrive in the middle of it, and I didn't want to leave her unattended while I answered the door.”

“Good call.”

“I gave Bash this address because I wasn’t sure you’d make it in time, and I thought it would be easier for him to meet me here. But it looks like you made it in time for me to run back and freshen up. Yay! So, I’ll just have him come to the apartment. I'll call you from the road.”

Piper leaned over and gave her friend a goodbye hug and a peck on the cheek. “Thanks again. You're the best.”

“I am!” Molly grinned before spinning out the door. “I'll call you in a few minutes. I want to pick your brain about Bash Rivera. You did something to that boy.”

“I did?” Piper wondered incredulously, but before she could draw out an explanation, Molly had seated herself behind the wheel of her Audi and waved her final goodbye. “What in the world could she mean by that?” Piper asked Lily, but Lily just grinned and patted Piper on the cheek. Unable to pay attention to much with such a cute distraction, Piper reentered the house and headed to finish the job that Molly had begun. Grabbing a diaper, she padded into Lily's room, retrieved some clothes, then bustled off to the bathroom. Half an hour later, she had a clean, happy baby who looked ready for some lullabies.

Whenever Piper took care of Lily – or any child, for that matter – she thanked God that her mother had forced her to help with younger siblings. At ten, at twelve, at fifteen: Piper had cared for more children than many mothers ever did. With Lily, not only did the job seem second nature, Piper recognized her extreme good fortune in caring for such an easy baby.

Though the Prado's gave clear instructions on how to put Lily to bed, Piper preferred to switch off all the lights, turn on the television, and snuggle with the little blond, amber-eyed cuteness until they both fell asleep. Inevitably, Piper would wake up an hour later and transfer the little princess to the crib in the nursery.

When the gentle buzzing prodded her, Piper did not at first understand why she had awakened. A moment later, the sensation repeated, and Piper reached down to glance at the phone. Ben, she rolled her eyes, pressing the ignore button. Though she liked Ben, she did not wish to converse with him while he lamented their missed evening of “fun.”

Rising from the couch, Piper gingerly shifted Lily in her arms and headed toward the nursery, placing the infant peacefully into her bed. The phone buzzed again, and again, Piper ignored it. Finally, she shut the nursery door, and when the phone vibrated again, she pulled it out and glanced at it.

Is Molly with you? Ben had asked.

No, Piper replied. Sorry. I'm putting Lily to bed.

I really need to talk to you. Can you call me once you've finished?

Ben sounded serious. Ben never sounded serious, and Piper couldn't help a stab of apprehension as she considered what could cause such a drastic divergence from his usual character. I just put her down, she admitted. Call me now.

Within a few seconds, her phone buzzed again, and she answered as quickly. “What's wrong?” she demanded.

“Well, probably nothing,” Ben admitted. “It's just that I had a really weird phone call from Molly about half-an-hour ago, and I thought maybe she was messing around with me, so I didn't call you right away. But, now every time I call her the phone goes straight to voicemail.”

“Weird how?” Piper queried.

Ben blew into the phone. “Well, first, we were just talking about the missed date, and you know, that went on for a while.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Uh, yeah,” Piper hedged. “Sorry about that.”

“But then, she just goes, 'Oh my God!' and hung up the phone. I mean, it wasn't like when she talks to you and says it and then breaks into laughter. It was more a gasp. Then the phone went off. So, she's not with you?” Ben begged.

As Piper pondered the situation, another call beeped on her line. She glanced down at it and registered Bash's name. “This may answer our question,” she informed Ben. “Let me take this, and then I'll call you back.” Without waiting for an answer, she clicked over to Bash. “Tell me Molly is with you,” Piper demanded. For the first time, she realized that Molly had never called back to talk about Bash. Piper’s heart sped with apprehension.

Instead of an answer, Piper heard only silence with the interruption of a few slow breaths.

“Bash?” she prompted.

“Molly is not with you?” Bash replied, a hesitance revealing his own surprise at the revelation.

Piper began an exercise in deep breathing as her heart began to race. If Bash had to ask that question, Molly had not made it to her date. “She's not,” Piper finally agreed, her tightened lungs sucking all strength from her tone. “Can I assume she didn't make it to you?”

“She didn't, and she’s not at her apartment, but Piper,” Piper could hear a placating comfort entering his tone, “I'm sure she's fine. There was a big wreck on 95, so she probably got stuck in traffic and her phone went dead.”

“She has a car charger.” Panic began to set in as Piper absorbed the thought that something might have happened to her friend. “Look, Bash. I'm going to go look for her. I have to call Lily's parents and get them back, and then I'll let you know what's happening once I figure things out.”

“I'm sure she's fine, Piper,” Bash comforted, and Piper appreciated the genuine concern in his tone.

“You're probably right. I'll let you know when I find her.” Piper hung up the phone, numb with shock at her friend's sudden disappearance. She dialed Vivian's number.

“This is Vivian Prado,” the voice-mail offered immediately. “I can't get to the phone right now, so please leave me a message, and I'll return your call when I'm available.”

Piper hung up and dialed Bernardo. “You missed me. Tell me who you are, and I'll call you back if I need to.” How could both of them have their phones off?

As fear and frustration gripped her, Piper almost wished that Lily would wake up so she could have something to distract her. Still, she would deal with what she had. Striding over to her bag, Piper pulled out her laptop, flipping it open. She typed in the locator for Molly's phone, grateful that she had saved the username and password the last time Molly had asked for help locating the device. After almost a minute, the computer told her what she had suspected. This phone is offline.

Piper slid the laptop off of her lap and onto the couch, pulling out her phone again. After scrolling through her contacts, she found Molly's roommate and shot off a text. Have you heard from Molly lately?

After a few seconds, the reply came back negative. Friend after friend replied the same, and Piper looked down at the time to realize that she had wasted half an hour on fruitless efforts. She picked her laptop up again, wondering whether she should worry Molly's parents before finding out more. When the email popped up, Piper almost ignored it, but then she registered the name.

Vivian Prado. Odd. Vivian had never emailed Piper; Piper could not even imagine how Vivian had gotten the email. Professor Gray? With her curiosity temporarily allaying her fear for Molly, Piper clicked on the email.

First off, I need you to understand that I would never have taken this step if I could have found any other way.

Staring at the screen, Piper tried to absorb the words; they made no sense.

When Bernardo and I entered this profession, we never imagined that it would bring any danger beyond the possibility of some strange disease, or at worst, a run-in with disgruntled natives. Turns out, the natives proved much more friendly than our colleagues and peers. Unfortunately, at some point recently, someone decided that our research was a menace. Honestly, I don't believe in conspiracies, but it seems odd that Bernardo and I have found ourselves at the wrong end of a series of threats and some pretty serious tragedies. Faced with a danger to Lily, we gladly ceased all research on our current material, but our compliance did not seem sufficient to whoever has it out for us.

Piper paused, her hand flying inadvertently to her mouth. Danger to Lily? she worried.

Someone has apparently decided that the knowledge we possess is in and of itself too much of a danger to allow in existence. On our trip to the Amazon last week, we found our project decimated, and we had good reason to believe that our lives would be in danger if we stayed. Whoever had done it had tried to mask their actions, most likely to convince us to fear the natives and leave. Bernardo saw immediately the deception in the scene, but it still accomplished its purpose. How could we keep Lily in such an environment of potential peril?

Unfortunately, Providence proved just as dangerous as the jungle, and the dangers that have faced us here have targeted us more personally. If we stay with Lily, we will endanger her life. The fact that we trust you with this responsibility speaks of how highly we regard you.

Staring at the screen, Piper held her breath. The words she read seemed to imply something completely unfathomable, and she didn't want to read on. In less than two months, she fully intended to walk across the stage at her graduation. How would she manage it? She peered back at the screen, determined to end her suspense.

Hopefully, you will only need to keep her for a few days. Bernardo has some friends who might know a way out of our dilemma. Either way, I will send you a message in three days, instructing you where to drop our Lily. We have family who will take her, but we must ensure her safety until then. Again, I am truly sorry for dropping this on you, but I trust that your compassionate heart will see Lily to safety.

We owe you our very lives – if something happened to Lily, especially something so senseless, we would not recover. Take care of her. I left several thousand dollars in the drawer under the stove – it will take you to my family when the time comes. In the meantime, use what you must to feed and care for Lily. Whatever is left is yours to help with your college expenses. Take care of Lily.

Eternally grateful – Vivian and Bernardo

Piper leaned her head on the back of the sofa. In her mind, relief mingled with anxiety and confusion. She could handle three days, but for a moment, she had feared that the Prados had left Lily to her indefinitely, and Piper would not have felt equal to such a serious commission. Even if she could have legally kept custody of Lily, which she doubted, she would not have a way to support the girl.

At the thought, Piper stood to her feet and wandered to the kitchen. She pulled the drawer open and removed a small bag, no larger than a small child's shoebox. When she opened it, she stumbled back a step. Recovering, she rushed forward and dumped the entire content of the bag onto the kitchen counter. Numerous bundles of hundreds scattered across the surface, and at one glance, Piper counted at least twelve. Where did they intend her to fly? $12,000 plus. Nowhere required so much. Perhaps they wanted Lily to travel only first class. No, the Prados had taken several trips to South America with Lily, and on researchers' salaries, they would not fly first class.

Piper rested her forehead on her palm, forcing deep breaths in through her nose and out her mouth. “It's going to be fine,” she told herself. “It's only for a few days.”

When the hand touched her shoulder, Piper let out a short scream before sucking it back in. She grabbed for a knife as she spun to face whoever had touched her.

“Shhh,” came the reprimand, and she felt her hand's motion arrested before she could move it an inch. She stared for a moment at the fingers that had clinched the knife, fearful that her attacker would turn the weapon back upon her. Piper had watched several self-defense videos, and she kicked herself for forgetting.

Her eyes sought the face that accompanied the hand, and when she recognized it, she felt a moment of relief. “Bash,” she whispered. As soon as she felt better, though, the fear crept back into her mind as she realized that she knew nothing about him. He could just as easily prove a danger as a refuge. There was no reason he should be in the house.

“You have to get out of here,” Bash insisted.

Blinking, Piper stared at him in stunned silence. Her mind would not form words. Providence has proven just as dangerous…Had Piper stumbled into some horrible peril? Was Bash part of the peril?

When Bash reached his other hand up to remove the knife from her grasp, she started to gasp for breath. She had known not to grab a knife. Stupid! she upbraided herself silently.

“Piper,” he urged, setting the knife on the counter and place his hand on her cheek to lock her gaze to his. “Piper, I need you to focus. You have to get out of here.”

Piper glanced around her, suddenly processing the concern and urgency in Bash's face. Surely, he hadn't come to kill her or kidnap her or take Lily. Instead, Piper peered into the shadows throughout the rest of the house in search of some nebulous danger.

“Lily!” she suddenly gasped, twisting away from Bash and toward the nursery. He followed close behind her, not quite processing her sudden outburst.

When Piper stumbled through the door, Bash huffed out in frustration. A baby? How would he get a baby out secretly into the night? He watched with impatience as Piper grabbed a large bag off the wall, shoving diapers and other sundry baby products into the various and never-ending pockets. Again, she returned to the kitchen, and Sebastian finally processed the items on the counter as she shoved bundles of hundred-dollar bills into yet another pocket of the large bag. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. In fact, several thousand, he realized.

“Where did you get that?” he demanded in a hushed tone.

“If you get us out of here,” she countered, “I'll show you everything I know – which isn't much.”

Well, he reasoned, at least she's thinking straight now.

When Piper had asked him about Molly, Bash had gotten nervous. If her aggressiveness meant anything, Molly had really wanted to go out with Sebastian, and if she had stood him up, she had done so for a very compelling reason. Since Piper didn't know, and Molly had gone MIA, the reason had to have arisen suddenly. Whether by force or necessity, Molly had rushed from the Prados' house, not making it to her date, and not informing her date or her best friend of a change of plans. Sebastian had not liked the possible causes for the change or the insecurity of not knowing what had happened. Perhaps he could find some clue to her location at the last place anyone had seen her.

Arriving at the house, though, had rather increased than alleviated his concern - to find a black car, windows tinted black, lights off, creeping down the street of Molly's last location? Sebastian had witnessed numerous occasions where such a car carried out a drive by or a break-in. Fortunately, the car had moved slowly, and Sebastian had found plenty of time to turn into the private road that ran between several houses, sneaking in to see Piper without making himself visible to the main road. A car like the one he had seen would not take the time to sneak in. More likely the men inside would enter fast and hard, exiting just as quickly. As long as Sebastian could get Piper and Lily to his own car before the men headed in, he would make it out fine.

“Wait!” Piper cried, handing the sleeping child to Sebastian before rushing back into the living room. Sebastian tried not to fumble with the child, fearful of awakening it, and a moment later, Piper returned carrying what looked like a chair with belts. “Car seat,” she explained. “Lead the way.”

After more minutes than Sebastian would have liked, Piper sat next to him in the passenger seat, and the infant slept soundly in the back seat. Just as he pulled to a stop at the end of the private road, the darkened car passed under a streetlamp less than twenty feet from the house. Sebastian waited for them to stop completely, then zipped out onto the main road, not switching on his lights until he reached Route 1 and merged into the flow of traffic.

He almost swerved into a passing blue sedan when Piper let out a scream, but with a glance at her, he had to rein in a laugh. Of course, she couldn’t have expected it; a grey-striped tabby cat, appearing suddenly on her lap as Bash accelerated the car. He took in the still-sleeping form of the infant behind Piper, and he let a chuckle rumble in his throat.

“You brought Platz!” she gushed, though she subdued her tone so as not to wake Lily.

“He was wandering the hall, trying to get into Molly’s apartment. I probably should have left him, but…”

“No, this is good. At least Platz likes car rides, unlike most cats. We can…I don’t know. We’ll figure it out.”

“We’ll figure it out,” he agreed, lapsing into silence as the cat nestled into Piper’s lap and she began to stare out at the dark. For the moment, he would focus on driving. Once he had put some space between those men and Piper, she would need to explain some things.