He blew out a breath. “Since I’m responsible for what’s happened, I think this letter needs to be given to Jade by someone who can be supportive when Jade reads it. I have a feeling she’s going to need someone beside her then…”

His voice was full of dread, and the sadness in his eyes was clearer now.

Tina shut her eyes, feeling her heart beginning to break already for her young, ambitious, blissfully happy cousin. If this has anything to do with Rian ….

Jade had been so excited when she’d called Tina to tell her that she was going to be in New York towards the tail-end of Memorial Day weekend. She’d asked Tina to keep her visit between themselves, including Bette, explaining she was coming only to meet up with Rian. The couple had not had any kind of direct contact or communication since Christmas Day.

“I have so much to tell her, Tina! About how well the pizza and sandwich franchise investments have turned out to be … about graduating with honors despite all of this hectic work I’ve done to get those franchises going … about the offer from Brown for me to handle a class this coming semester … about investing in a burger franchise down there in Manhattan!”

Jade had talked non-stop about wanting to share with Rian everything that had opened up in her life. “About the only thing that’s not working out is finding this so-called love that she wants me to experience. Well, with everything I’m involved with … can anyone blame me if I haven’t found the time to date or whatever?”

Tina had agreed with Bette that Jade’s electric energy and unbridled excitement were palpable even over the phone. But I can sympathize with her, Bette said with a smile. I was beyond excited when we reunited and returned to New York, and started building a life together.

It depressed Tina to realize that she was apparently going to be the bearer of crushing news to her young cousin. I can still remember how devastating it had been to return to our apartment after I’d told Bette about Scott and finding the short note from the brunette. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.  Much less to family.

“What happened, Mike?”

Mike shook his head, pursed his lips, grabbed the mug he’d been drinking from, and played with it, thinking about what to say.

Tina waited for him to make up his mind about what he could share.

Finally he blew a breath out. He fixed his eyes on Tina’s questioning hazel eyes. “I don’t mean to be dramatic, but a lot of this really is classified. I got clearance to deliver it only because I’d argued on her behalf. I really respect her and appreciate what she’s done. They allowed the letter to her parents quickly, since that was for family, but it took some doing to get this into my hands. And now into yours. And then to Jade’s. She’d assured me that there was nothing classified in her letter; and the techs who examined it told me there wasn’t.”

Tina swallowed. Mike was talking in his capacity of being in the intelligence service, clearly. And he was using language that she’d become accustomed to, unfortunately.

So she knew in her gut that she needed to ask one of the dreaded questions that popped into her head as soon as Mike had mentioned the importance of Jade needing someone with her when she got the letter.

But how much could he say?

Crap…. it would be up to Mike to answer the question. At least she’d be able to honestly tell Jade that she’d tried to find out. Tina fixed her hazel eyes on Mike until he met them unflinchingly.

“Is she dead?”

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