ONE

I was standing in the shadow of the Washington Monument when I got the call. I wanted to hop the next flight to L.A., but I was in the middle of assisting The Agency with a case, and my walking away could cost innocent kids their lives.

“I’ll be home in a couple of days,” I told Elizabeth. “Tell Dylan and Brian congrats and kiss Sophie for me.”

I hung up the phone feeling frustrated, disappointed, and relieved. I’d wanted to be there when my friends’ daughter was born, and I hated that Th...