Chloe Decker considered herself to be a strong woman. She stared down gun barrels on a daily basis. She didn't blink at mangled corpses. She definitely didn't run away from scary faces.

So what was she doing in Italy? Chloe sat in a beach chair, carefully watching Trixie play in the waves with her new friends. It was uncomfortably hot but an umbrella and a soft breathe helped cool her down. Chloe found the bottle and reapplied sunscreen on her legs.

"So, when are you going to tell me why you're here?" her mother said. She sat in a beach chair next to Chloe, dressed in fine white linen. Her leather sandals lay next to the plastic flip flops Chloe had paid way too much for at a gift store in Germany. They said "Quatsch" on the sole in big red font.

Penelope Decker had ambushed Chloe and Trixie earlier that day. To Chloe's chagrin, she and Trixie had met her waiting for them outside their hotel.

"Grandma!" Trixie shouted, and immediately ran to give her a hug.

"Mom, what...what are you doing here? How did you find us?" For now, Chloe was more baffled than irritated.

Penelope smiled and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Oh dear, do you really think I don't know people for that? Besides, they told me you were pretty easy to find. Really dear? Using your credit card abroad?"

"Oh! My mistake! I didn't realize I was on the run!" Chloe picked up her mother's bags. "Here I am, target located. You can leave now."

"Chloe," Penelope put a hand on her shoulder. "I came because I was worried. No one's heard from you in weeks. I'm your mother and I need to know you and Trixie are safe."

Chloe saw that her mother was in earnest and her anger faded. "Yes, alright, mom, we're safe. Now, get in the car." Chloe opened the trunk to put the bags in. Penelope pushed it closed. She met Chloe's eyes with a look of stubborn, self-centered resolve. In an instant, Chloe knew it was easier to put up with her mother being here than try to make her to leave. If that was even possible. The trip was almost over, anyway.

Chloe sighed. "Okay. But you're getting your own room."

"I'm in room four actually. I'll see you on the beach in a few."

In an hour, they were sitting side by side in beach chairs. Chloe watched as Trixie fell over in a small wave. Before Chloe could panic, Trixie popped up and talked excitedly with the other kids. Chloe released her breath and relaxed back into her chair.

"You're going to have to tell me," her mother said. She lifted a pink margarita to her lips.

"I had some vacation time saved up and I thought it would be fun for Trixie."

"I'm sure it's fun for Trixie." Penelope gestured. "It's probably fun for you to relax while your child might drown."

Chloe gave her a contentious look. "The water comes up to your knees, Mom. It's the most shallow beach I've ever seen."

"Shallow or not, it's dangerous. I don't believe you, by the way."

"What?"

"I know what happened with Marcus."

Chloe wasn't sure what to say. It was true, Pierce had been a big part of why Chloe had left. The three weeks abroad had given her time to process everything. But that wasn't the reason she had been reluctant to go home.

"Chloe, it's been almost a month. You need to go back."

Chloe started making a margarita for herself. "You can stop lecturing me. We're leaving tomorrow. Our last stop is Rome."