‘No sense beating around the bush,’ Vanessa thought, eyeing Joe once more. ‘Might as well come right out and ask him.’

"Joe, is something wrong?" Vanessa questioned him. Despite the mirrored sunglasses Joe wore, she could see him look at her for a split second before shaking his head ruefully.

"Can’t put anything by you, can I?" he said with a slight grin.

"No, you can’t, so you might as well spill it," she replied, keeping her tone light.

"I told Dad about Kara." Joe sighed and stopped as if that were explanation enough, despite the fact that he hadn’t told Vanessa about the connection between Fenton Hardy and Brad Galloway.

"And…" Vanessa urged him to continue, not quite understanding why that alone would make Joe so uneasy.

"Bradford R. Galloway – the ‘BRG’ in BRG Investments – he and Dad are old college buddies," Joe sighed again.

"What?!" Vanessa’s blue-gray eyes were huge.

"I didn’t realize it when you first told me because Uncle Brad-"

"Uncle Brad?!" Vanessa cried out.

"Yeah, that’s what we used to call him when we were little," Joe explained. Looking at his fiancée, he couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on Vanessa’s face.

"Why didn’t you tell me any of this last night?" Vanessa fumed.

"Hey, I didn’t realize BRG was Uncle Brad’s company when you first told me!" Joe repeated trying to defend himself. "Apparently, he changed the name of his firm a few years ago. It used to be Galloway Investing."

Vanessa was still staring at Joe, open mouthed and wide-eyed. "So you just found that out this morning when you told your Dad?"

"Um…not exactly," Joe reddened slightly. "Frank told me last night."

"Joe!" Vanessa exclaimed, annoyed. "Why didn’t you tell me then?!"

"Because I had already promised you I’d talk to Kara. Just because Uncle Brad owns the company she worked for wasn’t going to make me change my mind. I gave you my word," Joe explained, knowing he probably should have told her the second he found out. "Besides, there was no sense in both of us worrying about it."

Vanessa stared at Joe, suddenly contrite. Joe had obviously realized the previous evening that even talking to Kara would cause tension between him and his father, yet it had never entered his mind not to follow through. He’d promised Vanessa he would at least talk to her friend, and nothing would make him break that promise.

Reaching out, she took Joe’s hand and held it gently. "Thank you," she said softly. "And I’m sorry."

"Apology accepted," Joe smiled, kissing the back of her hand.

"I bet your Dad wasn’t too happy that you even agreed to see Kara," Vanessa mused.

"That’s putting it mildly," Joe muttered, as the harsh words he and his father had exchanged only an hour earlier came back to haunt him.

Vanessa bit her lip in frustration. She wanted to tell Joe to turn around and go home, that this wasn’t worth damaging the exceptionally close relationship he and Fenton had forged over the past year. Yet, Vanessa was certain that if Joe didn’t help Kara, she would end up in prison for a crime Vanessa was positive she didn’t commit.

"Joe, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble between you and your Dad," she said, disconsolately.

"Trust me, it has nothing to do with you, Babe," Joe assured her.

"But if I hadn’t asked you to help Kara, you and your Dad wouldn’t be…fighting?" she ended, slightly confused. Were Joe and Fenton fighting? Or just disagreeing? Or was one of them simply having a bad day?

"We’re not fighting," Joe assured her, starting to feel just a little guilty himself. "I think we’re just too much alike for our own good. Short on patience and long on stubbornness. Dad just hides it better than I do…most of the time, anyway."

"Still, if I hadn’t asked you to help Kara…"

"We would have found something else to disagree about. If for no other reason than to make sure Frank’s diplomacy skills don’t get rusty," Joe cracked, releasing Vanessa’s hand and brushing a lock of long, ash-blonde hair over her shoulder. "Don’t worry, it’ll all blow over."

Vanessa gave Joe a half-hearted smile. She still felt guilty about causing friction between him and Fenton, even if Joe insisted it wasn’t her fault; but loyalty to her childhood friend won out over the guilt. She quietly settled back and watched the passing scenery as they entered the outskirts of New York City.

As Joe got further into the city, he became mired in traffic and had to slow down considerably. He glanced at the address Vanessa had written down and frowned. Being familiar with the city, he knew Vanessa hadn’t been exaggerating when she said Kara lived in a ‘chancy’ part of town.

‘That’s an understatement,’ he thought.

As the neighborhood streets seemed to deteriorate before his eyes, Joe noticed that Vanessa had shifted in her seat in an attempt to get as close to him as possible. Pulling into an empty space in front of Kara’s apartment building, Joe turned off the car and surveyed their surroundings. Dingy buildings, each with a few boarded up windows lined the block. A few broken down cars, some with smashed windows and slashed tires stood along the street, alongside outdated cars that probably barely ran themselves. His shiny black Mustang stood out like a sore thumb among the junkers. Completing his quick surveillance, Joe’s blue eyes narrowed as they landed on three teenage boys, huddled a few doors down, who were staring back at him intently.

"Wait until I come around," Joe murmured, releasing his seat belt and getting out of the car.

Walking around to the passenger side, Joe opened the door and helped Vanessa out of the car, immediately putting his arm around her. Automatically, she pressed herself against Joe, trying to ignore the three teens, who seemed to be sizing them up. Joe reached back with one arm and pressed the button to lock the car and turn on the alarm, staring at the three boys the entire time.

"Let’s go," he said leading Vanessa into the dreary, rundown building in front of them.

Climbing the creaky old stairs, they reached the third floor and stopped in front of apartment 308. Joe reached out and knocked on the door noting the four different locks and shook his head thinking no one should have to live in that kind of fear.

"Who is it?" a muffled female voice came from the other side of the door.

‘At least she’s smart enough to ask before opening the door,’ Joe thought as Vanessa responded.

"Hi, K!" she said, her voice tinged with excitement. "It’s me – Vanessa!"

The sound of locks rapidly being opened and thrown back greeted them and the door swung open. Before Joe could even get a look at Kara, she had flung herself on Vanessa and enveloped her in a bear hug.

As Vanessa and Kara stood in the open doorway hugging each other and giggling, Joe kept a watchful eye over his shoulder. Hearing the stairs creak, indicating someone else was on the way up, he gently nudged the two girls into the apartment and shut the door behind them, locking two of the four locks. As the two friends separated, Joe got his first good look at Kara. Shorter than Vanessa by a good four or five inches, Kara had glossy black hair that hung to her shoulders, sleek and straight. Brilliant green eyes danced with laughter as she chatted with Vanessa but Joe could still see the unmistakable look of heartbreak in them; a look he’d become all too familiar with right after Iola Morton had died.

Joe stood by patiently as Kara and Vanessa had a reunion of sorts, talking and laughing, trying to catch up on six years in less than a minute. Out of habit, he looked around the room with a practiced eye, taking in the clean but sparsely furnished apartment. He walked towards the window overlooking the street and gazed out, noting the three teens had moved down a few doors to the building right next to Kara’s and were eyeing his car appreciatively.

"Joe?" Vanessa called out.

Turning, Joe walked back to her side and smiled. "Joe, I want you to meet Kara Lidster," she said happily, and then turned to Kara. "Kara, this is my fiancé, Joe Hardy."

"Nice to meet you, Kara," Joe said warmly, shaking her hand. "I’ve heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you too, Joe," Kara replied. "Can I take your coats?" Kara offered, looking from Joe to Vanessa.

"I thought we could talk over lunch," Joe suggested, wanting to get Vanessa – and Kara – as far away from this neighborhood as possible.

"Oh…uh…" Kara stammered.

"Our treat," Joe flashed his most charming smile. "There’s a new restaurant in the city I’ve been wanting to take Vanessa to. You’ll be doing me a favor."

"Thanks," Kara replied gratefully. "Just let me grab my coat."

As Joe turned back towards the window, Kara grabbed Vanessa’s arm and giggled softly, raising her eyebrows and giving Vanessa a thumbs up.

"Nice catch!" she whispered playfully before going to the closet to get her coat.