This internal struggle came to an abrupt stop when she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. Her heart stammered a bit as she was certain this was Jack—hopefully as excited for her to officially be back at work as she was. Yet, when she turned around to see who was approaching the backside of her cubicle, she was surprised to see Anderson. He was carrying a mug of coffee, and there was a surprisingly cheerful expression on his face—not the sort of thing she was accustomed to when it came to Anderson.

  He came to a stop at the edge of her cubicle tilted his coffee slightly towards her in a sort of mock toast. “Welcome back, Agent Gift.”

  “Thanks. But…I mean, you’ve seen me a few times already over the last few weeks.”

  “I have. But in terms of records, paperwork, and a normal billing cycle, today marks your first official day back.”

  “Yes, I suppose it does.”

  Anderson nodded to the flowers at the edge of her desk. “And I see Agent Rivers is glad to have you back as well.”

  She nodded, worried that this was why he'd come to speak with her at her cubicle rather than calling her into his office. Was she about to get a lecture on how she and Jack were supposed to have while in a federal building?

  "Look, I got your email about the extra week off," he said. "Quick, I know, but I just happened to be getting his cup of coffee when it came through. Look, I can put it down on the books, and you'll get it without a problem. But when you get back, I think we need to sit down to figure out what your career looks like going forward in terms of time off." He frowned and the way he started peaking again, choosing his words very carefully, made her feel quite sure he hated what he was saying—that it was just going by the book and being as thorough as possible. "Aside from the obvious appointments for check-ups and things of that nature, we'll have to start presenting you as an active agent sooner rather than later. And that means adherence to time-off policies and guidelines."

  “Oh, yes, I know. And the hope is that this next trip to Switzerland will be the final step in achieving that again.”

  “That’s good to hear.” He chuckled nervously and sipped from his coffee. Rachel could tell there was something on his mind but he was trying to delay it—yet another thing she was not accustomed seeing out Anderson. Perhaps, she thought, he was uncomfortable around her now because of the minor bit of celebrity she’d experienced after not only putting Alex Lynch into the ground, but taking a shot for Jack, saving her partner's life. She still wasn't quite sure how news of the tumor had reached the press, but once it did, there had been about two weeks of emails and phone calls requesting interviews.

  And as for Lynch, she suspected her name would always be tied to him. From the first time she’d capture the notorious, maniacal serial killer, to her murdering him after he’s escaped and tormented her family. He would forever be a shadow trailing behind her…and that was a hard pill to swallow.

  She'd declined all of the interviews, and eventually, the fervor of it all died down—even the Lynch stuff. But this was the first time she’d wondered if something about that entire period had rubbed Anderson the wrong way. She was glad he was bringing up the topic of her being treated like an equal, though; the last thing she wanted was to be handled with kids’ gloves.

  “So, what’s the consensus right now? Is it a clean bill of health, or are things still up in the air?”

  "Are you asking out of genuine concern or because you need to know what to tell the higher-ups?"

  “Both, actually,” Anderson answered without apology. “And there’s a third reason, too. A reason that sort of ties into the others.”

  “Which is?”

  “A local case. Right here in Richmond. Local PD have requested a bureau assist. From the surface level, it seems like just putting some pieces together from crime scenes…likely not anything dangerous of physically demanding. And believe it or not, I feel like I know you pretty well. You’re welcome to stay on with an already-large team to help with this nationwide case, or I could set you and Jack on this case. And let me just say it again before that look of excitement on your face gets out of control…it’s only because it’s local. No travel. And based on the information I have, it should be a softball pitch. A good way to ease back into things. Now, just between the two of us, I personally think it’s too soon. But if you do plan to come back in a full capacity, you need to rack up some in-field hours to balance out the time you were away. I know it sounds cruel, but that’s the way it works.”

  “Oh, I know. That’s been heavy on my mind, too. And as for the case, I’m absolutely interested,” she said. “And thanks for considering me.”

  “Agent Gift, I’m just as anxious about you getting back into the field as you are.”

  “Oh, I highly doubt that,” she said, letting out a genuine laugh.

  “So let’s do this: I haven’t even told Agent Rivers about this case. It just came across my desk this morning and honestly, we’re stretched so thin that I almost told the PD they may have to wait a day or two. I’ll call Agent Rivers into my office for a meeting…let’s say half an hour from now. I’ll go over all of the details then.”

  "Sounds perfect." And really, it did. Somewhere in the more conceited regions of her mind, she'd not expected to have to wait too long to get back into her normal role within the bureau. But she would have never guessed it might be this quick. And while she did understand that it was basically a pity-case, she was more than happy to take it.

  “Good,” Anderson said. “I’ll see you in half an hour.”

  Rachel watched him go, still slightly taken aback by his jovial attitude. It felt eerie, and she hoped whatever it was would only be temporary. But at the same time, when she turned back to face her laptop, she realized that she was the happiest she’d been in a very long time. Things were looking very positive in regards to beating the cancer; she’d finally booked a flight for her trip with Paige to Florida; and now she was maybe just half an hour away from stepping back into her job—which she had missed more than she was willing to openly admit.

  For the first time in a very long time, things were looking up.

  And if the only downside to that was some slight awkwardness with Director Anderson, she thought it was a very fair trade-off.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jack was having a strange morning, made even more dizzying by the presence of the engagement ring in his pocket. The ring was like a steady hum to everything else, a constant reminder pushing him along.

  When Anderson buzzed him to come down to his office, Jack was in a conference room with five other agents—all five of whom were part of the nationwide sting on three men somewhere out west that were believed to be serial killers—men with a death toll of at least twenty over the past year. While Jack himself wasn’t officially assigned to the case, he had been assigned with two other more seasons agents to serve as liaisons and research outlets.

  For the bulk of the morning, he’d been examining crime scene photos—some of which were very grisly. Six different bodies, one of which had been beheaded, another that had been brutally attacked with what appeared to have been a crowbar. Yet the entire time, despite the bloodiness and grim scenes, Jack had a strangely excited knot in his stomach.

  He knew, of course, that it had absolutely nothing to do with the crime scene photos spread out over two different conference tables.

  No, the excitement and jittery nerves were the result of the ring in his pocket.

  He'd purchased it two weeks, knowing when and where he planned to use it. The case was a bit uncomfortable in his pocket, but he didn't care. He was barely even aware of it because he was so nervous.

  He'd done the hard part already. Well,…one of the hard parts. Last week, on one of the days Rachel had come into headquarters, Jack had ventured across town and paid a visit to Grandma Tate and Paige just after school, knowing that Rachel wouldn't be showing up for another hour. He'd asked their permission to ask Rachel to marry him, and it had gone exceedingly well. Grandma Tate had cried. As for Paige, Jack wasn't sure she understood it fully, but she'd agreed right away and even hugged him fiercely.

  Now came the next hard part: actually asking Rachel. And he figured there was no better time to do it than her first official day back at the bureau. it would be the last thing she expected, and he wanted to really hammer the day and moment down as one they'd both remember. He figured he'd do it just before they left for lunch. or maybe when they got back from lunch break…whichever his nerves would allow.

  But then Anderson had requested a meeting—a meeting he said Rachel would also be attending. With that request, Jack sensed that his plans for the day would likely have to be set aside. He hoped it would just be a meeting about what the future might look like in terms of them working as partners while romantically involved. But Jack felt something like that would have already been discussed.

  So shortly before ten o'clock, Jack made his way down to Anderson's office, not sure what to expect. Knowing he was about to see Rachel within these bureau walls for the first time in nearly half a year seemed to add some weight to the ring in his pocket. It made him wonder if he should stop by his cubicle for a second and stow it away. He nearly did it, but decided that there was no way to know for sure when the proper time might come along—or, rather, when his nerves would allow it.

  So he kept the ring in his pocket and realized that by the time he came to Anderson’s door, it felt like a brick in his pocket. Surely Rachel would see it, right? There was no way she wouldn’t see the shape of it in his pocket.

  You were just looking as corpses in crime scene photos and now are about to sit down in Anderson’s office for an unknown reason, he thought. And these are the things you’re really thinking about?

  It did make him feel slightly ashamed as he stepped into Anderson’s office. Director Anderson was sitting behind his desk, looking at something on his desktop monitor. Rachel was already there, sitting in her usual seat in front of his desk. When they locked eyes, Jack felt like he may as well just have the damned ring in his hand already, showing it to her and letting her know it was there. She smiled at him, and he sat down quickly. So much for not making her first day back a little awkward, he thought.

  “Thanks for the promptness, Agent Rivers,” Anderson said. He punched a few last keys on his keyboard and turned his attention to both of them. "Now, I've already gone over the basics with Agent Gift. There's a local case that the Richmond PD are asking for help on. Based on what I have been told, it's basically going to be studying a few crime scenes and maybe speaking to a few potential witnesses. I don't believe it will become anything taxing. I think it would be a great case for Agent Gift to come back in on. Agent Rivers, would you be okay in going out with her on this?"

  "Absolutely, yes, sir."

  Anderson nodded and let out a small sigh. “I also have to address the elephant in the room and mention that it will also be a good test run of sorts to see if the two of you are going to be comfortable working together now that you’re in a romantic relationship.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jack said. Of course, Anderson had no idea they’d been involved prior to Rachel’s hospital stay and medical trips to Switzerland.

  Rachel remained quiet in the matter, but nodded her agreement.

  "I just emailed you the police reports, but here's what we know so far. We've got two victims that, for now, seem to have no clear connection. At the end of the day, they may end up being the victims of two different killers. The only connection we have is that both had their necks snapped. No visible signs of a fight or attack, just broken necks. Quick and clean. No prints, no footage, no evidence, nothing. Now, in the case of the most recent victim, the body was discovered in a car in a parking garage. All the police know for certain is that it appears the car was initially locked, but was jimmied open from the outside…likely with a slim jim by someone who knew what they were doing. As for the first victim, the back door's lock had been destroyed and the door and frame indicate forced entry.”

  “And both are here in town?” Rachel asked.

  “Yes. Both. In fact, the parking garage is less than twenty minutes away, across from the Performing Arts Center. If you head out now, I’ll make sure someone from the police are there. Maybe the attendant who found the body, too.”

  Jack was excited right away but made sure to look over to Rachel to see how he was handling the update. She looked, on the surface, calm and collected, but he knew her well enough to see through that. The way she drawn her lips together, in tandem with the serious gaze of her eyes, meant that she was holding in her true emotions. He was pretty sure she was about to jump out of her own skin just to get back into the field. And really, this truly was the perfect situation to ease back into her position with the bureau.

  “Well then,” he said, still looking over to Rachel. “Let’s get going then.”

  He stood up, maybe a bit too quickly, and, as such, showed his enthusiasm. He caught himself, trying to reel it in. He wasn't sure who was trying to stay cool and collected for the most…Anderson or Rachel.

  Rachel got up next and, with just a quick and simple “goodbye” to Anderson, followed Jack out of the door. The receptionist wasn’t in the waiting area, so when Rachel reached out and took his hand, there was no one there to see.

  “Are you okay with this?” she asked.

  “Hell yeah, I am. Are you?”

  “Maybe a bit more than I should be.”

  Smirking, Jack said: “About working with me again, or just the job itself.”

  Rachel gave him a similar, snarky smile right. “Ask me again at the end of the day.”

  And then, releasing his hand before the stepped out into the hallway, Rachel took the lead.

  Just like old times, Jack thought as he followed Rachel down the hall on their way to another case. Well, maybe not just like old times. The ring in his pocket actually made things very different indeed. He knew he'd have to alter his original plans of proposing at her favorite restaurant (he'd made reservations three days ago), and that was fine. His main worry was if things got postponed and changed, would he ever find the nerve to approach it all over again?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Rachel asked.

  Jack was driving, now just ten minutes away from the Arts Center parking garage. Rachel had noticed something strange about his demeanor from the moment he’d come into Anderson’s office. He didn’t seem nervous…she wouldn’t go that far. But he definitely seemed jittery.

  “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “You’re acting weird.”

  “Don’t I always?”

  “A bit, yes. But this is different.”

  She kept her eyes on him while she waited for a response. Even in just watching his expression shift the slightest bit, she could see the nerves on him. “I guess it’s the quick speed in how my morning changed. I was looking over gory crime scene photos one moment and then getting a call about going out on a case with a woman I see naked on the regular. It’s just jarring.”

  “If seeing me naked on the regular is going to come between us, we can fix that.”

  “No, no, I think I’ll be okay,” he said with a wide, mischievous grin. “Really, though, I think I’m a little more spastic about working with you again. Things are…well, things are different now, huh?”

  “Are you referring to the naked thing again, or the fact that I took a bullet for you?”

  He gave her a playful sneer and shook his head. “It’s not fun working with you anymore. Actively sleeping together, the sexual tension and flirting falls a little flat.”

  They made their way through the diminishing morning traffic and came to the Performing Arts Center just shy of eleven o'clock. When they came to the security gate, Jack flashed his badge at the young man in the booth.

  “Agents Rivers and Gift, FBI. Is there a police presence already here?”

  “Yes, sir. Level B, all the way at the end.”

  Jack entered the garage and made the circuit around Level A. The garage wasn’t very packed at all, just a few cars here and there. It became even more vacant as they took the ramp up toward Level B. As they came to the top, a single police car was parked horizontally to the left, effectively blocking off the backside of the level. Jack turned in that direction and parked in an empty space directly beside the police car.

  As they stepped out of the car, two policemen on the blocked-off side came walking over. One looked to be extremely irritated that they were being interrupted. But when Rachel showed him her badge as she closed her door, his attitude changed. As he nodded to them and waved them over to their side of the police car, Rachel noticed an African American male standing over in the corner. He looked to be just a bit north of middle age and not particularly interested in anything that was going on.

  “So the first question I have,” Jack said as he stepped around the police car, “is where is the victim’s car?”

  “It was impounded yesterday,” the formerly irritated cop said. “It’s down at a lot at the station. And the body is at the coroner.”

  “No prints or clues of any kind on the car?”

  “Nothing so far. We’re still waiting back on a suspicious hair sample we found on the rearview mirror. We should have results on that in the next few hours.”

  Rachel looked to the bored man standing against the wall. “And who are you, sir?”

  “Sam Dungee.” He stepped forward and offered his hand for a shake. “I was the one who found the dead man. Just sitting up here in his car.”

  Rachel considered this as she took note of the second cop. He was taking pictures of the area and scribbling notes down in a notebook. She assumed he was trying to find potential ways a killer could have come and gone without being detected. Without even trying hard at all, Rachel could see the cameras mounted along the post that was positioned where Level B split off into two directions.

 

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