It was a lifelong lesson I was committed to mastering.
“Connor, I’m heading out on my lunch break,” I said, tucking my head into his cubicle. “We’ll review the Newman case when I’m back. Make sure we have all of our ducks in a row to put that bastard in jail for a solid eight-to-ten.”
“From your lips to god’s ears.” Connor kissed his fingers and raised them into the air before spinning in his chair to face me. His meticulously shaped brows lifted when his eyes skimmed down me, landing on my new running sneakers. “Okay, I give. What’s the deal with all this running you’ve been doing lately? You training for a marathon with the rest of the middle-aged moms?”
Taming the smile pulling at my lips and tucking my ear buds under my fuzzy ear warmer, I cleared my throat. “I’m training for life.”
“I swear to god, if you go and become a Navy Seal, I will shit myself.”
I pssft at him. “Please. I’d need to be able to punch out nearly one hundred push-ups in two minutes.” Then I winked. “I’m only up to thirty-five.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed. “Girl push-ups, right?”
Laughing, I headed for the elevators. “I leave those for you.”
Waving at my colleagues in passing, I picked a song from my playlist that fit my mood. The next elevator that opened revealed a familiar face. I’d never seen a pair of eyes divert so quickly.
“Dean.” I bit my cheek to keep from cracking a smile.
Whisking past me, he didn’t return my abbreviated greeting, nor so much as spare me a parting glance. The past couple of weeks had been the same. If we weren’t forced to communicate on a particular case, he avoided me like I spelled career, financial, and mortal ruin.
I suppose, given Noah’s threat and my own, fraternizing with me meant the same thing.
Stepping in the elevator with a grin, I picked my song and dialed up the volume. Springing past the doors on the first floor, I broke into a jog as soon as my feet touched the sidewalk.
Running through the busy streets of downtown Seattle came with its challenges, but I viewed them as opportunities instead of hindrances. My whole mindset had changed, one synapse at a time. Life wasn’t about avoiding, dodging, or delaying the challenges that came at us—it was about accepting them, embracing the storms, and allowing them to mold and shape you into a stronger version of the person you’d been before.
It was about becoming so sturdy and unyielding, you became the storm.
Noah had taught me that. He personified embracing the storms of life until he’d transformed into his own brand of hurricane, leaving destruction and dealing demise to the evil beasts inhabiting the world.
I had a long way to go, but at least I was now part of the journey.
A mile sped by, the following three faster than the first. I was nearing the office when a call cut through the raging chorus of my song. It was a call I had to take. The task force had officially dismantled, but I continued to play my part as I knew I must. I was learning the art of camouflage and the guise of hiding in plain sight from my husband. Nothing had or could change following the Huntsman’s capture. We had to behave as if life was continuing as normal, giving no one any reason to question our actions.
“Titus, what’s up?” I asked, holding my pace.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” his cavernous voice rumbled.
“No. I’m on my lunch break. It’s a great time.”
“You sound like you’re a few heartbeats from hyperventilation,” he replied.
“I’m running. It’s good for your heart and lungs to stress them every once in a while.”
“Stress. Not destroy.”
My eyes rolled. “I’m guessing you called for another reason than concern for my internal organs?”
A low-timbered chuckle echoed on the other end. “I just wrapped up my investigation down here in LA. I already spoke with your dad, but I figured you were next on the list to inform what I found out.”
I checked my watch. I still had fifteen minutes before I needed to be back. “What did you dig up?”
“There’s no way Sullivan could have killed all thirty-three men like he’s claiming.”
Ice spread through my veins, forcing my legs to come to a succinct halt. “What? How do you know? Are you sure?” My questions came out in raspy pulses.
“I’m sure. I’ve got an alibi who confirms he was in LA when at least three of the murders took place.”
Moving away from the main current of bodies, I leaned into the building behind me. “Is this alibi reliable?”
“Well, yeah.” Titus hesitated, a low grunt following. “She has nothing to gain from confirming his presence and everything to lose.”
My eyes closed. “A lover?”
Titus mumbled, “A married lover.”
A curse slipped past my lips. “Water tight?”
“Fucking A,” he grunted, sounding proud of himself. “You know what this means, right?”
Leaning my head against the wall, I tipped it upward, staring at the mottled skies. Another storm was brewing. I hoped the one growing within me was strong enough to battle it head-on.
“Sullivan must have had an accomplice,” I surmised, as I had to. Any seasoned lawyer had toiled through enough cases to know when A led to B led to C.
“Damn straight he must have.”
I worked to regulate my heart, itching to race from the emotions flooding my system. “You’ve already told my father this?”
“Called you the second I hung up with him.”
After inhaling slowly, I asked, “I’m guessing he’s resurrecting the task force in hopes of finding this accomplice?”
“Would you really expect anything different from Silas Payne?” Titus huffed. “He wants to come at this accomplice thing hard, while everyone is still busy celebrating or lamenting the capture of Sullivan. Before the police really dig into the details and uncover the holes in his story.”
An accomplice. It was better than arriving at the conclusion that they’d caught the wrong man entirely. But still, it meant people searching, eyes narrowed in concentration. It meant Noah wasn’t safe . . . not that he’d ever been safe since he’d sacrificed part of himself for the Huntsman’s mission.
Not that safe was a state he placed any importance on where his life was concerned. Safety—the illusion of it—was what all of us must sacrifice at some time to truly reach our potential, to arrive at the unique task laid before our feet, a duty most of us chose to forgo in exchange for a deception.
Noah was different.
So was I.
“When’s the first meeting?” I asked, already anticipating the answer.
“Tonight. Oh, and your dad said to tell you to ask Noah to join the team. Officially. His shrink perspective will be valuable in tracking down the partner. Not to mention he has a personal stake in taking a killer of this sort off of the streets.”
“He’s in.” The corner of my mouth pulled as I turned down the sidewalk, continuing my run to its completion. “Noah would love the chance to hunt down a predator.”
Epilogue
“You look good in black.” Noah glanced at me from the driver’s seat, a smile threatening the shadow veiling his face.