mood.
“Well, on that note, I think maybe I’ll leave you to your fantasies.” Hannah reached out to give Tina a hug. “Call me if you need me. I’ll just be a phone call away.”
Tina nodded. “Thanks. It’s nice to know you’re in my corner.”
“Yeah, well, I’m thinking even better to have him on your side.” Hannah tipped her head toward the door and the man outside. “Stay safe. Jasmine, are you staying?”
“For a little while longer.” Jasmine lifted the deck of cards. “I’ve still got to prove that I can win a game.”
“All right, but be sure to ask Reid for a security escort when you leave.” The cell in her pocket began to ring, but she waited for Jasmine to nod her agreement before answering. “Hello?”
“Hannah. Good, I’m glad I caught you.” Harrison’s voice filled her ear. Speaking of hot guys and fantasies. “I need you to get over here as quickly as you can.” All levity vanished at the tone in his voice.
“What’s up?”
“We found Sara’s book bag,” Harrison said, “and her computer.”
“So where did you find it?” Hannah asked as she walked into the A-Tac computer room.
“It was in the bushes between the Union and Varsley Hall,” Harrison said, looking up from the laptop.
Hannah as always looked somewhere between hipand disheveled, her hair going in crazy directions, the word bedhead taking on a whole new meaning. His eyes drifted downward to the soft curves of her body and he wondered when he’d moved from thinking of Hannah as a friend to thinking of her as someone he wanted to get between the sheets. Maybe it was the night on the roof with her skirt slit to her ass and her eyes flashing fire as she crossed the ladder to escape the Consortium shooters.
All he knew was that he wanted her in the worst way and that his timing sucked.
Drake, who was reading through the preliminary coroner’s report, glanced up at the two of them. Harrison mumbled a curse and forced his attention back to the computer.
“So have you found anything?” Hannah asked, dropping into the chair next to his. Hell, he could feel the heat of her body, smell the scent of her shampoo. It took every ounce of determination he could muster to keep from reaching out to touch her.
Son of a bitch.
“Nothing yet,” he said, shaking his head to clear his mind. “I’ve been through her emails, and there wasn’t anything to indicate she’d had any contact with the killer. And nothing to point us toward someone she knew. I’m going through her files now.”
“So what have you got?” Hannah asked Drake, fortunately oblivious to the turn of Harrison’s thoughts.
“ME’s report,” Drake said. “So far no surprises. The blood they found in the house was Sara’s. Which we already knew. There’s evidence of sexual assault, but no semen.”
“So this was an act of rage,” Hannah said.
“Or he used a condom.” Drake shrugged.
“Did they establish time of death?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He looked at her over the top of the file, his expression grim. “About six hours before we got there. She was probably already dead when your TA got the video.”
“So we were right, she never had a chance,” Hannah said.
“Doesn’t look like it, no.”
“This is all just so unbelievable.” Hannah ran a hand through her hair. “I mean, we deal with some pretty awful people on a rather regular basis. But nothing like this. Nothing so pointed. A terrorist wants maximum damage. Biggest bang for the buck. And the loss of life is awful. But this is more than that. This is someone who thrives on death and fear. I can’t even imagine what the last hours of Sara’s life must have been like.”
“You can’t let yourself go there,” Harrison said. “It’s too easy to get sucked into the horror. You have to divorce yourself from the reality of the acts. Keep your mind separated from your emotions.”
“Good luck with that,” Drake said. “I’ve been looking at these pictures
“Well, on that note, I think maybe I’ll leave you to your fantasies.” Hannah reached out to give Tina a hug. “Call me if you need me. I’ll just be a phone call away.”
Tina nodded. “Thanks. It’s nice to know you’re in my corner.”
“Yeah, well, I’m thinking even better to have him on your side.” Hannah tipped her head toward the door and the man outside. “Stay safe. Jasmine, are you staying?”
“For a little while longer.” Jasmine lifted the deck of cards. “I’ve still got to prove that I can win a game.”
“All right, but be sure to ask Reid for a security escort when you leave.” The cell in her pocket began to ring, but she waited for Jasmine to nod her agreement before answering. “Hello?”
“Hannah. Good, I’m glad I caught you.” Harrison’s voice filled her ear. Speaking of hot guys and fantasies. “I need you to get over here as quickly as you can.” All levity vanished at the tone in his voice.
“What’s up?”
“We found Sara’s book bag,” Harrison said, “and her computer.”
“So where did you find it?” Hannah asked as she walked into the A-Tac computer room.
“It was in the bushes between the Union and Varsley Hall,” Harrison said, looking up from the laptop.
Hannah as always looked somewhere between hipand disheveled, her hair going in crazy directions, the word bedhead taking on a whole new meaning. His eyes drifted downward to the soft curves of her body and he wondered when he’d moved from thinking of Hannah as a friend to thinking of her as someone he wanted to get between the sheets. Maybe it was the night on the roof with her skirt slit to her ass and her eyes flashing fire as she crossed the ladder to escape the Consortium shooters.
All he knew was that he wanted her in the worst way and that his timing sucked.
Drake, who was reading through the preliminary coroner’s report, glanced up at the two of them. Harrison mumbled a curse and forced his attention back to the computer.
“So have you found anything?” Hannah asked, dropping into the chair next to his. Hell, he could feel the heat of her body, smell the scent of her shampoo. It took every ounce of determination he could muster to keep from reaching out to touch her.
Son of a bitch.
“Nothing yet,” he said, shaking his head to clear his mind. “I’ve been through her emails, and there wasn’t anything to indicate she’d had any contact with the killer. And nothing to point us toward someone she knew. I’m going through her files now.”
“So what have you got?” Hannah asked Drake, fortunately oblivious to the turn of Harrison’s thoughts.
“ME’s report,” Drake said. “So far no surprises. The blood they found in the house was Sara’s. Which we already knew. There’s evidence of sexual assault, but no semen.”
“So this was an act of rage,” Hannah said.
“Or he used a condom.” Drake shrugged.
“Did they establish time of death?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He looked at her over the top of the file, his expression grim. “About six hours before we got there. She was probably already dead when your TA got the video.”
“So we were right, she never had a chance,” Hannah said.
“Doesn’t look like it, no.”
“This is all just so unbelievable.” Hannah ran a hand through her hair. “I mean, we deal with some pretty awful people on a rather regular basis. But nothing like this. Nothing so pointed. A terrorist wants maximum damage. Biggest bang for the buck. And the loss of life is awful. But this is more than that. This is someone who thrives on death and fear. I can’t even imagine what the last hours of Sara’s life must have been like.”
“You can’t let yourself go there,” Harrison said. “It’s too easy to get sucked into the horror. You have to divorce yourself from the reality of the acts. Keep your mind separated from your emotions.”
“Good luck with that,” Drake said. “I’ve been looking at these pictures
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