hard to accept.
“Where are you going?” Kara asked when Davis reached for his keys and headed for the door.
“Ed suggested it might be in my best interest to back off these cases and let Ryan take the lead. I won’t accept that, Kara. Not now with Jessica involved. I owe it to her and to her parents to figure out what’s happened to her.”
He opened the door and turned back to her. “And I don’t want you involved in this. I was wrong to bring you here in the first place. I’m going to send you to Ava and Maggie.”
He wasn’t surprised that she followed him, or that she was ready to argue her case. “No, you’re not. Whether I’m with you or not, I’m still going to be getting the visions from the Angel. I’m involved. I’m here and I can help. I want to. I need to for Ava’s sake. She needs both of her parents, Davis. So you can just forget sending me away. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Kara.” Davis closed the door and touched her face. “I can’t let anything happen to you. I almost lost you the last time. I did lose you in a way. I don’t want that to happen again.”
“We’re both involved in this. We both need to settle the Angel case once and for all, otherwise it will always haunt us. We’ll never be able to move on with our lives.”
He didn’t want to move on. For Kara, moving on meant letting go. He couldn’t let her go.
He closed his eyes before finally giving in. “All right, I guess I don’t really have a choice in the matter, do I? I know how stubborn you are. I’m going back to the office and talk to Ed. If you want, I’ll drop you off with the task force and you can start going over the evidence with them.”
“No. I’m coming with you to talk to Ed. It’s the least I can do. Whatever Ed has to say to you, he can just say it with me there as well.”
Ed Zamora was not happy to see Kara again. When she’d worked with the Bureau before, Ed had been her biggest skeptic. In the end, after the kidnapping and the scandal that followed, he’d been only too happy to see Kara leave.
“Kara, it’s been a long time.” He waited until she took a seat before closing the door.
“Davis, before you say it, you know I don’t believe any of this but we can’t afford another scandal like the last one. We need to be above reproach on this one.” His eyes slid to Kara briefly.
“I understand what you’re saying, but Jessica is my friend. I need to be part of this. Hell, I am part of this.”
“Do you have any idea what the press will do when they get wind of your connection to all the victims?” Davis wondered what Ed was more concerned about. His connection to the victims or his relationship to Kara.
“Is there anything new on Jessica?” Ed asked at last when Davis didn’t answer.
“No, nothing yet. Her car is still in the garage. But we believe she knew her kidnapper,” Davis told him.
“Great—just great. That’s exactly why I need you to stay out of the spotlight on this one, Davis. The press will eat you alive when they find out you’ve known all the victims. I don’t want you to go through that. It’s not good for the Bureau or you if—”
“Are you ordering me off the case entirely?” Davis demanded before Ed could finish.
Ed stared hard at Davis for a long moment before slowly releasing his breath. “Would you do it if I asked?”
“No. Jessica has only a short time left if the killer is staying true to form with his first victims. Dammit, Ed, Jessica is like family to me. I’ve practically watched her grow up. I’m not backing off this.”
“All right,” Ed answered at last, clearly not pleased with Davis’s response. “But I’m warning you, stay out of the limelight. And if this thing comes to the attention of my superiors, I won’t have a choice but to pull you off the case and suspend you. Understood?”
“Yes.” Davis got to his feet, ready to leave before Ed changed his mind.
“And keep her out of this. We can
“Where are you going?” Kara asked when Davis reached for his keys and headed for the door.
“Ed suggested it might be in my best interest to back off these cases and let Ryan take the lead. I won’t accept that, Kara. Not now with Jessica involved. I owe it to her and to her parents to figure out what’s happened to her.”
He opened the door and turned back to her. “And I don’t want you involved in this. I was wrong to bring you here in the first place. I’m going to send you to Ava and Maggie.”
He wasn’t surprised that she followed him, or that she was ready to argue her case. “No, you’re not. Whether I’m with you or not, I’m still going to be getting the visions from the Angel. I’m involved. I’m here and I can help. I want to. I need to for Ava’s sake. She needs both of her parents, Davis. So you can just forget sending me away. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Kara.” Davis closed the door and touched her face. “I can’t let anything happen to you. I almost lost you the last time. I did lose you in a way. I don’t want that to happen again.”
“We’re both involved in this. We both need to settle the Angel case once and for all, otherwise it will always haunt us. We’ll never be able to move on with our lives.”
He didn’t want to move on. For Kara, moving on meant letting go. He couldn’t let her go.
He closed his eyes before finally giving in. “All right, I guess I don’t really have a choice in the matter, do I? I know how stubborn you are. I’m going back to the office and talk to Ed. If you want, I’ll drop you off with the task force and you can start going over the evidence with them.”
“No. I’m coming with you to talk to Ed. It’s the least I can do. Whatever Ed has to say to you, he can just say it with me there as well.”
Ed Zamora was not happy to see Kara again. When she’d worked with the Bureau before, Ed had been her biggest skeptic. In the end, after the kidnapping and the scandal that followed, he’d been only too happy to see Kara leave.
“Kara, it’s been a long time.” He waited until she took a seat before closing the door.
“Davis, before you say it, you know I don’t believe any of this but we can’t afford another scandal like the last one. We need to be above reproach on this one.” His eyes slid to Kara briefly.
“I understand what you’re saying, but Jessica is my friend. I need to be part of this. Hell, I am part of this.”
“Do you have any idea what the press will do when they get wind of your connection to all the victims?” Davis wondered what Ed was more concerned about. His connection to the victims or his relationship to Kara.
“Is there anything new on Jessica?” Ed asked at last when Davis didn’t answer.
“No, nothing yet. Her car is still in the garage. But we believe she knew her kidnapper,” Davis told him.
“Great—just great. That’s exactly why I need you to stay out of the spotlight on this one, Davis. The press will eat you alive when they find out you’ve known all the victims. I don’t want you to go through that. It’s not good for the Bureau or you if—”
“Are you ordering me off the case entirely?” Davis demanded before Ed could finish.
Ed stared hard at Davis for a long moment before slowly releasing his breath. “Would you do it if I asked?”
“No. Jessica has only a short time left if the killer is staying true to form with his first victims. Dammit, Ed, Jessica is like family to me. I’ve practically watched her grow up. I’m not backing off this.”
“All right,” Ed answered at last, clearly not pleased with Davis’s response. “But I’m warning you, stay out of the limelight. And if this thing comes to the attention of my superiors, I won’t have a choice but to pull you off the case and suspend you. Understood?”
“Yes.” Davis got to his feet, ready to leave before Ed changed his mind.
“And keep her out of this. We can
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