Stalked by Allison Brennan

Lucy asked Margo if she wanted to swim, but Margo had plans with Reva for their online course work. Lucy went to the gym and stretched, then worked on free weights, then the punching bag. She was surprised no one was around. Normally at the end of the day a dozen agents from the three classes currently in rotation would be working out, including staff.
    She wanted to swim. In the locker room she changed into her blue one-piece Speedo, then redressed in her shorts and gray T-shirt with her last name stenciled on the back. It was against the rules to swim without a partner, and she hoped to find someone when she got to the pool.
    She opened the door—empty.
    â€œDammit.”
    â€œYou weren’t planning on swimming alone, I hope.” Harden’s voice behind her made her jump.
    â€œNo, sir.” She closed the door. “I’d hoped someone was already inside.”
    â€œYou want to swim that badly?”
    She didn’t know what to say. If she said yes, he’d think she was reckless and would have gone in alone until she saw him. If she said no, he’d think she was wishy-washy or lying.
    Instead, she said, “Swimming is a stress reliever.”
    From the small twitch at the corner of his lips, he hadn’t expected the answer. Sean would call that his “tell,” a physical sign of either lying or surprise.
    â€œI have some time.”
    â€œThank you, sir.”
    The humidity in the room hit Lucy like it always did, warm and thick, but she’d gotten used to it since being here.
    â€œI won’t be long,” she said.
    â€œTake your time. Want me to time you?”
    She raised an eyebrow. “I planned to relax, not compete, sir.”
    He seemed mildly disappointed but nodded and walked over to the mats and free weights in the corner, checking for wear and damage.
    Lucy removed her outer clothes and dove into the water, the temperature a few degrees warmer than she preferred. Soon her body adjusted and she swam perfectly centered in the middle row. The pool was half Olympic length at eighty-two meters, a good practice size. She’d been on the swim team in high school and college, had been good enough to try out for the Olympics, but her heart hadn’t been in it after everything that had happened when she graduated from high school. Still, water was the one constant in her life, from her time before Adam Scott and his cronies raped and nearly killed her to now. She was certified in water search and rescue and had recertified earlier this year.
    She had to find a way to ignore Agent Laughlin, but the more she thought about him the more she realized that something was up with Kate. Kate had said Bureau politics, and Lucy wanted nothing to do with jockeying for power. She just wanted her badge and a position. She’d earned it, and she couldn’t let someone else’s game stop her.
    And then there was Harden, who had forced her into the center of attention yesterday. But Harden had to be tough on them because it was his job to make sure they were all fit when they left. It wasn’t personal with him.
    As she realized the difference between what Harden did yesterday and how Laughlin made her feel today, she realized that it was personal with Laughlin. That she’d solved one problem but now faced another, bigger issue irritated her. She swam harder, focusing on the fluidity of the water, her breathing, and her strokes.
    And she realized that in the back of her mind was the murder of Rosemary Weber.
    What if she was digging into my past? What if she planned to write a book about what happened to me?
    No one Lucy cared about would have talked to the woman and so much about what had happened to Lucy was still sealed, but that didn’t mean Weber couldn’t have made Lucy’s life a living hell trying to dig up the facts. And because Lucy’s rape had been shown on the Internet, there were still digital files out there. She’d never