Page 201 of Solanum

"We will."

Nora met my gaze, and her visible gulp tightened her jaw.

***

The next few weeks passed without incident. Nora fell back into the comfort of the behind-the-scenes nature of the work that she did best. Wilkinson paired her with Agent Chin on a few assignments, and Jenson on another. With the emergence of another body, the serial's signature seemed to devolve into a messy escalation. The crime scene appeared more like a blood bath of gore belonging to a horror movie rather than a real-life case. In that moment, my gratitude that Nora wasn't on the scenes with us soared.

It took us over two hours to arrive back at the field office from Northern Washington, turning the day into the evening before I knew it. Roderick sat in the passenger seat with Taylor in the back.

"The smell is stuck in my nose," commented Taylor. "Haven't been on a scene like that in a while."

"It's been a time," I said, dryly at best. "Get used to it."

"Harsh, Donovan." Roderick laughed. "Think we'll catch this guy?"

"Yeah. I do." I glanced at him, frowning. "Why? You think this douchebag is beyond us?"

"His body count is getting up there…"

"How do you even know it was a male?" I pressed, as always.

"You know any female serials who destroyed the bodies of other females like this?" His return challenge made me grin.

"No, but there's always a first time. Not every female killer uses poison as a primary weapon of choice."

"She's got a point," added Taylor.

"She usually does," muttered Roderick. "So, how's Brody? Haven't talked to her much. She seems quieter…"

"She is quieter," said Taylor, meeting my gaze in the rearview mirror. "And different."

"I mean, she's been through shit." Roderick's comment riled my insides, and I gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Gotta change someone."

When we pulled into the parking garage, I slammed on the brakes hard enough to jerk all of us forward. Roderick's hand slammed the dashboard and Taylor let out an agitated shout from the back.

"Both of you will shut the fuck up about Nora. If you say anything like that to me or anyone else, I will fucking string both of you up by your dicks, got it?"

"Fucking Christ, Donovan." Roderick's wide eyes nearly lifted his eyebrows to the brim of his hat. "Calm the hell down."

"When you two stop being insensitive cocksuckers, I will." I threw the SUV into park and tore the keys out of the ignition. "Don't fucking ask questions about Nora. In fact, don't even fucking look at her."

"Fuckin' hell," Taylor muttered before I left them in the car.

It wasn't often that I lost my cool on subordinates, but today they seemed to push me over the edge. I could deal with issues related to work but I would never tolerate questioning me about Nora.

My heart pounded as I climbed the stairs, skipping out on the elevator. By the time I showed up on our floor, I cooled off substantially. The edge never seemed to leave me though lately. It might've made me keener with work, but it didn't help the relationship with my colleagues.

I found Nora at her desk, in the office she now shared with Chin, but she was the only one in there when I headed in. She didn't notice me at first, her eyes peeled on the computer screen in front of her. Two coffee cups sat on her desk and she chewed on her thumbnail while reading something.

"Hey, babe."

She started, but faintly, and smiled when she met my gaze. "Hi. You guys were gone awhile," she said.

"Yeah." I bent to kiss her cheek before leaning against the edge of her desk beside her. "Long day. How was yours?"

"Same."

"What are you working on?"

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