Page 72 of Girl, Reborn

So they sat in silence, watching theblue-and-red light show paint the remnants of Starlit Meadows Farm in goryTechnicolor.

But eventually, even a hardcase like Miahad to crack. ‘Looks like you had a good time.’

Ella grunted, tongue still fat and stupidin her mouth. All she could muster was a nod.

Mia heaved a sigh and levered herselfupright, then stuck out a hand. ‘C’mon, Dark. You should probably get to ahospital.’

Ella eyed that proffered palm, callusedand coffee-stained and gloriously whole. Every cell in her body screamed totake it, to cling to it like a vine in a hurricane. But something held herback. Call it pride, call it stubbornness, call it the bone-deep knowledge thatif Mia heaved and she ho'd, Ella would faceplant right back into the dirt likea drunken sorority pledge.

‘Hang on… I…. gimme a second.’

Luca broke free from the rabble ofofficers nearby and made his way over. He skidded to a stop.

‘Hollister's stable,’ he reported, alittle breathless. ‘Lungs were full of water, but we cleared his airways justin time.’

‘You cleared his airways just in time,’Ella said. ‘I was busy getting hammered.’

‘Team effort.’ Luca’s gaze shifted to Mia.‘Guess you were the hero of the day, Agent Ripley.’

Mia nudged Ella’s ankle with her foot.‘I’d do anything for this idiot here. At least for the next few months.’

Luca blinked, the hero worship morphinginto confusion. Ella caught his eye, gave a minute headshake. Later. She'd fillhim in on the whole sordid tale once the dust settled and the adrenalinedrained away. For now, they had more pressing concerns. Like the psychopathgetting stitched up in the back of a rig and the victim who'd beaten the reaperby a hairsbreadth.

She levered up onto her good elbow. ‘Whatabout Baxter?’

‘Touch and go. But looks like he'll pullthrough. At least long enough to see the inside of a jail cell. Ripley herecaught him an inch from the heart.’

Ella tried not to grin. ‘Something tellsme that was no accident.’

Mia shrugged. ‘Who knows?’

‘I’m gonna go babysit the perp and makesure he gets to the hospital in one piece. Ella, I’ll see you at the precinctin the morning, maybe.’

‘Good work, kid,’ Ripley said. ‘Keep thisgirl in line, will you? I’ve put too many hours into training her to start overnow.’

He sketched a salute and loped off. Ellawatched him go, something suspiciously close to affection tugging the cornersof her mouth.

When Luca was out of earshot, Mia said,‘Jesus, Dark. They team you up with a male model?’

‘Something like that.’

‘I’m old enough to be his mother but sheesh,he looks good wet. You should take that home.’

Her first instinct was to scoff. To affectthe same nonchalance Mia wore like armor. She and Luca – they were partners,sure. Friends, even. But anything more? Just a flight of fancy, a daydreamfueled by adrenaline and close calls.

Except there was more. A spark, undeniableand electric, arcing between them in the quiet moments. Loaded glances andlingering touches, inside jokes and unspoken understanding. The kind ofconnection that only came from facing death together.

It terrified Ella to her core. Thepossibility, the potential. The chance that she might have found something realand profound amid all this madness. It went against every hard-boiled maxim andevery grim truism she'd carved into her bones over the years.

But maybe that was the point. Maybe it wastime to rewrite the rulebook. Her life had been a series of mights and maybes,almosts and could-have-beens. It was time to embrace the wild card, to take achance on something more than a gold shield and a lonely bed.

‘Maybe you’re right,’ Ella said. ‘Butbefore we delve into my love life, we need to talk about yours. Where the hellhave you been?’

Mia's face clouded over like a summerstorm rolling in. She looked away, jaw working like she was chewing on aparticularly gristly piece of gristle.

‘Hiding. You know why.’

Ella didn't need to be a mind reader toknow exactly who Ripley was talking about. The same someone who'd been leavinga trail of bodies in his wake, all with one common denominator – they'd pissedoff Mia Ripley.

---