Page 4 of So Insane

He lifted his eyes to hers, and she saw in his gaze the certainty that he no longer had Turk but instead had left him buried somewhere in the wilderness.

Faith refused to believe that.

“I couldn’t tell you about West even if I wanted to,” Michael said. “You know that. Even if you weren’t suspended, the case would still be off-limits to you.”

She pressed her lips together. It was hardly a surprise that Special Agent-in-Charge Grant Monroe—known affectionately as the Boss to the agents of the Philadelphia Field Office—had suspended Faith following her consistent and flagrant disregard of his instructions to lay off the case, but it still hurt.

“If we hear any news about Turk, I’ll tell you,” Michael said gently. “So far, we haven’t heard anything.”

She nodded and shoved a forkful of pancakes into her mouth to stifle the lump in her throat. “How’s Ellie?” she asked.

He sighed. “The same. She’s all right with me helping you out, but she’s not interested in hearing your apology. Or anything from you at all.”

"Is she really okay with you helping me out, or is she just tolerating it because she feels she has no choice?"

Michael met her eyes and said, “Faith, if my wife didn’t want me here, I wouldn’t be here.”

Faith paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. “You guys got married?”

“Yes,” he said, “last month.”

Faith’s heart twisted in her chest. She realized now that she had held onto the lingering hope that she and Michael might become friends again after all of this, but hearing that Michael and Ellie had married and he hadn’t even bothered to tell her beforehand killed that hope.

She managed a smile and said, “That’s good. Congratulations. I’m happy for you two.”

“I would have invited you,” he said, “but Ellie. Well, that’s gonna be a while.”

“Yeah, no, it’s okay. I get it. I’d hate me to if I were her.”

“She doesn’t hate you, Faith. She just…”

His voice trailed off. Apparently, he couldn't think of a convincing enough lie. The silence was too much for Faith after a moment, so she said, “How’s work? They given you a new partner yet?”

He shook his head. “No, they haven’t mentioned anything. That new kid, Rosa, might end up working with me. Until you get reinstated, of course.”

Faith’s smile faded. The Boss had made it clear to her that if she was caught interfering in the Copycat Killer case again, she wouldn’t be back.

“They won’t reinstate me,” she said. “My career in the FBI is over.”

CHAPTER TWO

Both of them paused, shocked to hear her admit it out loud. Michael recovered first. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “You don’t get to give up, Faith. You fucked up, and you’ll pay the price for that, but you’ll be back.”

“I’ll be back in the FBI, but I’ll never go into the field again,” she said. “Best case, they’ll stick me in evidence and let me play around with body fluids and scraps of fiber. Worst case, I’ll end up in Quantico filing paperwork and getting fat watching daytime soaps on a portable tv.”

She shrugged and sipped her coffee again, “but it’s fine. I had a nice run. Shit happens. Tell me about this new girl, Rosa. She prettier than me?”

She smiled teasingly, and Michael rolled his eyes. “Jeffrey Rosa is a decent-looking young man, I suppose,” he said drily, “and he’s a lot more timid than you were when you started, which bodes well for me. I’m too old to handle another big personality.”

She chuckled. “I think you’ll do just fine.”

His phone rang then. He sighed, and when he saw the number, he rolled his eyes. "The Boss. Duty calls. At least it's not on my honeymoon this time."

An uncomfortable image of Michael and Ellie together, arms wrapped around each other, lips pressed together, crossed Faith’s mind. At one point years ago, Michael and Faith had been an item. Those days were long gone, but the thought of Michael in love with someone else still seemed strange to Faith sometimes.

Michael’s eyes widened, and when he said, “Is it Turk?” all thought of Michael, Ellie, West and everything else vanished. Faith stood so quickly she knocked over both of their coffee mugs. Michael, equally stunned and excited, didn’t react other than to back away from the trickle of hot liquid. “We’re on our way. Faith’s allowed to come, right? Outstanding. We’ll be there soon.”

He hung up and grinned at Faith. “Fortune favors the Bold once again.”

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