Page 71 of Critical Doubt

"I thought I had, but then the backstabbing and jealousy drove that good feeling away, and I had to keep looking. It wasn't until I got to Quantico that I really found a group of people I could trust."

"Tell me about your team."

"Flynn MacKenzie is the head of the task force. He's half-American, half-Brit, has a dry sense of humor and reckless streak. As I mentioned before, he ran our training team at Quantico, which included myself, Beck, Caitlyn, Jax and Lucas. All of us are now on Flynn's task force, and we're joined by three of the members from a rival team at Quantico, Wyatt, Bree and Diego. The other two are still working in the FBI. Damon leads the office in LA and Parisa Maxwell, is assigned to the DC office. Flynn actually suggested I look up Parisa if I need some help in this part of the country."

"It's interesting that you've all stayed together since Quantico."

"We were actually spread out the first three years, but the last year and a half we've found our way back onto the same team. Like going through ranger training, you form a bond within your class, and it was the same at Quantico. A lot of the assignments were meant to tear you down, strip you bare, show you what your vulnerabilities were as an agent so that your weaknesses wouldn't defeat you. We all heard very personal and private information about each other, and I think it gave us a trust that we might not have had otherwise."

"And now you're in California. What's that like?"

"Fabulous," she said with a laugh. "The weather is awesome. I have an apartment near the beach. I sometimes bike to work, although probably not as often as I should. It's nice to be in a big, diverse area, with lots of cultures, great restaurants, and amazing entertainment."

"LA is nothing like Dobbs."

"I like Dobbs, but the small town never fit me. And being so close to Fort Benning and my father, it was not a place I was going to stay. I don't know if I'll be in LA forever, but it suits me now. I like the beach."

"So do I. It's just a different kind of beach where I live."

"You already seem more relaxed," she said. "It's like you're leaving your stress behind with each roll of the wheel."

"I am. I can breathe again."

"What do you do for fun, Ryker?"

"Fun?" he echoed. "You don't think fishing is fun?"

"It's a little slow for me. I would think it would be that way for you, too."

"I needed to slow down, and it's easy to keep people quiet so they don't scare the fish."

"Do you go into town on the weekends? Do you have a local bar you hang out at? Any friends? Any women?"

He flung her a smile. "Ah, you want to know about the women. Way to bury the leading question at the end."

She made a face at him. "I'm a little curious."

"There haven't been a lot of women in my life the last several months. I took someone out about six weeks ago, thinking it was time to get back into action, but she was honestly boring as hell. All she could talk about was the drama in her friends' group. Ashley slept with Kenzie's boyfriend, and Melissa posted an unflattering photo on social media of Karen, and that started a huge fight," he said mockingly.

"They sound like a fun group."

"It was not a fun conversation. The only thing I was enjoying was my steak. And then my date's phone went off. It was loud, and it rang, and it rang, because she couldn't find it in her enormous bag, which she proceeded to unpack on the table. There were tampons rolling around by the bread and butter."

She laughed at his words. "That must have been uncomfortable."

"It gets better. It was her ex-boyfriend, and she proceeded to talk to him at the table."

"And your bells weren't ringing then?"

"Oh, yeah, they started going big-time. I ended up throwing a hundred-dollar bill on the table and getting out of there. I'm not sure she noticed I left. She was yelling at Ron about telling Karen all their problems."

"Where did you meet her?"

"At the gym. I was working on rehabbing my knee, and she used to do the elliptical at the same time. I was getting a little tired of my own company. I thought I could try a dinner out. I picked a quiet restaurant. I wasn't counting on her being the noise. And I certainly didn't realize her personality would suck so much. After that, I decided to go back to being on my own."

"Isn't that a little lonely?"

"At times, but I'm happy on the water. You'll see."

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