Page 6 of So Twisted

“I don’t know, Bold. I didn’t talk to the sanctuary, I talked to the lieutenant who called in the request. Everything we knowis on that page. Marcus Reeves, forty-seven, throat torn out by possibly not a panther.”

Faith and Michael shared a look. “Is everything all right, sir?” Faith asked. “I mean… is there something I should know?”

“You should know that now is a very good time for you to be out of Philadelphia for a while. Go get your dog and get on the plane. Solve this case, and hopefully by then, things will be back to what passes for normal around here.”

Faith had a strong feeling the Boss was hiding something from her, but it was probably better not to press him for information right now. She took the file and stood. “All right, sir. We’ll get right on it.”

***

When they were on their way to the hospital, Michael asked, “How are things? With you and David, I mean?”

Faith sighed. “I really don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“He’s pretty upset, huh?”

It occurred to Faith that Michael thought she had broken up with him. Now she really,reallydidn’t want to talk about it.

But he would see David being affectionate with her and Faith returning that affection. She sighed again and said, “No. I… we’re still together.”

Michael’s eyes popped open. “Oh yeah? That’s wonderful!” He grinned. “See? I told you you two would be okay.”

“Yep. One big happy family. Can we not talk about my personal life anymore?”

"Sure, sure. But also, congratulations. It's so much fun living with the person you love. You get to have them there all the time and—"

“Oh my God!” she shouted. “Can you stop, please?”

“Right. Sorry.”

They reached the hospital in twenty minutes on the dot. It was two-thirty, which meant Turk would be in the middle of his aerobics test. That meant he would be on the first floor in the hospital’s dog gym. David was one of only a handful of vets licensed to perform evaluations of FBI K9s, and though he had his own office in the city, he could often be found at the animal hospital testing K9s from all over the northeast or treating local units for injuries sustained on the job.

Turk was on the treadmill when they approached. He barked when he saw Faith and jumped off the treadmill easily, tail wagging as he trotted to her. She squatted down and wrapped her arms around him. “Hey, buddy! Who’s a good boy?”

“Not me,” a rich baritone replied. “Not around you, at least.”

Faith stood and accepted a second embrace from her boyfriend, Dr. David Friedman. He was wearing the cologne Faith had bought him for his birthday, and he smelled absolutely delicious.

And he looked absolutely delicious. Seriously, it wasn’t fair. In another life, David could have been a Hollywood heartthrob. Even going on two years together, she was still stunned by how handsome he was.

If only that was enough.

“You’re here early,” David said when they separated. “Is that good news or bad news?”

She sighed. “Bad news. We got a case in Iowa-slash-Nebraska.”

David’s face fell slightly. “I guess I’m eating ribeye by myself tonight, huh?”

“I’m sorry,” Faith said. “I wasn’t supposed to get assigned to a case today, but… well, the Boss didn’t come out and say it, but—”

“But you need to lay low, and something’s going on which means you need to lay especially low. I get it.”

“I’m sorry. I really am.”

“I get it. I really do.” He smiled again. “Relax, Faith. It’s okay. I knew what you were when I fell in love with you. Besides. It just means you’ll make it up to me when you get home.”

Faith narrowed her eyes and said playfully, “And just what does that mean, Mister?”

“You know what it means.”

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