Page 340 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

She was the one supposed to be able to read the suspect. Put together the signs. Compile a profile that would lead to a conviction and the location of the missing women. If she dropped the ball and that didn’t happen because she was too tired to see the connections in the pattern?

Addie sank into a chair. He was probably going to fire her anyway, kick her off the team and give her some trash assignment where it didn’t matter that she wasn’t a good agent and didn’t have what it took.

“You’ve been going with this non-stop for months.”

“So has everyone else.”

“They don’t know what you know.” Zimmerman spoke quietly. “They don’t feel what every victim feels. Not the way you do.”

“I can do this job.” She had to try, didn’t she? She owed it to Russ to see if she could make him proud. After all, he was the only one who’d ever believed in her and stuck around.

“Yes, you can. But the question remains if youshould.”

“And the answer is to shut me out? Leave me without the ability to give myself closure over this case?” She needed to know how bad this was.

He kept his mouth closed.

“What’s going on?”

Finally, Zimmerman got down to it. “You’re being reassigned.”

He’d decided to make a go of it with his wife. She was being reassigned. “What did you do?”

“This isn’t about us. Though we both have to admit the Office of Professional Responsibility would have a field day with the two of us.” Zimmerman winced. “Are you planning to rat me out?”

“Why am I being reassigned?”

“It isn’t a punishment.”

She folded her arms.

“I promise. That’s not the intention.” Zimmerman sighed. “I told them not to do this.” He shook his head. “Someone upstairs has their eye on you, but they want a clean slate first. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Addie didn’t like the sound of that. “Where am I being sent?”

“The FBI recently opened a field office outside of Seattle.”

The only place she knew of outside Seattle was…. “No. I won’t?—”

“There’s nothing you can do. They need someone to run the branch, and yours was the name pushed to the top of the stack. You’ve got a new assignment in Benson, Washington.”

She stood. “I’m being exiled.”

“They want to see what you can do solo when you’re given a chance.”

Addie shook her head. “That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard.” She was being set up so that everyone could see her fail.

Zimmerman frowned. “There’s been a series of strange cases over the last few years. The office in Seattle is stretched thin, and the bureau wants someone in Benson full time.” He lifted both hands. “It’s not forever.”

Home was the last place she ever wanted to be again. Facing the place that had destroyed the girl she’d been could fix what was broken in her. If itcouldbe fixed. She didn’t know if it was even possible, but she wanted to be brave enough to try.

And yet, what was the point when it would only go up in flames?

“Someone is setting me up so I can fail, so I’ll be kicked out of the FBI.” She grabbed handfuls of hair on the sides of her head. “I should never have become a fed.”

Ivan Damen had taken everything from her. Addie had built the woman she was now out of that ash. But what good was it to try when she never succeeded? There was too much wrong with her.

“Addie—”

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