Page 56 of For Rage

Morgan knew she owed Derik so much. If she'd been alone when the killer came after her, she wouldn't be sitting here right now. Or if she'd given in to the darkness, she would've never been able to fight her way back.

Derik had come for her. He had risked everything to save her. They were partners, sure, but he had cared about her. And she cared about him too.

But she knew, deep down, there was something else. Something she couldn't help but feel. She hadn't noticed it before, but with the soft light and the quiet, she could see the way his blue eyes shimmered.

She could feel the tension between them, the unspoken words, the raw emotions. She wanted to reach out and touch him, to feel the warmth of his skin against hers. But she didn't want to ruin their friendship, their partnership, with her feelings.

Derik cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "We should get some rest. I'll stay here with you, make sure you're okay."

Morgan nodded, grateful for his presence. She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of everything that had happened finally catch up to her. Derik's warmth was comforting, and she slowly drifted off to sleep, feeling safe for the first time in days.

EPILOGUE

Morgan relaxed on her couch, patting her dog's fur. A day after being released from the hospital, she was finally feeling like herself again. She'd decided to return home, just with extra security measures installed in case anyone wanted to leave her another flower.

She realized that it may have been Randall's handiwork anyway; he was the one obsessed with flowers, and he'd proven himself to be extremely sneaky and agile. He also said he knew who she was, so he'd been waiting for her, specifically, to come. She decided it was almost certainly him who'd left the flower. She'd interrogate him about it on another day, but until then, she needed to take it easy. Doctor's orders.

She sipped her cup of tea and sighed, wishing she could help but knowing the best thing she could do was to rest until she was fully recovered. She wanted a stiff drink but was taking a play from Derik's book tonight and laying off the booze.

Morgan melted into her couch, grateful to be here. She still felt shame for accepting her near-death. Her life was worth more than that. It had to be.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. She knew who it was—Derik. He'd asked to come over, so she shouted, "Come in!"

Derik poked his head in, his dark hair combed to the side. He smiled when he saw Morgan.

"Hey," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Morgan replied. "Thanks to you."

Derik walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. "I just wanted to check in on you, make sure you're doing okay."

"I am. And I owe you everything, you know."

Derik shook his head. "You don't owe me anything. We're partners, and I care about you."

Morgan smiled, feeling her heart flutter. She had to admit that she was starting to feel something more for Derik. She had been too scared to admit it before, but now that she had almost lost him, she realized how much she cared for him.

But before she could say anything, he said, "Hey, actually, there is one thing I'd ask of you."

"Anything," Morgan said.

"What's going on with the whole meeting a drug dealer thing?"

Morgan's heart sank. She didn't want to talk about that. But after Derik had come for her, it was the least she could do. Offer him up some truth. "Look," she said, "he was ... a connection I got from Samson."

"Samson?" Derik said, aghast. Of course, it sounded wrong that Morgan had listened to anything her mortal enemy had said.

But maybe Samson wasn't her ultimate enemy, after all. Maybe it was someone in the FBI, someone who had betrayed her that night. The thought made her head spin. She'd been a loyal agent before what happened, and she had no idea who had betrayed her.

"I know it's nuts," Morgan said, "but I heard there was someone there that night. A criminal, who called in the whole thing. That's who reported me."

Derik frowned. She knew she wasn't making any sense.

"I think it was an undercover agent, Derik," she said. "I think someone in the Bureau reported me, and that was why I wrongfully went to prison for ten damn years."

Derik was quiet, taking this all in. "And you got this information from ... Samson?"

"His connection told me more," Morgan said. "That Clancy person. That's why I was meeting him. I'm not some secret drug addict."

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