Taking

“You got it,” Crivaro said.

Riley struggled to make sense of what she was hearing.

She asked, “Why are you dragging me along?”

“You’re my partner,” Crivaro said.

“But this isn’t even a real case!”

Crivaro shrugged. “We don’t know that. Maybe we’ll find out that Harry’s right and the two murders are connected, and we have a real serial killer to hunt down. If so, it will wind up being a BAU case. You wouldn’t want to miss out on that, would you? Anyway, I thought … well, I thought maybe this would be a good chance for the two of us to, you know, get used to working with each other.”

Riley almost blurted aloud …

We’ve already worked three murder cases together!

But she quickly reminded herself that there had been plenty of friction between them during those early cases. And she hadn’t been an agent then.

Maybe Agent Crivaro was right.

Maybe they did need a little time to get used to working together in their new roles. But was this non-official and possibly even nonexistent case really the way to do it?

She asked, “Who’s paying for this trip, anyway?”

“I am, OK?” Crivaro grunted. “Of course I might get reimbursed if it turns out to be a real case.”

Riley said, “So you’re telling me—what? That we’re sort of on vacation together?”

Crivaro chuckled awkwardly. “Hey, the weather in Arizona this time of year is sure a lot nicer than it is in Virginia. Don’t bother to thank me for a change of scenery.”

“I don’t think this is funny,” Riley said, trying not to sound as irritated as she felt. “You could have at least told me from the start what this was all about.”

Crivaro said defensively, “Well, I was in kind of a rush. And it’s not like you were going to have any work to do in Quantico while I was gone. You might as well be with me, at least trying to get something done. We will be doing some investigating while we’re there. It might even be a good learning experience for you. So what’s the problem?”

“I’ll tell you what the problem is,” Riley said. “I’ve got a fiancé back home who’s pissed off that I’m taking off like this all of a sudden. Do you think he’s going to be less angry to hear I’m not even on a real case?”

Crivaro sighed guiltily. “And you’re going to tell him that?”

Riley was startled. She hadn’t even considered not telling Ryan all about her activities while she was away from him.

“Of course,” she snapped.

“Sorry about that,” Crivaro said. “I guess you’re right, I should have asked you first.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Crivaro looked at her more sympathetically and said, “Look, if you want out of this whole thing, I’ll understand. When we get to Phoenix, you can catch the first flight back if you want. I’ll even pay for the ticket. Is that what you want to do?”

Riley felt startled anew by his offer, and she didn’t know what to say.

Shouldn’t I take him up on it? she wondered.

For a moment the choice seemed obvious. Crivaro had no business dragging her across the country on this possibly pointless errand. And heading straight back home might be a good way to patch things up with Ryan—especially if she wound up with another day or two before she really had to start work at Quantico. It might be just what she and Ryan needed.

Then she quickly remembered the anger in Ryan’s voice when he’d asked her over the phone …

“What about my car? How long am I going to have to do without it?”

Riley stifled a growl of irritation.

That damned car, she thought.

Not having that car around mattered more to Ryan than Riley not being there.

It really pissed her off.

Suddenly Riley didn’t feel in the mood to patch things up with Ryan. And as far as Crivaro was concerned …

Well, at least he’s showing some interest in me.

Besides, Crivaro was right about one thing. They’d surely be doing a little investigating, even if it was only to find out there was nothing to investigate. It might turn out to be a good experience after all. She might actually learn something.

Finally Riley said, “It’s OK. I’ll stay with you.”

Crivaro’s eyes brightened.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Riley smirked a little and said, “I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

Crivaro grinned. “Well, the offer still stands, if you want to get the hell away from me. At least as far as this trip is concerned. When we start working cases together officially, you’ll be stuck with me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Riley said.

Crivaro leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, apparently about to take a nap.

Riley took a flight magazine out of the seat pocket in front of her and started to browse through it.

She found herself mulling over what she’d just done.

I chose work over Ryan.

And to her surprise, she felt good about it.

What does that say about me? she wondered. And our future?

Then her mind turned to speculation about the present.

Arizona.