Once Bound

“Why? What’s the matter? You’re not seeing anyone, are you?”

“As a matter of fact, I am.”

Now Ryan looked genuinely perplexed, as if he couldn’t imagine why Riley would take an interest in any other man.

Then he said, “Oh my God. It’s not that cook again, is it?”

Riley let out a growl of anger.

She said, “You know very well that Blaine is a master chef. You also know that he owns a nice restaurant, and April and his daughter are best friends. He’s terrific with the girls – everything you’re not. And yes, I am seeing him, and it’s getting pretty serious. So I really, really want you to get out of here.”

Ryan stared at her for a moment.

Finally he said in a bitter voice, “We were good together.”

She didn’t reply.

Ryan got up from the couch and headed for the door.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” he said as he left the house.

Riley was tempted to say …

“Don’t hold your breath.”

… but she managed to not say it. She just sat still until she heard the sound of Ryan’s car pulling away. Then she breathed a little easier.

Riley sat there in silence for a little while, thinking about what had happened.

Jilly called him “Mr. Paige.”

That had been cruel, but she couldn’t deny that Ryan had deserved it.

Even so, she worried – what should she say to Jilly about that kind of cruelty?

This motherhood thing is tough, she thought.

She was about to call Jilly down from her room to talk about it when her phone buzzed. The call was from Jenn Roston, a young agent she’d worked with on recent cases.

When Riley took the call, she could hear the stress in Jenn’s voice.

“Hey, Riley. I just thought I’d call and …”

A silence fell. Riley wondered what was on Jenn’s mind.

Then Jenn said, “Listen, I just want to thank you and Bill for … you know … when I …”

Riley was on the verge of telling her …

“Don’t say it. Not over the phone.”

Fortunately, Jenn’s voice faded without finishing her thought.

Even so, Riley knew what Jenn was thanking her for.

During the case they’d just finished, Jenn had gone AWOL for most of a day. Riley had persuaded Bill that they should cover for her. After all, Jenn had covered for Riley in a somewhat similar situation.

But Jenn’s delinquency from her job had been due to the demands of a woman who had once been her foster mother, but who was also a master criminal. Jenn had stepped outside of legal boundaries to take care of a problem for “Aunt Cora.”

Riley didn’t know exactly what it had been. She hadn’t asked.

She heard Jenn make a slight choking sound.

“Riley, I’ve been thinking. Maybe I should just turn in my badge. What happened before might happen again. And it might be worse next time. Anyway, I don’t think it’s over.”

Riley sensed that Jenn wasn’t telling her the real truth.

Aunt Cora is pressuring her again, Riley thought.

It was hardly surprising. If Aunt Cora’s hold was strong enough, Jenn could serve as a real resource from inside the FBI.

Riley briefly wondered …

Should Jenn resign?

But she quickly told herself …

No.

After all, Riley had had a similar relationship with a master criminal – the brilliant escaped convict Shane Hatcher. It had ended after Blaine had shot Hatcher, almost fatally, and Riley had captured him. Hatcher was back in Sing Sing now, and he hadn’t spoken a word to anybody ever since.

Jenn knew more about Riley’s relationship with Hatcher than anybody except Hatcher himself. Jenn could have destroyed Riley’s career with the knowledge she had. But she had kept quiet out of loyalty to Riley. Now it was time for Riley to show the same loyalty to Jenn.

Riley said, “Jenn, remember what I said to you when you first talked to me about this?”

Jenn was silent.

Riley said, “I told you we’d deal with this. You and me, together. You can’t quit. You’ve got too much talent. Do you hear me?”

Jenn still said nothing.

Instead, Riley heard the beep of her call-waiting service telling her that she had another caller.

Ignore it, she told herself.

But the beep came again. Riley’s gut told her that the other call was something important. She sighed.

She said to Jenn, “Look, I’ve got to take another call. Stay on the line, OK? I’ll try to make it quick.”