LITMIR.BIZ

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long are we going to be in Arizona?” she asked.

      “As long as it takes,” Crivaro said. “I never speculate about such matters.”

      Riley stifled a gasp. This was about the last thing she’d expected to happen today.

      And it certainly threw a wrench into her hopes of settling back down with Ryan.

      “Could you give me just a few minutes before we go?” Riley asked Crivaro. “I’ve got to call my fiancé and let him know.”

      Still walking, Crivaro asked, “Have you got your cell phone?”

      “Yeah,” Riley said, still keeping up with him.

      “Well, you can walk and talk at the same time, can’t you?”

      As Riley and Crivaro continued on down the hall, Riley took out her cell phone and called Ryan.

      When she got him on the line she said, “Ryan, something’s come up. I’m, uh, flying out to Phoenix today. Right now, actually.”

      She could hear Ryan gasp. “You’re what?”

      “Yeah, it’s a surprise to me too,” Riley said as she and Crivaro got into the elevator.

      Ryan was sputtering now.

      “Riley, this is crazy. This is your first day on the job.”

      “I know,” Riley said. “I’m sorry.”

      “How long are you going to be gone?”

      Riley gulped and said, “I, uh—I’ve got no idea.”

      “What do you mean, you’ve got no idea? What are you going to be doing out in Arizona, anyway? Are you even going to be back home in time for Christmas? It’s just a few days off, you know.”

      That’s a good question, Riley thought.

      Instead of trying to answer it, Riley said, “Look, as soon as I find out when I’m coming back, I’ll let you know.”

      “Are you driving out there, or what?” Ryan said.

      “Of course not. We’re taking a commercial flight.”

      “Who’s ‘we’?”

      “Me and Agent Crivaro.”

      Riley and Crivaro got out of the elevator and headed out of the building.

      Ryan said, “If you’re flying out there, what about my car?”

      Riley was startled. She hadn’t had time to think about the car.

      She said, “It’s in the BAU parking lot here in Quantico. Don’t worry, it’ll be safe.”

      “How long am I going to have to do without it?”

      Riley felt a twinge of anger.

      “You’ll manage somehow, Ryan,” she said.

      “Yeah, but for how long?”

      “Like I said—I’ll call you when I know myself.”

      As Riley and Crivaro were heading outside the building, Ryan kept jabbering over the phone.

      Mostly about his car, Riley couldn’t help but notice.

      The more he went on, the more it irritated her.

      She and Crivaro were walking through the parking lot when Riley finally said …

      “Look, Ryan—I really can’t talk now. I promise to get back to you as soon as I can. I love you.”

      She could hear Ryan’s voice still complaining as she ended the call.

      Opening the car door for Riley, Agent Crivaro said, “Everything OK at home?”

      “Couldn’t be better,” Riley grumbled, climbing into the passenger seat.

      Her anger was fading, and now she felt embarrassed that Crivaro couldn’t have helped overhearing her words to Ryan.

      Crivaro got into the car and started the engine.

      Then he smiled at Riley ever so slightly and said, “Hey, in case I didn’t mention it—we’re partners now.”

      Yeah, I kind of figured that, Riley thought as Crivaro drove out of the parking lot.

      So a few things were clear.

      She was an FBI agent.

      She was Jake Crivaro’s partner.

      And they were going to Arizona.

      She wished she had some idea of what else to expect today.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      Riley couldn’t help wondering …

      Is he mad at me or something?

      Agent Crivaro had barely spoken to her as he drove them from Quantico to the Reagan Airport.

      But why …?

      She knew Crivaro could be gruff, impatient, and even angry whenever she made mistakes or disobeyed orders—which unfortunately had been all too often. But what could she possibly have done wrong during the short time they’d been together this morning?

      He’d just rushed her out of the BAU offices without much explanation, not even giving time to stop and make a private call to Ryan. Of course, now Ryan was mad at her, and she realized he had some reason to be annoyed.

      But what could be the problem with Agent Crivaro?

      Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with me, she thought hopefully.

      Maybe something personal was bothering him.

      In any case, Riley didn’t feel like it was a good idea to ask.

      She just sat quietly in the car, trying to focus on the most amazing things about today—she was an FBI agent, she was on a case, and she was partnered with one of the most respected agents in the BAU.

      When they got to the airport, Crivaro rushed them through the check-in. She had to hurry to keep up as they practically ran all the way to the gate.

      Breathless from their dash through the concourse, they got there just in time for the last call for passengers on their flight. Riley remembered how Crivaro had looked at his watch when she’d arrived at his office and grumbled …

      “It’s about time you got here.”

      Now Riley understood why Crivaro had been so agitated about the time,

      If they’d gotten to the gate a couple of minutes later, they would have missed the flight completely. She wished he had explained things to her instead of just expecting her to follow along without question.

      He’d told her he had trouble working with partners. So, now that she was a partner and not just a trainee, what did that mean she’d be in for?

      Riley reminded herself that Crivaro must have had to plan this trip hastily. He probably hadn’t known about it himself until the last minute.

      This must be about something really urgent, she thought with a slight thrill of excitement.

      After they boarded, Crivaro sat in a window seat and stared outside as the plane took off. Sitting next to him, Riley was still wondering what was on his mind and why they’d been in such a rush. When the plane reached cruising altitude, Crivaro tilted back his seat and kept staring out the window. The light on his face revealed lines etched by years of difficult cases.

      Riley felt sure that whatever this one might be, she was going to learn a lot about tracking criminal behavior. When she’d worked with him before, she had been yanked out of whatever was supposed to be her normal routine—college, internship, Academy training. Now that she was actually assigned to the job, she’d have more time to understand what was going on.

      But when would she find out what that was? Surely she also had more right to information now.

      Finally she summoned up the courage

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