She didn’t look toward Isabel as she walked out. Didn’t dare.
Outside, the air was crisp and cool, the parking lot bathed in the dim orange glow of the security lamps. Victoria unlocked her car with a quiet beep and slid into the driver’s seat, setting the files aside.
Then she waited.
The minutes crawled by. Every sound—the chirp of a distant cricket, the slam of a door across the lot—felt amplified. She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel once, then forced herself to stop.
Fifteen minutes exactly.
Movement caught her eye—Isabel, slipping through the side door near the fire exit, moving low and quick across the lot.She paused at the edge of the light, scanning for watchers, then jogged the rest of the way to Victoria’s car.
Victoria popped the back door. Isabel slid inside, shutting it softly behind her, then dropped down flat along the seat.
“Go,” Isabel whispered.
Victoria didn’t need to be told twice. She started the engine and eased out of the lot, keeping her speed steady—nothing that would draw attention.
For a few blocks, neither of them spoke. The tension was thick, but it wasn’t new. It was the same current that always lived between them—danger braided with trust.
Finally, Isabel’s voice came from the back seat, quiet but edged. “You sure no one saw me?”
“No one was paying attention,” Victoria said, eyes on the road. “You were careful.”
“Darcy’s been watching me all day,” Isabel murmured. “I could feel it. If she saw me leave with you, she’d know something’s off.”
“She didn’t,” Victoria said firmly. “We were convincing. She bought it.”
Isabel shifted, her voice softening. “You shouldn’t be doing this, Vic. Letting me stay with you—it puts you in the crosshairs, too.”
Victoria’s grip tightened slightly on the wheel. “I’m already in them.”
Silence followed that—long and weighted.
Isabel sighed, the exhaustion in it breaking through her usual fire. “I just don’t want you getting burned because of me.”
Victoria glanced at her in the rearview mirror. Even in the shadows, Isabel’s eyes glinted with a mixture of fear and stubbornness. “You’re safer with me than alone,” Victoria said quietly. “And if Darcy is watching, it’s better she sees mebehaving as if nothing’s changed. We can control the narrative that way.”
“You always have to be three steps ahead, don’t you?” Isabel muttered, a hint of fondness sneaking through.
“It’s what keeps people alive,” Victoria replied.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, the city falling away behind them. When Victoria finally turned onto her street, Isabel sat up a little, still ducked low. The faint lights from the harbor reflected through the windshield, painting their faces in moving silver lines.
Victoria pulled into the driveway, killed the engine, and looked over her shoulder. “It’s clear. Let’s go.”
Isabel climbed out quietly, eyes scanning the shadows before following Victoria up the steps. Inside, the familiar scent of cedar and coffee welcomed them again, a sharp contrast to the tension still coiled in both their chests.
Victoria locked the door behind them, the sound of the bolt clicking into place echoing softly in the quiet house.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The air between them felt charged again—not with suspicion this time, but something rawer.
Isabel stood just a few feet away, still in her jacket, her eyes catching the warm light from the kitchen. There was exhaustion in them, yes, but also something unguarded. Something Victoria had rarely seen from her.
“You okay?” Victoria asked, her voice softer than she meant it to be.
Isabel gave a small laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You mean besides being framed, blown up, and hunted by my own department?”
Victoria’s lips twitched. “Something like that.”
