What she felt was pure hate for Dr. West.Be careful about leaving me with nothing to lose,she thought.You little asshole.
She stood and headed outside. Turk moved to follow her, but she said, “Stay, boy. I’ll be right back.”
Michael looked up from his laptop at her as she headed outside but didn’t say anything. Turk cocked his head to the side, confusion laced with hurt in his eyes. Faith felt a stab of guilt, but she ignored it. She wanted to be alone for a moment.
When she was outside of the room, she called the Boss. He answered on the third ring. “Monroe.”
“It’s Bold,” Faith said. “Listen, my boyfriend called me. He has patients that he can’t keep waiting. He’s coming back to Philadelphia next week.”
The Boss sighed. “I already told you, he can apply for protective custody if he feels there’s a need.”
“He doesn’t,” Faith said, “that’s the problem. He doesn’t think that he’s in danger. He thinks this is all in my head.”
“Well, if he won’t listen to you, I doubt he’ll listen to me.”
“No, that’s not why I’m calling. I’m calling because… Boss, we need to find him.”
“Bold—” he began, warning in his tone.
“Boss, please! He’s threatened to kill people I care about!”
“We have excellent agents on the case and a manhunt led by the U.S. Marshals.”
“That’s not good enough!” She took a breath and said, “Look, I just want to know if you’ve made any progress toward finding him. That’s all. Just tell me if you’ve found any leads. I just want to know that we’re not still spinning our wheels.”
There was silence on the other end for over a minute. Faith knew the Boss was there from the sound of his breathing, but he didn’t say anything. Finally, he spoke in a voice that was equal parts weariness and anger. “Bold, if I find new leads on this case, you will be the last to know, and you’ll only find out because I have absolutely no doubt you’ll ignore all of my instructions and find it from someone else. But I won’t help you destroy your career any faster.”
“Boss…”
“Don’t call me again. Here’s a thought: solve the case you’re working on now. Find the guy who just killed Kevin Malloy under your nose.”
Faith stiffened. “Yes, sir,” she said softly.
He hung up, and Faith swore under her breath as she pocketed her phone.
Dammit, why didn’t people listen to her? Why did they insist on dismissing everything she said? She had been right so many times, but people still didn’t give her credit.
Then again, she had been wrong an awful lot lately, too, and Michael, David, and the Boss had all been victims of her mistakes.
But she wasn’t wrong this time. Franklin West was going to kill Faith’s loved ones, and no one would let her stop him.
Well, you had your chance to stop him,she reminded herself,and look how that turned out.
Her right wrist spasmed, and she bit back another curse.
She stalked back to the hotel room. Turk immediately leaped to his feet and rushed her, licking and whining and sniffing to make sure he was okay. When his ammonia-deadened nose once more refused to yield any useful odors, he growled irritably and looked plaintively up at her.
“I’m all right,” she said, managing a half-smile before collapsing onto the bed.
“Taking a break from all the hard work you’ve been putting into this case?” Michael asked sourly.
She sighed. “Michael, I’m not in the mood right now.”
“Neither am I,” he said. “I’ve been working all morning on the case. Our case. The case you’re supposed to be focusing on. You, on the other hand, have been fighting with your boyfriend and daydreaming about the other case, the one that you were told specifically not to worry about.”
“Well, excuse me for being upset that a serial killer is targeting my boyfriend!” she snapped. “Can I be allowed to be a little fixated on a man who specifically said he would kill the man I love?”
“That man is my fiancee’s ex-husband," Michael reminded her. "Don't you think I'm worried sick about her? Don't you think I'm lying awake at night, terrified I'm going to get the dreaded phone call? I want West too, Faith. The world doesn’t revolve just around you. I want the man that abused my fiancée and who apparently is a serial killer in jail where he belongs, just like you. But I understand that it’s not my case and that by interfering, I’m making itharderto catch him. You get that, right, Faith? How interfering in a case you’ve been ordered to stay away from might, you know,interfere?”
