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The vision of wildflowers in his mind transformed into a vision of pink roses—and their recipient

Cindy had been touched by and appreciative of his gesture She’d expressed her thanks with genuine warht

He was looking forward to the evening Yes, he understood that a portion of the conversation would be about the cocktail party invitations that had been pouring in froallery debut And, yes, he knew that another portion of the conversation would be about the future plans her uncle had for her success

But Wallace was hoping that they’d have more, much more, that they could talk about

Sloane felt sapped in more ways than one as she drove away froery and her hand therapy session that evening It had been quite a harrowing day Poor Connie She’d had to work like a deh to unclench it andscar tissue on her palm

Of course she’d asked why Sloane was so wound up And there was very little Sloane could reveal So she emphasized the personal part She told Connie that she orking on a high-profile case that was pitting her and Derek against each other, and that they were fighting like cats and dogs

TheConnie understood well She coheadedness But she’d also reminded her how hard she and Derek had worked to find their way back to each other after their break-up in C

leveland

Sloane didn’t need any reminders of how destructively each of them had behaved after the robbery that resulted in her hand being slashed Derek had pressured her to stay with the Bureau, injury be da the compassion of a stone wall She, in turn, had shut hi the maturity of a child

But wanting to be together didn’tto take the subordinate role And this case was a grueling test of their relationship

Especially since the sides were unbalanced She was operating alone, with no backup, and no tiht resources Whereas Derek had not only himself but also the manpower of both C-6 and the Art Crime Team, not to mention whatever confidential huate every man in her father’s partnership

The scales were tipped in his favor

As luck would have it, today she’d taken a detour that ht just untip them

She’d spotted the lanky Asian kid while she was talking to Bernie After that, he’d been on her tail all day She’d purposely tested hi to the apartment maintenance staff outside so he could see, and hopefully hear, her She’d also hbors on her parents’ list as they entered or left the building, initiating the conversations she needed to have in full view of her Red Dragon shadow

She’d then walked three blocks at lunchti route back to her parents’ place, and still the punk was half a block behind