“I can pay for lunch, Kate,” he growled with sudden irritability.
His tone stung.In fact, it made her angry.“Well,I’mgoing to pay for it.If you want to be moody, then I guess you have another reason.”
He looked away, and Kate regretted her tone.But for God’s sake, this was getting old quick.“Come on, Marcus, let’s just put things aside, all right?We’re partners right now.Let’s just go back to being that, and when this is over, we can reapproach the other thing.I’ve been hiding too.I’ve been dragging my feet too.It’s not just you, and I realize that.We kind of rode a high for a little while, and now the high is wearing off, and we have to do some actual work.But we have to dothiswork first.Right?”
Marcus’s pursed lips bounced up and down slightly as he nodded.Then he met her eyes and smiled.A rueful smile but a real one anyway.“Yeah.We do.Thank God you’re more mature than I am.”
“You’ll grow up eventually,” Kate said, returning his smile.“Can I hug you, or will you have to back up and fork the sign of the cross at me?”
He laughed, then pulled her into a bear hug.She closed her eyes and breathed deeply of his rough, musky scent.Her entire soul yearned for him in a way it had wanted nothing and no one else her entire life.Under any other circumstances, she would have thrown caution to the wind and dragged him to the nearest dark corner to consummate their relationship, but these weren’t other circumstances, and shedidhave to be an adult.
So, she told herself it was enough.They were partners and friends again.That was good enough for now.
He released her and clapped her on the shoulder.“Talk to you soon, buddy.”
She smiled wryly.“Sure thing, pal.”
Marcus’s laughter carried to her as she paid for the meal.Marcus hadn’t taken the car, so Kate drove toward the field office, reaching for her phone to call Rivera.
It wasn’t Rivera she ended up dialing, though.She needed advice about a subject Rivera couldn’t help her with, and despite her best efforts, she couldn’t seem to stop fixating on the subject.
After four rings, a pleasant, mellow, and slightly gravelly voice replied.“Kate my lovely Valentine.How are you?”
“Been better,” Kate said.
Gabe’s voice grew instantly serious.“What happened?Are you in trouble?”
“No, nothing like that,” Kate said.“I’m in Miami working a case.”
“Ah,” Gabe said, his relief palpable.“You want my help with a cipher.”
Dr.Gabriel Levine was a linguistics professor at New York University, one of the premier voices in that field, particularly when it came to Ancient Near Eastern languages like Aramaic, which formed this killer's cipher.He was also the man who had pushed Kate to join the FBI.After her father was killed fourteen years ago, he suggested that she take her natural talent for cryptography to the FBI.That decision had given her life direction.
She often came to him for advice on ciphers, but she reached out to him for advice in other areas from time to time as well.It was for one of those other areas that she talked to him now.“Actually, no.I have a more… personal question.”
Gabe hesitated a second.“Ah.I should warn you, Kate, I’m not an expert on interpersonal relationships.I find it much easier to read hieroglyphs than most women.Please forgive me.I know that sounds sexist.If anything, take it as a disparagement of myself.”
“No, I wouldn’t… I know you’re not sexist.”She sighed.“I just… don’t have anyone else to talk to.”
That wasn’t true either.She had her mother, but she didn’t want to talk to Catherine about Marcus.Her mother would only scoff and encourage her to stop thinking of “that woman’s feelings” and be direct with Marcus abouttheirfuture.
“I’m always here for you, Kate,” Gabe said gently.“What do you need from me?”
Tears came to Kate’s eyes.She didn’t think they would fall, but she pulled into the parking lot of a shopping mall anyway.“Well, Marcus and I have been dating.”
“Ah!Your handsome partner!That’s wonderful!”
Kate took a deep breath.“Yeah, it was supposed to be.”
“Ah,” Gabe said once more.“I sense that the advice you wish is related to this not-as-wonderful-as-hoped relationship.”
“Yeah.Yeah, I just… Well, he and I have been dating for three months, but we haven’t done anything more than kiss.”
She laughed, realizing the ridiculousness of calling him about this.When he didn’t react by making a joke or telling her how awkward it was to hear her talk about this with him, though, the rest just came pouring out.Their months of dating, the one real kiss they’d shared, the careful avoidance of Cheryl until Marcus suddenly pulled back, Kate’s subsequent accusation that Marcus was the one responsible for slowing everything down, their makeup session a few minutes prior, and Kate’s fear that Cheryl was once again going to pull Marcus back, and she was going to react badly and lose her friend and partner along with her relationship.
When she finished, Gabe sighed.“Oh, Kate.You’re in quite the mess, aren’t you?”
She laughed, but not because he was being ridiculous.No, he’d hit that nail right on the head.“Yeah.Looks like it.”
