Page 4 of Final Inning

“I don’t know. Probably soon. You know the rule.” No more than fifteen days on location for a cold case like this. And even that was pushing it. Most were five-day consults at the most. That was the way their division had been designed. Cold cases by their very nature…there were far too many of them, far too few of Miranda and her team—the unit only had six investigators and one technical support agent—and were sometimes decades old. They couldn’t spend weeks or months on location. It just wasn’t feasible. “I will be back to you as soon as I possibly can. I will call you every chance I get, and we will video-chat every night.”

He wasn’t happy, but…it was their life now. They were going to somehow make it work. But…it broke her heart every time she had to leave him.

She dropped him off with Max and made it through the agony of leaving him behind. Jac was still out of town on her most recent assignment. But Max was more homebound than either Jac or Miranda. He had taken over the coordinator’s position when Dan Reynolds retired. It was by nature a position where he had a more nine-to-five. It came in handy. Miranda didn’t trust just anyone with Bentley. And Bentley loved hanging out with Max and the three girls. He had his own bedroom there, too. The younger two girls were Bentley’s half-sisters, and while the relationship was one of confusion and pain for Bentley, they were healing. They were getting better.

For now…he subconsciously blamed his little sisters for replacing the family he had lost before. When his father had killed them all in an arson fire when Bentley had been only a baby, then been murdered himself shortly after Miranda had found Bentley. During that same case.

But they were working on helping him heal. And there was hope one day that her little boy and his two sisters would be able to build lasting, healthy relationships over time. That was something she, Jac, and Max were all committed to seeing happen.

But for now…leaving him behind…hurt.

Miranda suspected it always would.

That put her in a foul mood when she got into the conference room and saw the other agent waiting, too.

Damn it. Not him.

They had just completed a case together. Shouldn’t that have been her quota for the year? Miranda really did not feel up to dealing with him today. She just didn’t. Not him. “Knight. Just my luck. I think I have been cursed. I really do.”

The queen of sunshine sounded almost bitchy. That had him pausing to study the woman standing in the doorway now. Just as beautiful as ever, but…she looked damned tired. Almost defeated.

Someone wasn’t being her usual sunshine and rainbows self. Dr. Allan Knight, co-head of the PAVAD: Cold Case unit, stared at her—and waited. And…waited some more.

Nothing.

Interesting.

She had a tight expression in her big green eyes that had him pausing what he had almost said. Now wasn’t the time for snark, apparently. “Dr. Talley. Rough morning?”

The woman almost snarled. “You care, dear? I’m shocked.”

Well. Must be much worse than he thought.

Of course he cared. There probably wasn’t another woman on this planet he cared about as much as he did this particular one. Probably never would be, either.

Knight knew his own weaknesses. Especially his biggest.

She was his every weakness rolled into one terrifying package.

He also knew he wasn’t going to be an idiot with her, no matter how tempting the woman was. But today…his biggest albatross had a serious snarl on her beautiful face. “What’s wrong?”

It was fifty-fifty whether she’d answer him or not. With Miranda, nothing was predictable. Other than that, she would get beneath his skin at almost all times. The woman was an expert at that. It was like she practiced.

“Just single parenting and this job, Knight. Don’t always mix well. Sometimes one has to make sacrifices.”

Hell, the big green eyes looked a little damp around the edges. Had she actually been crying?

“Your boy all good?” That kid was her heart and soul. And she was a damned good mother. Even though he knew it wasn’t easy for her.

“He’s with Max. Max is off today. Max is off for three days. All of the kids are with Max and are fine and he will be okay. What have we got?” She reached for the file folders he’d had an admin prep for her. Knight put his hand down on the files—keeping her from moving them.

Until she looked at him.

He wanted to make sure she was okay for a damned minute. The woman just did something to him. No denying that. And she was hurting.

Damn it. He couldn’t stand it.

This woman…she shouldn’t have to deal with the darkness. It pissed Knight off every time. “You good?”