Page 59 of Forever Gone

Connor returned the phone to his pocket. “We can’t all have the resources of a city FBI office.”

The reply carried more defensiveness than the comment deserved. Selena had spent three weeks trying to make a federal office function inside an old school and had already learned that impatience did not make laboratories work faster or paperwork cross desks sooner.

“Yeah,” she said. “It took me a while to shift gears here, too.”

Kelly glanced toward her, surprised by the support.

Connor groaned and pulled out the chair opposite them. “The last thing I need is you two ganging up on me. I got enough of that from Diane.”

Selena stopped scrolling.

“We’re not that alike.”

“More than you know, Selena. I’ve gotten to know her better these last few years while she’s been helping with your dad.”

The irritation came before Selena could reason with it. Connor still moved through her family’s life with the familiarity of someone who belonged there. He visited Robert without invitation, knew how Diane was coping, and probably drank from the same chipped mug he had used fifteen years earlier.

Selena had spent those years in Washington. Birthdays had become phone calls. Illnesses had been managed through updates from doctors and strained conversations with Diane. Connor had remained close because somebody had needed to.

That did not make hearing it easier.

“How did she seem when you saw her recently?” Selena asked.

“As prickly as usual, but okay.”

Kelly rested one forearm on the table. “It’s nice for once to see an ex-husband get on with his in-laws.”

Selena turned toward her. “You know we were married?”

“Yeah. I remember you guys still hanging around town before I headed off to Quantico.”

The answer opened a gap Selena had not considered. She knew the girl Kelly had been, the expensive car she drove, the crowd around her in school corridors. She knew almost nothing about the woman sitting three feet away. Seattle. Violent crime. A transfer request. Decades compressed into lines on a personnel summary.

Before Selena could decide whether to ask, Connor spoke.

“Did you ever marry, Kelly?”

Kelly’s fingers paused above the keyboard. “Yeah. It didn’t end well, so I’m the last person to judge this situation.”

Selena narrowed her attention. “And what situation is this?”

“I mean, I’m not trying to cause friction.” Kelly shifted in her chair. “It must be difficult for both of you to stay professional.”

“We got over that a long time ago,” Selena said.

Connor laughed.

The sound drew her toward him. “What?”

“Did we?”

Selena held his stare.

Connor’s mouth curved. “Now that glare I remember. It means go take a flying leap.”

Ignoring him, Selena turned back to Kelly. “How’s the search going?”

The room settled again, though the exchange remained beneath the silence. Connor knew how to find the old pressure points without appearing to try. Selena suspected she could do the same to him, which was one reason distance had served them both.