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"Great." She had already decided that offering wine was a step too far for a dinner that would likely end in harsh words and disappointment, which was the way most of her encounters with Tyler ended. She needed to keep her guard up. Tyler was very good at keeping secrets and making plays that benefitted only himself.

"This is delicious," Tyler said after he'd eaten half the bowl. "You are a seriously good cook, Rachel. I wouldn't have guessed that about you."

"Well, you don't really know me."

"I guess I don't." He met her gaze with a speculative look before turning his attention back to the meal.

It all felt a little too cozy with the rain spattering the windows and the air inside the apartment deliciously warm. When she'd finished her soup, she set down her spoon, sipped her water, then said, "We should talk."

He nodded and set down his spoon. "That was great. Do you always cook from scratch just for yourself?"

"Only on my days off. The rest of the time, I enjoy all the great takeout New York has to offer. What about you?"

"Mostly takeout."

"How long have you been in New York?"

"About five months."

"Oh," she said with surprise. "I was under the impression you'd joined the FBI several years ago."

"I did. I worked in LA and then in Chicago."

"It seems like such a different kind of job for you."

"Not really. A lot of my work with Delta involved intelligence gathering."

"I just think of FBI agents as being in suits and ties and sitting in an office."

"There's some of that, but I've recently joined a special task force, which operates without the usual layers of bureaucracy, and it's a better fit for me."

"So you like it," she said, giving him a contemplative look as she sat back in her seat. "It still feels a little methodical for a man of action, someone who used to jump into war zones and put his life on the line every other day."

"Sometimes, I miss the immediacy of action," he admitted. "But in the military, I was often dealing with just a small piece of an operation. I was sent to do one thing without knowing all the stakes, without being able to help craft the attack plan or even understand the reasons behind it. I just had to follow orders."

"I'm sure that wasn't easy for a man like you."

"I respect the chain of command most of the time. But after Evan left and Jack took over, things were different."

"When did Evan quit?"

"About three years ago. The brass put Jack in charge of our team. Jack was a skilled operator, and I don't want to suggest that he couldn't do his job, but he didn't have the same impulse control as Evan. He jumped too fast, too far. And his cockiness wouldn't let him always see the big picture. He was better at being a soldier than being a leader."

"That makes sense. Not everyone is cut out to lead."

"Exactly. And we all saw that when TJ got hurt. That was the end of it for me. We had just come off a joint operation with the FBI overseas, and when an agent suggested I switch career paths, I decided to consider it." He paused. "Jack thought I was abandoning him, abandoning the team when they needed me. We were already one man down. We had words. Actually, we got into a fight."

"As in a physical fight?"

"It wasn't that big of a deal. We were in a bar. We were both drinking." He shrugged. "It ended as fast as it started, but that was the last time I spoke to him." He blew out a breath, his gaze reflective. "The whole experience under Jack made me realize how talented Evan had been at holding us all together and getting the best out of us. Without him, we weren't nearly as good."

His words were very familiar. "That's what you told me before when you asked me to release him to active duty even though I didn't think he was ready."

"I was speaking the truth."

"The way you saw it. I believed that Evan was glossing over some of the problems he was having. I thought it was dangerous to put him back in the field, not just for him, but also for you and the others on your team."

"That was your opinion. He passed all the tests."