Page 57 of For Rage

Derik laughed. "Well, I never thought that, but ..." He sighed. "Okay. I get why you'd want to do this, but can I ask one more thing? No more vigilante shit. If this is true, then I can help you, by the books. But no more secrets between us, Cross. If we're gonna keep being partners, that's what I need from you."

Morgan bit her lip. It was hard to open up to the world after what had happened to her. She was scared to trust, even Derik.

But maybe ... maybe it was the least she could do.

"Okay," she said.

Derik smiled. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Morgan said. "Let's do it together."

They fell into a comfortable silence, but Morgan felt at peace. And now that all that was out of the way, she felt emboldened to go on.

"Derik," she said, taking a deep breath. "I know we're partners, but ... there's something I need to tell you."

Derik looked at her, his eyes full of concern. "What is it?"

Morgan took another deep breath. "I think ... I think I'm starting to feel something more for you. I don't know if you feel the same way, but I just had to tell you. No secrets, right?"

Derik smiled softly. "Come on, Cross," he said. "You know I care about you too. But I think it might be best if we just stay professional. We still have to work together, and I don't want anything getting in the way of that."

Morgan nodded, feeling a pang in her heart. She knew Derik was right; they had to keep their professional relationship intact first and foremost. Anything else could wait for later on down the road if it was meant to be.

"That's true," she said, sighing a little sadly as her hopes plummeted back down to reality. "I agree, we should just be professionals. But I wanted you to know."

It was a bad idea to complicate things, and Morgan knew that. Still, part of her, deep inside, hoped this could be something more. It was ridiculous, though. Derik had told her about his divorce. He wasn't interested in love anymore, and maybe that would never change.

"It's not that I don't feel the same," Derik said. "I do. It's just a bad idea for both of us."

"You most of all?" Morgan asked, feeling bold.

Derik laughed. "Yeah. I told you about the divorce. I haven't exactly moved on. I know I need therapy, but ..."

Morgan nodded sympathetically. "I understand," she said. "I'm here for you if you ever need to talk about it.And believe me, if anyone needs therapy, it's me."

Derik smiled at her, his eyes softening. "Thanks, Cross. I appreciate that."

Morgan smiled back at him, feeling a sense of relief that they had talked about it. Even if they couldn't be anything more than just partners right now, at least they had been honest with each other. And that was the most important thing.

"What ended up happening to Sarah?" Morgan asked.

"She's grateful," Derik said. "I got to talk to her, but she wants to talk to you. We'll set up a visit when you're feeling up to it."

Morgan nodded, feeling grateful that Sarah was okay.At least she'd been able to save one person's life. Although there were four innocent women who had lost theirs, and Morgan wouldn't forget them.

But for now, she was just grateful to have Derik by her side. Maybe things weren't perfect, and they still had a long way to go. But for now, she was content just to be with Derik, and to know that they were in this together.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes before Derik stood up. "I should probably get going," he said. "But I'll check in on you tomorrow, okay?"

Morgan nodded. "Okay. Thanks again for everything, Derik."

"Anytime," he said with a smile before turning to leave.

Morgan watched him go with a twinge of sadness in her heart. She couldn't help the way she felt about him, but she knew she had to put those feelings aside and focus on their work. They had a job to do, and they couldn't afford to let anything get in the way of that. She hoped things wouldn't be off between them now that she'd confessed her feelings. And she hoped she could keep relying on him, especially if he was going to help her figure out who the hell framed her that night.

Suddenly, Skunk barked at the door. Morgan looked over just as there was a knock at the door.

"It's okay, boy," Morgan said, "just Derik. Maybe he forgot something."

She went over to the door, smiling as she opened it up. Skunk's barks grew louder, more anxious.

She expected to see Derik. But the face Morgan saw was like looking into the eyes of a ghost.

Darren La Roux.

An ex-con she'd helped put away, years ago.

But that wasn't all.

He held a gun up to Morgan, and she found herself staring down the barrel.