She glanced down at the file in her hand, then back up. “She’s doing well,” Victoria said. “Looking at some consulting work, maybe private investigations. I think it suits her.”
Blake’s brows lifted. “That so? You two keep in touch?”
Victoria allowed herself a small, genuine smile — the kind that didn’t feel like armor. “We do,” she said. Then, before she could second-guess it, she added, “We’re…seeing each other.”
For a moment, Blake blinked. Then her grin widened. “You and Torres?”
“That’s right.”
Blake let out a low whistle, laughing. “Well, damn. Guess the precinct pool owes me twenty bucks.”
Victoria raised an eyebrow. “There was a pool?”
“Captain, there’salwaysa pool,” Blake said, shaking her head. “You two had more tension than a crime scene standoff. I’m happy for you, though. Torres is good people.”
“She is,” Victoria said quietly, and there was no hiding the warmth in her voice.
Blake’s smile softened. “Good for you, Captain. About time you got a life outside this place.”
Victoria huffed a quiet laugh. “That’s the plan.”
When Blake walked off, Victoria continued toward her office, the faintest trace of amusement tugging at her mouth. The moment was small, but it felthuge— saying it out loud, not dodging, not downplaying. Justowning it.
She set the file on her desk, the light pouring in through the blinds, catching on the silver frame of her badge. For most of her career, this room had been her entire world — the safe, controlled space where nothing could touch her. Now, it felt different. Not smaller. Just…balanced.
She still had her job, her purpose, her pride. But she also had something waiting beyond these walls. Someone.
And she wasn’t afraid to let people see it anymore.
Victoria smiled faintly, booted up her computer, and reached for her coffee. The day ahead would be busy — it always was — but for once, she didn’t mind the noise.
The world outside was wide open. And for the first time in years, so was she.
20
ISABEL
The phone call came just after ten.
Isabel was sitting at her small kitchen table, still in sleep-tousled hair and yesterday’s T-shirt, scrolling through local listings for private investigator positions. Most wanted years of experience in the private sector, but she’d applied to one anyway — a small agency called Ridgeview Investigations — on a whim the night before.
When her phone rang, she barely glanced at the number before answering. “Isabel Torres.”
“Good morning, Ms. Torres! This is Dana Cooper from Ridgeview Investigations. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time?”
Isabel blinked, sitting up straighter. “No, not at all. Hi, Ms. Cooper.”
“Please, call me Dana,” the woman said, her tone bright and friendly. “I’m calling because we received your application last night and, well, I won’t beat around the bush — we’d like to offer you the position.”
Isabel froze. “Wait—offer? As in, the job?”
“That’s right,” Dana said cheerfully. “Normally, we’d do a formal interview, but frankly, we already know who you are. We heard about your work on the Harper kidnapping case — your instincts, your handling of the evidence, the whole thing. Your name came up from two different law enforcement contacts. We’d be crazy not to snap you up before someone else does.”
For a second, Isabel couldn’t find words. She had braced herself for months of applications, interviews, rejections — the usual uphill grind. Instead, here was someone offering her a new beginning, no questions asked.
“I… don’t even know what to say,” she admitted, a stunned laugh escaping her.
“How about ‘yes’?” Dana teased.
