Bell’s mouth twists in frustration. ‘Kirby will back this up. He’d be crazy not to.’
Carter’s response is measured. ‘Let me talk to Kirby and Martino. Give me some time.’
‘Tomorrow will be two weeks since Patti Doricott’s abduction,’ Emma points out. ‘Time’s in short supply.’
‘Give me some hours,’ Carter repeats. He pinches his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger, then he leaves Horner’s office.
In his absence, there’s a moment of quiet.
Then Bell whirls toward her, his eyebrows dark and drawn. His eyes are livid. ‘There is no way inany possible goddamn universethat this is a smart thing to do!’
Emma digs in with her heels. ‘Do youreallythink I want to be doing this? Do you honestly believe I feel like I have achoice?’
‘Please stop.’ Kristin’s voice is a breath of a plea.
Emma takes a step toward Bell, feeling the blood rise in her face, hearing her own voice ring like steel. ‘He’s going to take another girl unless someone catches him!’
Bell matches her, stepping in. He’s angrier than she’s ever seen him. ‘There is an entireteamof people working to catch him! It doesn’t have to beyou!’
‘But we have to tryeverything.’ Emma wants to make this very clear. ‘We have to use every advantage we have to save possible victims!’
Bell thrusts a hand into his hair. ‘Goddammit, Emma!’
‘PLEASE STOP!’Once she’s got their attention, Kristin takes a breath and quiets. Her pale, long-fingered hands flutter in front of her body. ‘Please. You’re both scared. That’s quite understandable. But you need to just … stop shouting.’
Emma feels her own energy crest, settle to a simmer. She turns to face Bell again, and this time her words are calmer. ‘Travis, listen to me. I don’twantto be there. I don’t wantyouto be there. I wish none of us was involved in any of this—’
She halts then, because she can see she’s not getting through. Bell’s jaw is clenched, and he’s breathing hard through his nose, his hands on his hips. He looks at her, into her, in a way she finds unnerving. Eventually he closes his eyes, turns his head to the side.
‘I gotta … I gotta be at the briefing. I’ll see you both later.’ His jacket hem snaps against his body as he walks out the door of the office.
Kristin sighs in the wake of his departure. She draws her cardigan more firmly around herself. ‘For what it’s worth,Ithink it’s a good idea.’
Emma lets her shoulders slump. ‘Thanks.’ She takes a few stiff steps over to the chair beside the office desk, sinks into it. Her knees are trembling. Holding her ground against Bell took more effort than she realized. ‘I think Carter is going to say yes.’
‘Are you prepared for that?’ Kristin asks softly.
Emma meets her gaze. ‘I’d better be.’
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
‘Close your eyes for me,’ Kristin whispers.
Emma closes her eyes. The feel of the soft brush on her eyelids is exotic, foreign. She can smell powder, and a hint of perfume. Moments later, a larger brush swipes against the edge of her cheek.
‘What are you painting on me?’ she murmurs back.
‘Something interesting,’ Kristin says, and Emma can hear the grin in her voice.
Word came back from Carter early this morning that they’d been given approval to participate in the Paradise operation. A field office agent named Reyes gave them a full briefing on how it would be staged, how she and Bell would be protected, and how things were supposed to happen.
But when Kristin realized that nobody had thought about Emma’s wardrobe requirements, she promptly took over those aspects entirely. Now they’re here, in the echoey women’s bathroom of Pittsburgh police headquarters, doing Emma’s makeup.
Emma’s not sure what Bell has been up to, because she’s only seen two glimpses of him. Once last night, when she and Kristinwere escorted by Francks to their accommodation, where Emma sat up watching the hotel parking lot as city lights flared in the Pittsburgh darkness. Once this morning, in the HQ bullpen, when she spotted Bell deep in conversation with three other detectives.
She’s tried seeking him out, because she doesn’t want them to go into this situation without being able to talk. But he disappeared for hours, and now it’s nearly 9:45PM. Vans begin rolling at ten. Maybe it’s too late. The idea makes her chest ache, but she tries to stay focused.
‘Don’t make me look too different,’ Emma says, her eyes still closed. ‘If I’m going in there, I should look like the old me. The same hair, the same everything. That’s the person the College Killer is interested in.’
