///
Had he taken his pills?
Because...because he sure felt...just like a ghost.
* * *
"HOW LONG HAVE you been working with Tucker?" Dawn asked Bowen. She wasn't just going to go back into her room like a good little girl, so she figured grilling the other agent was an option she should pursue.
His lips pulled down as he seemed to ponder her question. "I've been in the unit with him for a couple of months now, but our paths have crossed in Violent Crimes more than a few times."
"The unit?"
He nodded. "Right. Our new experimental team. Samantha Dark is in charge, and she handpicked all of us for her team."
Samantha Dark. The name clicked for Dawn because Samantha had been in the news quite a bit recently. Cameron Latham, her former lover, had turned out to be a serial killer and Samantha had stopped him-and another killer-in Fairhope, Alabama, just a few months ago.
"Why were you all picked?" Curiosity filled her as she perched on the side of the couch.
"Because we all have...well, shall we say ‘intimate' ties to killers?"
She just stared at him.
"I could tell by your face that you know Samantha's story. Her link to Cameron didn't make her an inferior profiler. Instead, it gave her insight that others didn't have. Closeness to a killer isn't a weakness. Samantha thinks it is a strength."
She waited, but he didn't say more. Obviously, the guy needed a push. "I get Tucker's link to a killer. What's yours?"
He smiled at her. "Am I supposed to tell you all my secrets as soon as we meet?"
She'd like for him to, yes, that was the point of her questions. "Macey's on this team, too."
His smile dimmed.
"Macey survived an attack," Dawn said. "That's her link?"
"She tell you that?"
No. I saw the scars on her skin and the pain in her eyes. "She didn't have to tell me."
Bowen nodded. "Macey is something special. Strong and smart. I knew she'd be on the team as soon as I heard about Samantha's promotion." He rolled one shoulder against the couch. "Meanwhile, I had to fight and bribe my way on. But when you see an opportunity coming, you don't let it pass you by."
The guy wasn't going to share about his past. She could respect that. After all, Dawn liked to keep her own secrets, too. She rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling chilled.
"You'd probably be a good addition to the unit, too."
Her head jerked up, surprise flashing through her. "I'm not meant for the FBI."
"Sure about that?"
"I'm a PI for a reason. I don't exactly play well with others." She liked taking the cases that appealed to her. Listening to someone else's orders? Following only the jobs that were assigned to her? No, thank you.
"But you want to work with us now."
"This is different, and you know it." Tucker knew it, too. "This is my life. I'm not going to hide away while some jerk hunts me down-or hurts more innocent people." The grief over Jinx was heavy, making her shoulders hunch. "She was my friend," she said, voice thickening. "She was dying below me and I didn't know. It's not right. She didn't deserve that."
"No, she didn't." He shifted his position on the couch, studying her with a hooded gaze. "I'm sorry about her death."
She blinked away the tears that were clouding her vision. "She didn't have any family. Jinx grew up in the foster system, bouncing around. She moved to New Orleans a few years ago. Wanting a fresh start, same as me. I think she had a cousin in the area, but...they didn't exactly talk much."
He stared at her, and Dawn found that she wanted to keep talking about her friend. She needed to talk about her. "We met when she inked me."
His gaze slid over her. Her tattoos were covered. Her scars always covered-all except the thin one on her neck. That one was barely visible because Jason hadn't made it too deep. Just a little slice. Let's get things started. She'd been so stunned by the pain.
Jinx had wanted to cover that scar, too, but because it was so long and thin, Dawn had hesitated. I can take care of it, Dawn. Turn it into something beautiful. Jinx's voice drifted through her mind, so strong, as if her friend were sitting right beside her, talking in her ear.
But she wasn't. Jinx was gone.
"What tears me up the most..." Her voice had become a whisper. "He killed her because of me. I know that. She was a means to an end for me. I'm the end. If Jinx had never met me, then she'd still be alive."