“He’s ready to come in,” she told the ESU guys. “But he needs you to help him.”

They walked out the window like it was a common occurrence. As if they traipsed hundreds of feet between heaven and earth every Tuesday. Show-offs.

She shook her head and turned to Will. “Is the mental health consultant on the way?”

“Already waiting downstairs with the ambulance.” He grinned at her. “Nice work with the cigarettes.”

She returned his smile, letting his reassuring, serene demeanor calm her down.

Ask a cop about their partner, and you’d get a myriad of responses. “He will always have my back.” Or “I can trust him with my life.” Or maybe “We’re a family.”

To Abby all this was true. But her first and foremost thought about Will was that around him, she could let go. She didn’t need to stay on guard, to think about how she acted or what she said. He was one person with whom she could just relax for a bit. He was one of the few people she could trust.

Trust didn’t come easy, not to her.

Will was tall. Tall enough that half the time when he met people, they invariably said, “Oh wow, how tall are you?” which was why Abby, who’d never actually asked him how tall he was, knew that he was six foot five. Inevitably, when hearing his name, people would say, “I never knew wolverines were so tall,” sometimes adding, “Get it? Wol-vereen?” Will usually chuckled as if it were the first time he’d heard it.

His skin was a rich umber, and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose gave him the appearance of a father who’d found out you’d gone joyriding with his car. But he was actually a softhearted kitten trapped in the body of a nineties-movie action hero.

“I’m exhausted.” She leaned against the wall, shutting her eyes.

“Well, saving lives is hard work.”

She glanced out the window, watching the two ESU guys carefully helping Phil stand up. “I wish we could take the day off.”

“We have two simulations scheduled for today.”

“I know that. I just wish we didn’t. What about Kimberly? Did you two have a nice evening?” Will had celebrated his five-year anniversary with his wife the day before. Abby had helped him pick a restaurant.

“It was very nice. But we went to bed late—”

“Spare me the details.”

“I wasn’t about to offer any. Still, went to sleep at one a.m.; then the call came after three. The phone rang for ages before I managed to pick up. Kimberly kept snoring. I swear, that woman could sleep through anything. What about you? Who’s with the kids?”

“My mom, as usual. You can imagine how happy she was when I woke her up.” Still, even though her mother had sounded exhausted, she’d showed up on Abby’s doorstep ten minutes after the phone call.

“Well, you’re lucky your parents live nearby, or you’d have to call Steve.”

“Ugh. I don’t want to imagine what that would be like.”

“I’m going back to bed for a few hours.” Will rubbed his eyes. “Then I’ll go to work. Otherwise I’ll be a zombie all day.”

She checked her watch. Four forty-five. The kids needed to wake up at six fifteen. “I think I’ll grab a cup of coffee once we’re done here, then go back home to relieve my mom and get the kids prepared for school.”

They both stopped talking as Phil came through the window, now secured with a rappelling harness of his own. The ESU guys followed. Phil gazed around him bewildered, his eyes wide open. Abby had seen this look before with other men and women brought back from the brink of death. A wonder at still being alive. Often, it was enough to keep them from trying to kill themselves again.

“How are you feeling?” she asked him softly. “Do you need water?”

“I’m good, thanks,” he said sheepishly.

“Phil, I’m Will Vereen,” Will said. “I’ll walk you downstairs. There’s an ambulance waiting for you.”

“I don’t need an ambulance. I’m not hurt.”

“They just want to make sure.” Will was already by the man’s side, walking him toward the stairs.

“Thanks.” Abby smiled at the two ESU guys.

“Sure.” One of them smiled back. “It was nice working with you again, Mullen.”

She recognized his face now. He had been on the ESU team from the bank siege eight months before.

“You too!” she said brightly, hoping it wasn’t glaringly obvious that she didn’t remember his name. “See you around.”

She turned and followed Will down the stairs. She had a long day ahead of her.

CHAPTER 3

He woke up with a burning need, inflamed by a half-remembered dream. Gabrielle was there, smiling, kissing him, the touch of her lips as soft as a cloud. When he opened his eyes, the harsh reality was too empty and cold, and he tried to fall back to sleep, to clutch at the loose threads of his dream. But it was gone, and all he had left was a gnawing hunger he had to satisfy.

He had to see her.

But first, there were things he needed to do. Obviously, he had to brush his teeth. And Gabrielle liked it when he shaved before seeing her.

He took his time, made sure his cheeks were smooth. “I like a man’s face as smooth as silk,” she’d once told him. And he’d shaved off his mustache that very day.