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“Twenty-two. My head still feels tingly and numb.” Helooked at her with a peculiar glance and said, “Did you ever get stitches?”
“When I was thirteen. I fell off a skateboard andbutchered my forearm.”
“But ever for work?”
“Nope. Safety first when on the job,” she said with achuckle.
“Laugh all you want,” Derik said. “But you know…you didsave my life back there. That was some very quick thinking. And I know it hadto be hard for you to let Samson go to come back and get me.”
“Maybe it was,” she said with a smile. “But I think Imade the right choice. Besides…you know, you saved my life, too.”
“How do you figure that?”
She knew what she wanted to say, but it was harder to getout than she’d expected. She took a deep breath and tried her best. “When I wasin prison, I always knew I had at least one person who knew I was innocent…someonewho knew from the very first moment the ridiculous case started that I wasinnocent. Some days that was all I had to hang on to. So…I really appreciatethat.”
He looked away from her. She supposed it was to not lether see his reaction. Looking at the ceiling, though, he did his best to reply.
“Morgan, you don’t have to thank me. That’s what partnersdo, right? We have each other’s backs.”
Morgan nodded, accepting his words even though they didn’tfully capture the depth of her gratitude. “Yeah, you’re right. We do have eachother’s backs.”
“And another thing…you’re a good friend, Morgan. Alwayshave been. I know I haven’t always shown it, but I do appreciate you. And itwasn’t hard to know you were innocent. You’re too good of a person to ever dosomething like that. You can be a bit of a pain in the ass at times, but youhave a good heart.”
She smiled, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. “Thankyou, Derik. That means a lot.”
There was a moment of silence between them before Derikspoke again. “How are you feeling about Samson getting away?”
Morgan’s expression darkened at the mention of the killer’sname. “Pissed, honestly. I can’t believe we let him slip through our fingerslike that.”
“We don’t know for sure it was him,” Derik pointed out.
She knew this was true but for some reason, hearing itspoken out loud stung. When she’d been down there in the dark, she’d wanted itto be him so badly that nothing else made sense. But now, out of the mines and withDerik being injured, it was easier to see other possibilities.
“Speaking of which,” Morgan said, turning back for thedoor, “I should probably check in with Mueller and let him know how you are. I’msure he’ll be irate that we were that close only to come out empty-handed. ButI’ll be back soon, okay?”
“Um, no. You can’t let Mueller know you were with me. Youwere supposed to be home, remember?”
“I do. But…I think this can help us both. I’ll say Icalled you and said I had a lead but wouldn’t share it unless you let me tagalong.”
“He knows you don’t have that sort of sway over me.”
Morgan smirked. “Oh, we’ll see. Besides…in the event thisguywasour killer, those mines need to be thoroughly searched.”
“If you call Mueller right now, you’re going to begetting yourself into more trouble.”
“I know,” she said. And then, with a smile, she added: “Butwhat’s he going to do? Fire me?”
“Morgan…”
“It’ll be okay, Derik. Remember how you used to trust me?”
“Yes…and I still do.”
Derik gave her a wave of dismissal before closing hiseyes to rest. Morgan walked out of the examination room, heading back down thehallway toward the waiting room. She passed by a group of nurses gossipingabout some doctor’s personal life, and she tried not to eavesdrop.
Besides, she barely heard it at all. She was too busyappreciating what had just happened in Derik’s room. It was the first timesince he’d showed up at her house upon her release that she’d felt some of theold chemistry between them—not a romantic sort of chemistry, but a bond thatexisted only between agents who respected and trusted one another.
Even their playful bickering seemed to have found its footing.And in realizing all of this, Morgan understood just how badly she’d missed Derikwhile in prison. She had indeed held on to his belief in her innocence, but nowthat she was out and could see him face to face, it was an entirely differentsort of exchange.
