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  Something bad happened this week at school. The headache caused from my neck was killing me and I could barely concentrate on what the gym teacher was saying as all of the girls in my junior class gathered around the ex-tennis pro. For some reason she thought all of the girls should play tennis, no matter what their natural abilities. If they didn’t match to her standards they were considered unworthy and an outcast. I didn’t realize she was screaming at me until it was too late.

  “Melissa McKenny, are you deliberately ignoring me?” the harpy voice cut into Melissa’s headache, causing her eyes to flinch and her head to throb even more.

  “No ma’am,” I whispered, trying to sound properly contrite, but also hoping the contents of my stomach stayed down as it rolled from nausea the pain was causing. “May I go to the nurse’s office? I don’t feel well.”

  “Oh good grief, get out of here. You’re worthless in the class!” The teacher shooed me away from the group, never looking back as I stumbled to the door trying to stay upright. My best friend, Debbie followed me, making a grab for my arm.

  “Girl, are you ok?” she whispered, looking over her shoulder, then back at me.

  “Headache,” was all I got out, keeping my eyes on the door as I tried to get out of the room before my stomach rebelled.

  “Miss Lorner, I’m going with Melissa to the nurse’s office. She’s not doing well.” Debbie’s words didn’t penetrate my brain until we entered the locker room and Debbie pushed my down onto a bench. Suddenly my head was pushed down between my knees.

  “Breathe!” A cool hand rubbed my neck but the instant it touched the back of my head I groaned and pulled away. “What? What’s wrong with your neck?”

  Debbie was anything but stupid and immediately grabbed my hand, pulling it away from my neck, and gasped when she saw the dark purple bruises and felt the small bump on the back of my neck.

  “What happen to you? Who did this?” Debbie hunched down and got in my face, forcing me to look at her.

  “Can’t talk about it, Debs,” I whispered, “please don’t make me.” Huge tears finally let go and there was no way I could bank them anymore. The pain in my head was killing me. My best friend in the whole world was looking at me like I was a freak, and if anyone figured out what had happened my mother would be furious. Not to mention what would happen when my Dad found out what had happened.

  “Someone hurt you, Melissa,” Debbie whispered, pulling me into her arms and rubbing my back. “It’s not your fault, never your fault.”

  I’m sure Debbie had an idea of what happened but unless I confirmed it, nothing would happen. She knew my mother had a temper and wasn’t above taking it out on me when my Dad was either on the road for his work or not around, which wasn’t often of late.

  “Come on, let’s get you to the nurse. Maybe she can give you something for the headache.” Helping me stand, Debbie led me down the hallway to the nurse’s office.

  Thankfully, the nurse who was in the office this week was the nice one whom everyone liked. They had two that alternated weeks for the high school, and Ms. Lancaster was in her mid-thirties, tall and nicely built but always had a smile for everyone who came into her office.

  “Ok girls, what’s going on?” Ms. Lancaster said softly as she helped Debbie guide me into one of the back rooms to lie down. She looked to Debbie first, realizing that something was happening when I groaned.

  “Please take a look at her neck,” Debbie whispered.

  “Debs!” I groaned loudly, trying to twist away when the nurse reached to touch the back of my neck.

  “Melissa, what happened?” she asked softly, her fingers gently massaging the lump at the base of my skull.

  “Nothing, just a headache.” I begged both of the women with my eyes to leave it alone as huge tears fell unchecked down pale cheeks.

  “That’s not going to happen, sweetheart. Now tell me how you hurt your neck. Did you fall?” I shook my head, groaning again in agony with the movement. “Then what happened. Did someone hurt you?”

  I know there was a look of terror on my face that must have shaken the nurse to her core. Abuse was something the school rarely saw and when they did it wasn’t talked about. Ms. Lancaster had spoken out to the student body about bullies and abuse and knew from firsthand knowledge that the current administration refused to get involved with family disciplinary problems. She had also seen bullying and other forms of school violence in the high school but it was hard to prove and even harder to get the kids to speak out against.

  “Debbie, stay here with her while I get an ice pack.” The nurse patted my shoulder and gently closed the door so she could retrieve an ice pack from the icebox in her small office. Once she returned she wrapped it in a towel and placed it under my neck.

  “Why don’t you go back to class and let Melissa rest. You can check on her later.” I had a feeling she wanted Debbie out of the office because she was sure the phone call she was going to make was not going to make me happy. She was also trying not to embarrass me any more than I already was by having to come to the nurse’s office.

  “I’ll check on you after school. Remember, we have to get ready for our date tomorrow night with the guys. No skipping out.” Looking worried, Debbie headed back to class.

  “Now, I want you to lay here in the dim light and let the ice work on your headache for a bit. I’ll check on you in a few minutes.” The nurse slipped out the door after placing a light blanket over Melissa’s legs and closed the door, making it blissfully quiet.

  * * *

  Melissa woke from the dream with a start. Sweat coated her body and caused her to shiver from the air conditioning of the room. She hadn’t dreamed about the incident in the nurse’s office in her junior year of high school in years. Shit, it was no wonder with the events over the last few days, coupled with being back in the Texas Panhandle after nearly ten years.

  Getting out of bed, she swung her long legs over the side and looked at the clock. It was still dark outside, the hum of the cooling unit quiet in the room. It was too early to go for a run or use the gym downstairs. Melissa made herself get up and get a drink of water, use the facilities before forcing herself to go back to bed. The upcoming day would be another long one and she tried to force herself to get at least a few more hours of sleep.

  She hadn’t come back to her hometown in a long time. With this case being as bad as it was, Melissa was perceptive enough to realize she was going to be walking a fine line if she wasn’t careful.

  Being tired certainly isn’t going to help you, dumbass. She hadn’t had any problems with nightmares in a very long time but it seemed this case coupled with the location was going to wreak havoc on her unique talents. She lay there for a few minutes, closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. In and out, slow and easy. She listened to the humming of the air conditioner, the creaking of the building as it settled around her, the soft moan of the wind outside her hotel window and let the night sounds sing her back to sleep.

  Somewhere a dog barked in the distance. An upper floor toilet flushed. Counting sheep never worked for Melissa, but taking each sound, filtering them out until all she concentrated on was the actual sound of silence finally lulled her sleep. It wasn’t a deep sleep, but at least it was better than laying there counting the number of tiles and holes in each one until the alarm went off. Lord knew, she had done that enough times in the past.

  The dream came in slowly, a flash of a still life picture of her parents the last time she had talked to them, her mother alive and healthy. Her mother’s dark brown eyes looked down at the copy of the graduation certificate in a Bachelors’ of Science in Criminal Justice she held in her small hands. The look on her mother’s face was shocking, as if the diploma for her daughter was a contaminated object instead of the marvel Melissa had completed. The look had cut right to Melissa’s soul and she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that her mother considered her the biggest disappointment of her life.

  The night her mother a
ctually passed Melissa’s father had called, all quiet and controlled to tell her about her mother’s passing and that it wasn’t necessary to come home for the memorial services. She had been on a case in the deep South, heat and humidity much like the Texas heat, had kicked her butt but they were deep on the case. So close to catching the ones they were after. The call had come the afternoon of the capture and Melissa had barely heard her father’s words.

  “Your mother has gone to heaven, Melissa. There is no need to come home now. We’re having her cremated and her ashes sealed in an urn until I’m gone. Then, we’ll be buried together.” Her father’s voice, once a beloved and strong voice, sounded broken yet resolute.

  She hadn’t been home since.

  Pulling her thoughts from the past, Melissa forced herself to relax and closed her eyes once more. She desperately needed to sleep.

  Chapter 3

  Melissa walked into the side doors of the unimposing building located at 6th Ave and Jackson Street, taking the stairs instead of the elevators. The building had been converted years ago from the Workforce Development Commission to the County Sheriffs’ building. The building covered two city blocks, was centrally located to downtown and close to the freeways with enough parking and underground parking that it met the needs for Task Force location. The main draw was the huge third floor, which had been designated for the Task Force including offices and a tactical area.

  As soon as she entered the door to the floor the smell of coffee hit her and drew her to the small alcove where the coffee makers ran almost 24/7. Thank goodness for Lonnie Tommè, IT geek and coffee genie! She was just pouring a cup when she heard Buck Stanfield’s voice.

  “Melissa, where the hell are you?” came her boss’s gruff call.

  “Coffee, where else!” She turned to see him as she took a sip of her dark brew and noticed the other person with him.

  “Agent McKinney, I want you to meet Tyrone DuValle. DuValle is on loan from Louisiana’s FBI offices and here for as long as it takes to assist us with this investigation.” Buck Stanfield was an imposing man of six foot two but the man standing next to him topped him by a good three inches. As soon as Melissa’s eyes connected with dark eyes from her past she almost flinched.

  Almost.

  “Agent DuValle,” Melissa offered, extending her hand. Ty didn’t hesitate to take it but she could sense his surprise when she didn’t say more. She cocked her head, daring him, her dark blue eyes refusing to look away. “Who were you expecting?”

  “Now Melissa, none of that. DuValle hails from the low country and has worked a couple of these types of cases. The higher ups wanted him on the Task Force and we’re glad he’s here, aren’t we?” The last was said with enough force that Melissa looked at Buck with surprise.

  “You promised…” she started to say, but he cut her off.

  “And you are co-team Lead, but Agent DuValle is the Lead Agent, as of today.” Buck’s no nonsense statement set Melissa’s teeth on edge.

  It didn’t matter to the brass that she was the highest decorated female agent in the DEA. She had been the top female recruit out of the 19-week Academy, which had showed her top in the class in firearms proficiency and marksmanship, outstanding above the men in weapons safety and tactical shooting, and had been a Team Leader on the deadly-force decision training section that had finally earned her the respect of her classmates. She had maintained an academic average of 97 percent on all academic examinations, and passed the firearms-qualification test with flying colors. It was a long road to successfully demonstrate leadership and decision-making in so many of the scenarios the Academy pushed on them but she had done so with flying marks, not to mention passing the rigorous physical-task tests that many of the male students never mastered. She had been with Buck’s command for five years and Melissa still fought the “good old boy system” every corner she turned. It had everything to do with the fact that she was female in a male-dominated world. Melissa clamped her mouth shut before she said something that would get her in more trouble than she could buy herself out of and stood at parade rest.

  “Now, DuValle will be the Lead of the Team and you will be his second-in-command. I need the two of you to wrap this thing up because not only the Governor but the national press has gotten a hold of it and the Governor is not happy.” Buck started to leave but turned back to the two of them.

  “And by the way,” he said as an afterthought. “Your offices have been set up so everything has been moved to the upper floor. The Task Force has the entire floor. It should give ya’ll the room needed for your team and the offices to work out of. Now, go do what you both do best and keep me posted.”

  With that, Buck Stanfield marched off down the hallway to his own office like the little general he thought he was and his decree could solve the world’s problems. He didn’t look back and no one in the large room around them thought anything of questioning the man.

  Melissa’s mind was reeling, trying to come to terms with the fact that her case had just been handed over to the FBI agent standing next to her, a man she knew from her past but hoped he didn’t remember her. She watched him from her peripheral vision and waited, sensing his emotions just under the surface. Despite DuValle’s quiet exterior and cool façade, she sensed turmoil and strength beneath but no recognition. She did what she did best, waited him out.

  Tyrone DuValle hadn’t expected his friend to throw him under the bus and onto the Task Force. Once he had a quiet minute, he was going to ask the old bastard what the hell was going on. He had come to Texas to help, not to take over the investigation and he had made that very clear to Stanfield. Ty didn’t want the responsibility of leading the team, he wanted to investigate what was going on, find the ones who were grabbing these kids and put a stop to it.

  Too many young teens were turning up missing along the Gulf states, so many of them later coming up dead in ditches and bayous. Tyrone had promised the parents of the last two families that he would find a way to end this if it was the last thing he did. His years working FBI cases for missing kids had become his specialty, one he had taken on after seeing one too many parents lose their precious children for whatever reason. It was the reason he had come to Texas, to help, not lead a team.

  He also wasn’t expecting the headstrong beauty in front of him to be on the Task Force. Stanfield hadn’t given him a heads up about any of this and he damn sure didn’t want the responsibility of taking over her investigation. If it had been him, he would be spitting mad, too. He stood watching the beauty in from of him and mentally shook his head.

  Tall, honey blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a stubborn chin, with high cheekbones and deep blue eyes hadn’t changed since the last time he see her so long ago. He’d read the brief as he driven down, stopping overnight in San Antonio. She had changed since high school. That thought was all he could think about and wondered if she remembered him. Melissa standing there wearing sharply pressed regulation khakis tailored to fit her well-proportioned hips and crisp long sleeve uniform shirt just made his mouth water. It also made his body remember just how long ago it had been since he had held a woman.

  Her shirt was tailored to fit her form, pen tucked at the waist yet not too tight so as to allow her plenty of movement if needed. She wore her sidearm low on her right side, the opposite him, and Tryon was struck by how professional and damn sexy she was just standing there, waiting. Clearing his throat, Ty tried to figure out how to make this work for both of them.

  “Look Miss McKinney, I didn’t ask for this. I came here to help, not take over your investigation.” He watched her eyes light up briefly before her expression closed off and she took a deep breath. At first he thought it was going to be good.

  “Well, Agent DuValle, beggars can’t be choosers and people in Hell want ice water. Now don’t they?” She said it with a quirky half smile, a dimple peeking out in her right cheek and Tryon saw a bit of devilment in those blue eyes looking back at him. Ah hell, he was going
to kill Buck Stanfield.

  “So, where are we working at?” Ty tried again, refusing to rise to her bait.

  “Follow me,” was all he got as Melissa took off down the center isle of the bullpen and out the doorway. She led him to the stairwell and headed up, letting her head take over as the walls closed in. The door marked Third Floor was open and she turned down a long hallway where the Team was now set up with desks, a conference area, whiteboards, and IT section.

  “Wow, he works fast,” Ty whispered as he looked around. “He doesn’t mess around, does he?”

  “You have no idea,” Melissa threw back over her shoulder, catching one of the admin’s coming in the door.

  “Put my stuff in that office and set the other desk up for Agent DuValle. Also, make sure the coffeemaker is stocked for later. I’m sure we’ll be here more hours than we care to count.” The young man grinned and carried the boxes into the office she indicated before disappearing.

  “Mind telling me where the investigation is at?” Ty asked her, slipping a hip onto a nearby desk.

  “I’ve got the last crime scene posted on the white board in the conference room if you want a look. I’ve also loaded everything onto a flash drive so you can study it later on your laptop.” She tossed him a shiny red flash drive before walking off.

  “Lonnie, where’s that damn coffee?” he heard her yell, and Ty grinned. Yep, he was going to kill Buck.

  “Stop yelling and start following your nose!” came a snarky reply, which had chuckles coming from a couple of areas around the room. Evidently Agent McKinney’s penchant for coffee was well known.

  “I didn’t ask where my nose was. I ask where the damn coffee was at.” The lilting reply came from the corner, then Ty heard a deep sigh. “Damn, that’s good. Thank god you got here, Lonnie.”