Chapter 9 #2
I leaned forward in my chair as an idea sparked in my head. “When we had cases like this at the FIA, we helped narrow down suspects by building a profile. What if we built a profile of the Kingfisher?”
“And then try to match people to the profile?” Alexander asked, his blue eyes gleaming with interest. “Doesn’t that approach have some confirmation bias, though?”
“It can,” I agreed. “But it’s a starting point.”
“What’s a profile?” Evelyn asked, her brows furrowed.
“It’s essentially a pattern of behavior.
You take everything Kingfisher has done and work backwards.
The targets, the methods, the timing—none of it is random.
People like to think they’re unpredictable, but they’re not.
They have patterns, and a profile finds the pattern and tells you who fits it. ”
Evelyn tilted her head. “That would probably help. Or at least give us a starting point.”
“I can reach out to some military intelligence contacts and see if they have any information that could help us build it,” Adrian said. “Maybe some overseas stuff that the federal agencies would have missed.”
Evelyn nodded. “I’ll reach out to the Ghosts as well. See if there’s anything they’ve run into.”
I frowned. “The Ghosts?”
Marcus sighed. “It’s a long story.”
Evelyn laughed. “It’s not that long. They’re a mercenary group we have a friendly relationship with.”
A mercenary group? There were more layers to the Archers than I had imagined.
“I can show you how we build out a profile tomorrow,” I offered to Evelyn.
“That would be great,” she smiled at me, and I ignored the way my heart skipped a beat.
“You all can use a conference room at SDS,” Alexander said. “I’ll have extra whiteboards brought in.” He winked at Evelyn, who rolled her eyes but smiled warmly at him. I wanted her to smile at me like that.
We switched topics after that and moved onto lighter subjects as we finished dinner. The food was great, and the conversation flowed easily. There was a warmth and a lightness in the room, despite all the obstacles we were facing. This was what family felt like.
After dinner, I helped Sebastian clean the table, rinse the dishes and place them in the dishwasher.
“I need to talk to Marcus for a few minutes,” Adrian said. “Dominic, do you mind walking Evelyn down to her apartment?”
Evelyn scoffed. “I don’t need a minder.”
“Humor me,” Adrian asked her.
She let out an exasperated sigh but kissed him. She said goodnight to the others, then turned to me.
“Ready?” she asked.
I nodded, and we headed out of the penthouse and down the elevator. She paused outside her door.
“Want to come in for a drink?” she asked, tucking a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear.
“Sure,” I said. I didn’t want the night to end just yet, and I wanted to get to know her better.
She unlocked her apartment and led me inside.
I already knew the layout. Adrian’s apartment across the hall was a mirror of this one, which meant I’d been living in a version of Evelyn’s space without realizing it.
The floor plan was the same. The windows were the same.
The city skyline spilling across the glass was the same.
But Adrian’s apartment felt like somewhere a person lived.
This one felt like somewhere a person slept between other things.
The couch was soft, the kitchen was clean, and everything was exactly where it should be.
I wasn’t sure what I thought her apartment would look like.
I just knew this wasn’t it. It just didn’t feel like her.
I didn’t realize I was frowning until Evelyn turned from the fridge with a beer in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. “What is it?”
I hesitated. “Just surprised by the space.”
She laughed. “You mean because it looks like it’s out of an edition of a modern interior magazine?”
I chuckled as I accepted the beer. “A little bit, yes. I just couldn’t picture you living here.”
“It was a recent move,” she admitted. She motioned to the couch, and I followed her over. “But you probably know it was a recent move,” she said, settling into the soft cushions.
“Yes,” I said. We had uncovered that information during our FIA investigation. “Before that, you lived in an apartment closer to the rail yard, right?” I leaned against the back of the couch, turning my body so I could face her fully.
She laughed softly, her brown curls glowing in the soft warm light of the lamp.
“No, that was actually a cover. And it was close to SDS.” She looked down at her wineglass, swirling the liquid around.
“My real home—well, the place I consider my real home—is an old manor house outside the city. It’s been neglected for years, but I’ve been renovating it in my spare time,” she said wryly, lifting one shoulder.
“So it’s been taking longer than I would like.
But maybe once everything settles down a bit more, and after we’ve taken down Kingfisher, I can focus on it for a bit. ”
I nodded. That made a lot more sense. An old manor house fit her perfectly: timeless elegance and charm. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about it told me this was deeply personal, and I was honored she shared it with me.
“After my dad’s fight with alcoholism, he couldn’t return to the force, so he turned to construction work.
On my days off, I would help him out with different projects around our house and friends’ and family’s houses.
We’ve worked on a few older houses. When this is all over, I’m happy to help you with some of those renovation projects if you want,” I said.
Evelyn tilted her head. “Aren’t you going back to DC after this is over?”
I sighed. “Honestly, I’m not sure.” I hadn’t told anyone this yet, but if anyone would understand the conflicted thoughts I had, it was Evelyn.
“I joined the FIA to make a difference, and it turns out that our director was the most corrupt of it all, so was I really making a difference or was I just unknowingly dancing to the Kingfisher’s tune? ”
“That’s got to be a mindfuck,” Evelyn said.
I barked out a surprised laugh at her bluntness. “It is. Honestly, I’m kind of envious of you and the Archers. There’s no bureaucratic bullshit you have to work through. You know you’re doing good. You can see it.”
“Even if our methods are unorthodox?” she questioned with a teasing smile.
“The FIA’s methods can be unorthodox, but we just call them operating guidelines,” I said with a grin.
She laughed, and I couldn’t help but join in. Her laughter trailed off into a yawn. “Sorry,” she said, covering her mouth.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, rising to my feet. “I should let you get some sleep.”
She walked me to the door, her eyes soft and warm. I leaned down and kissed her cheek impulsively. “Thanks for the drink,” I said. Her eyes widened, and a blush stained her cheeks.
“Any time,” she said, not meeting my eyes. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Once inside Adrian’s apartment, I groaned and leaned back against the door.
Why did I kiss her cheek like that? She had four boyfriends already, and there was no way she would be interested in a federal agent.
Well, if I even was a federal agent anymore.
Still, I shouldn’t have done that. But I couldn’t get the sight of her soft blush out of my mind.
I heard footsteps in the hallway and moved away from the door so Adrian wouldn’t find me having a mini meltdown.
I walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and the door opened behind me.
“Hey,” Adrian said softly. “Evelyn get in okay?”
“Yes,” I said. “We had a drink, and then she started yawning, so she went to bed.”
“Good,” Adrian said. He studied me. “Everything okay?” His sharp eyes didn’t miss anything.
“Yep, just getting some water before I hit the sack as well.” I raised my water glass.
“Good. Just let me know if you need anything,” Adrian said. “I’m going to sleep over at Evelyn’s tonight.”
“Sounds good. Goodnight.”
Adrian had been nothing but good to me, and I hated lying to him, but how did I tell him that I was starting to fall for his girlfriend?