“I still don’t understand why she’s been assigned to work with us.”
Amy cocked her head to the side and motioned to the window, where they could see a handful of students and professors walking along the sidewalks. “Would you really want to organize the volunteers we’ll need for the live scenarios?”
He immediately shook his head.
“Me neither,” Amy admitted. “Listen, Tristan. Don’t worry about Riley. She’s mainly here to give us administrative help.”
Though Tristan was obviously far from satisfied with her answer, he stood up. “I think I’m going to call it a day,” he said. “Do you have my housing info?”
“Yeah.” Amy reached into the top drawer of her desk and handed him an envelope with his name on it. “The key is inside, along with the address and directions.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning.”
* * *
Tristan strode out of the room and started toward the building’s big double doors. He only took two steps before he glanced back down the hall at the stairs. Then, reversing his direction, he moved to the stairwell and climbed up to the second floor. His initial briefing information had included a floor plan of the building and details of the exact location of the massacre. He didn’t have to search long to find the classrooms where the shooting had taken place.
The rooms looked normal enough, exactly like he would expect college classrooms to look. He moved into one of the rooms and stepped to the window to look out at the nearly vacant campus. Final exams had finished up the week before, and for the next week the campus would remain largely empty until the summer semester began.
With a blink of surprise, he spotted Riley, still several buildings away, walking toward Sedgely Hall. Even from this distance, he noticed that she slowed her pace as she drew closer. He couldn’t say why exactly he had decided that her obvious discomfort with this place was his concern, but he noticed the way her head tilted upward so she could look at the second story. He also noticed that she stumbled when she saw him in the window, but she quickly regained her balance and continued toward the building’s entrance.
With a shake of his head, Tristan jogged down the stairs and out the main entrance to meet her. She was just coming up the front steps when he pushed through the door. “I thought you would have already gone home for the day,” Tristan told her.
“I just finished up, but I thought I should check in and make sure you had everything you needed.”
“I think we’re good,” Tristan said, nodding. “Amy has the housing all taken care of, and everyone is pretty much finished for the day.”
“Oh, okay.” Riley hesitated, and Tristan could feel her indecision about whether or not she should go inside.
“Any chance you’re free this evening?” Tristan heard himself saying. He wasn’t sure if he was asking because he wanted to distract her from her fears or because he wanted to spend more time with her.
She looked at him, dumbfounded. “What?”
Tristan cupped her elbow with his hand and gently steered her away from Sedgely Hall. “I thought maybe I could take you out to dinner, and you could show me around town.”
“Dinner,” Riley repeated as though she were still trying to catch up with the U-turn he’d made in their conversation. “I guess I could do that.”
“Tell you what. Give me your address, and I’ll pick you up in about an hour. That will give me time to check out my housing and drop off my gear.”
Still looking somewhat stunned, Riley nodded in agreement and dug out a small notepad so she could write down her address. “Do you need directions?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll find it.” Tristan took the paper from her and stepped back. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Okay,” Riley agreed. Quietly, she turned away from Sedgely Hall and walked back the way she had come.
* * *
“You have a date? With a Navy SEAL?” Taylor’s voice was almost accusing as she stared at Riley, who was studying the contents of her closet.
“Don’t start on me,” Riley pleaded as she pulled two shirts out of the closet and debated about which one would look better with her khaki pants. After growing up with a dad who was away at sea more than he was home, she had always avoided dating military types—especially those in the Navy.
“Sorry, but this is a momentous occasion. You haven’t gone out on a date with anyone since . . .” Taylor trailed off, clearly not wanting to mention the day that had changed so many lives. “I just can’t believe that the first guy you’re going out with in over two years is in the Navy.”
Riley shrugged and afforded Taylor a brief glance before concentrating once more on what to wear. “I was so shocked he asked me out, I didn’t have time to think of an excuse.”
“Wait a minute. Is there a reason you needed to make an excuse?” Taylor was even more curious now. “I thought you said all of these SEAL guys were LDS. Is he ugly?”
“No, he’s really good looking.”
“Lacking in social skills?”
“No.” Riley laughed now and turned to face her younger sister, who also happened to be her roommate. She held up two shirts and asked, “Which one?”
“Wear the white,” Taylor insisted before getting back on subject. “So what’s the problem? I mean, besides the obvious—that he’s in the Navy.”
“I’m going to be working with him for the next eight weeks, the first three doing nothing but brainstorming and planning. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to date any of these guys.”
“And?”
Riley changed her shirt before looking back at her sister. If there was anyone she could confide in, it was Taylor. “He suspects something.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. “You think he knows you were there?”
“I doubt it,” Riley answered, shaking her head. “But he knows I’m uncomfortable in Sedgely Hall.”
“Half of the students at Oswell are uncomfortable in Sedgely.”
“Yeah, but I think he knows there’s more to it than that.” She tugged on her khakis and turned to check her reflection in the bedroom mirror. “Kel, the commanding officer, is the only one who knows that I graduated from here, and he agreed to keep that information private. But the way Tristan looked at me . . .” She held up her hands, searching for the right words. “I don’t know. I just met the guy, and already I feel like he can tell what I’m thinking.”
Taylor nodded in understanding. “Sounds unnerving.” Then, with a wicked grin, she added, “But you did say he’s cute.”
Riley laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Oh yeah.”
* * *
Tristan knocked on the door of the second-floor apartment. He expected to see Riley on the other side of the door as it swung open, but instead he found himself being studied by a redhead with eyes that were the same dark brown as Riley’s. “You must be Riley’s sister,” Tristan concluded and offered a hand. “I’m Tristan Crowther.”
“I’m Taylor.” She studied him a moment longer before pulling the door open wider. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.” Tristan stepped over the threshold and looked around the tiny living room. The furnishings appeared to be a combination of hand-me-downs and Goodwill items, but the artwork hanging on the wall looked original. He stepped closer to study a painting of two Adirondack chairs on a winter beach. “This is really good. Who’s the artist?”
Taylor’s face lit up. “Yours truly,” she said. “It’s a spot not far from my grandparents’ house in Virginia Beach.”
“Really?” Tristan turned back to look at Taylor. “That’s where I’m normally stationed.”
They both turned when Riley emerged from a short hallway. Tristan caught himself staring at her, noticing for the first time the slight cleft in her chin and the thickness of her dark eyelashes.
Riley picked up her purse and looked at him apologetically. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”
“Not at all. I was just admirin
g your sister’s artwork.” Tristan nodded at the painting before turning his attention back to Riley. “Are you ready?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“It was nice meeting you, Taylor,” Tristan called out before ushering Riley out the door. As they walked down the stairs to the parking lot, Tristan broached the subject of where to eat. Riley offered a number of choices, but ultimately they decided on a steakhouse nearby.
Tristan had worried that Riley might look down on his dented pickup truck, but she didn’t seem to care what vehicle he drove. At least he had taken the time to clean it out before coming to pick her up. As he followed her directions, he noted the lack of traffic. “I imagine this town gets pretty quiet between semesters,” he observed.
“Definitely,” Riley agreed. “We can probably get a table at any restaurant in town this week.”
“What’s that place?” Tristan pointed at a two-story restaurant with a packed parking lot.
“It’s called Crossroads,” Riley told him. “It’s a club that a lot of locals go to. I’ve only been inside once, and I can’t figure out why it’s so popular.”
“Maybe someone famous owns it,” Tristan suggested.
She shook her head. “Actually, it’s owned by a couple of locals. Don’t worry. I don’t think it will be nearly that crowded where we’re going.”
Her words rang true as Tristan pulled into the nearly empty parking lot beside the steakhouse. They were given their choice of tables and decided on a corner booth. Riley didn’t even bother to look at the menu, opting for what Tristan assumed was her usual. As soon as the waitress finished taking their order, Tristan leaned back in his seat.
“Your sister said your grandparents live in Virginia Beach. Is that where you’re from?”
“No, my family has been in Norfolk for the last ten years or so.” Riley took a sip of her lemonade.
“Is your dad Navy?” Tristan asked, aware that Norfolk was home to a large naval base.
“Used to be.” She hesitated a moment, as if debating how much she should tell him. “He was a master mechanic until he retired last year when my brother left on his mission.”
“Where’s your brother?”
“Sao Paolo, Brazil,” Riley told him as the waitress delivered a basket of bread. “Where did you go?”
“Zurich, Switzerland. German speaking.” Tristan didn’t know what he’d said wrong, but he saw her fingers tighten around the butter knife she held. He lifted his gaze to her face, his curiosity heightened once more. He had only known her for a day, and already he had seen that expression of vulnerability on her face numerous times. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said a little too quickly, and he could almost see her filing away an old memory. “How did you like Switzerland?”
Tristan studied her for a moment, then decided to let the matter drop for the time being. “It wasn’t an easy mission, but the country is beautiful,” Tristan told her. He recounted a story about some of the immigrants he had taught and was relieved to see her tension subside. Thankfully, conversation flowed easily as they ate their dinner and then went for a short drive.
When they arrived back at Riley’s apartment, Tristan moved around the truck to open the door for her. He instinctively reached for her hand to help her out, and he noticed the way his hand practically swallowed hers whole. When she didn’t try to pull her hand away, he fell into step beside her and walked her up the stairs. “Thanks for showing me around tonight.”
“No problem.” Riley smiled up at him, a hint of nerves dancing in her eyes as she retrieved her keys from her purse. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Anytime.” He gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it. He waited until she unlocked her door before stepping back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With a nod, Riley disappeared inside.
4
He was waiting for her. At least he looked like he was waiting for her. The sky was a cloudless blue, birds were chirping, and Tristan Crowther was casually leaning against the side of Sedgely Hall. His eyes swept over the campus until he saw her. Then his gaze remained steady, even though she was still a quarter of a mile away.
Riley had woken early, a little surprised by the waves of anticipation rolling through her stomach at the thought of seeing Tristan again. She had expected to be anxious about her first full day in her new work area, but she had never dreamed that a sense of excitement would dance alongside her apprehension.
All morning she had let her mind linger on their date the night before. She could admit now that she had been nervous about her date with Tristan. And it hadn’t been just the first-date jitters or her fear that he would press for information she wasn’t willing to give. Rather, she had been worried about the simple act of being on a date. This was the first time she had gone out even casually since the massacre.
Before that fateful day, Riley had somehow managed to balance working, studying, and dating. She had enjoyed the social side of college life, sometimes spending her evenings with study groups and friends and other times focusing on more serious relationships. But after the shooting, dating and socializing had seemed so pointless.
Now here she was on this sunny morning walking toward the home of her worst memories with a smile on her face. Tristan pushed away from the wall and closed the distance between them.
“Good morning,” he said with a big smile, and, to Riley’s surprise, he reached for her hand.
“Morning.” Nervously, Riley glanced over at the door. “Is everyone already here?”
“Brent and Seth aren’t back from their run yet, but everyone else is inside.” Tristan didn’t make a move for the door. Instead, he studied her with an unexpected intensity. “I have to spend some time over at the dorms today. Do you want to start there?”
Riley shook her head, surprising both of them. “No. I think I should get settled in here first.”
Tristan nodded. “Okay.” He led her to the door and released her hand to pull the door open for her. “Just let me know if you need a break from this place.”
She smiled up at him as she stepped inside. “Thanks.”
Tristan gave her a nod, and they walked through the quiet hall. If she really listened, Riley could almost hear the echoes of students crowding through these halls, rushing to class, complaining about the latest assignment. She tried to focus on those images—and only those images.
She walked into the office ahead of Tristan and noted with satisfaction that the SEAL team had clearly made themselves at home in their new space. Their desks were covered with an array of personal belongings and stacks of files. At the chalkboard, Amy was sketching a diagram, and across the room, Quinn had his feet up on his desk and his keyboard in his lap.
Riley walked over to Kel, who was standing at the worktable studying architectural drawings of Sedgely Hall. “Do you have anything in particular you want me to start on?” she asked.
Kel nodded. “I want you to work on a psychological profile from the victim’s perspective. Basically, we need to understand the various reactions we can expect to see in a shooting or hostage situation. Amy can help you on the hostage side of things, since she has some firsthand knowledge.”
“Okay,” Riley said, reminding herself that this was where her expertise could prove most valuable. She looked over at Amy. She knew that Amy had been taken hostage in a foreign country two years before, and she was acutely aware that their situations had been completely different. Amy’s nightmare had lasted for days. Riley’s had been over in minutes.
Behind her, Tristan spoke to Kel. “What are you working on?”
“I wanted to see what kind of entrances and exits we’re dealing with in this building. Since the gunman at Virginia Tech chained several of the doors closed from the inside, I’d like to come up with some prevention methods for schools to use.”
Riley glanced down at the architectural drawings and tapped her finger on the paper. “I don’t know how much it matters, but these plans are out
of date. This building underwent some renovations not long ago.” She reached for a pencil that was lying on the table and quickly sketched the major changes from memory before looking back up at Kel. “One of the main things we probably need to consider at the high-school level are cafeteria entrances. That’s where architects usually create a lot of blind corners to accommodate mechanical rooms and ventilation systems.”
Tristan looked at her, clearly surprised, but Kel wasn’t at all fazed by her assessment. He nodded in agreement and asked, “Riley, would you see if we can schedule some time over at the local high school? We really should run some training in that environment if we can get access.”
“School is in session for the next month, so it might be tricky scheduling something for the first two weeks of training classes, but I’ll see what I can do.”
Kel turned to see Seth and Brent walk in. “Good, everyone’s here. Let’s get started.”
To Riley’s surprise, everyone gathered in the center of the room, where they stood in a circle with their heads bowed.
Noticing the look on her face, Tristan gave her a smile. “We always start out each day with a prayer,” he said. “We never know when we might need some divine guidance.”
Not quite sure what to think, she followed his example and folded her arms. Tristan volunteered to give the prayer, and Riley felt an unexpected comfort as he offered the simple words of the prayer. When he asked the Lord to help them find peace within these walls, she knew he was praying for her. Then, as quickly as the prayer had begun, it was over, and everyone dispersed to go about their business.
Riley sat down at her desk, not sure how she felt about being seated next to Tristan. From a purely female perspective, she was admittedly thrilled at her good fortune. Professionally, she hoped his presence wouldn’t be too much of a distraction. Within minutes, she realized it wasn’t likely to matter.
While each of the team members had claimed a desk for their own, they rarely used them unless they were actively engaged on a computer. Instead, much of the action centered around the worktable and chalkboard. Determined to pull her weight on this project, Riley booted up her computer and got to work.
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