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both Jess and Manning at the table, the Bureau had fulfilled Dan’s request for support.
    This was his mess and he had to clean it up.
    A rap on the door interrupted his gut-check session.
    His frustration at the intrusion quickly shifted to full-on dread at the idea that there might be a new development. He did not want to hear that Detective Wells’ body had been found.
    Anxiety added a couple more knots to his gut.
    “Burnett? You still in there?”
    Jess.
    Maybe not bad news. Just an unavoidable pep talk. Even after nearly two decades apart, she knew him too well.
    Dan stretched his neck, drew in a deep breath and turned to the door at the same instant it opened.
    Jess frowned. “Everyone’s waiting. What’re you doing?”
    How could they have spent those two decades separated by geography and their distinctly different views on their volatile history and her radar still work this well?
    Until he’d asked her to come to Birmingham and advise on a case, they had seen each other only once in that entire time. The thought of that one encounter bombarded him with searing flashes of memories. . . the frantic ripping off of clothes. . . the desperate sounds of mutual need. . . the feel of her warm, slick body moving beneath his. . . alive with his touch .
    He cleared his head. “It’s the men’s room. Take a wild guess.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Yes, but what are you doing now ?”
    “Waiting for you to move so we don’t keep everyone else waiting any longer.” She was the one blocking the door.
    After a searching look, she finally backed up, then waited for him to exit before allowing the door to close.
    Maybe that old intimate connection still worked for him, too, considering he could feel her watching him, assessing his every blink, as they strode along the corridor to the conference room.
    She had something on her mind.
    Stopping short of the door, he turned to her. “What?”
    Jess crossed her arms over her chest. “As a wise friend once said to me, it’s okay to be afraid.”
    It disgusted him that he was that transparent.
    “Look,” she added on a weary sigh, “I’m terrified for her myself. But we have to pull it together.”
    Any irritation he might have felt at her accusation fizzled in light of the fact that he was the friend who’d given her that sage advice just a few days ago. And she was right.
    Now she’d used the word friend . Apparently she had decided it was okay for them to be friends. He wasn’t sure when she’d had time to arrive at that conclusion but he was damned glad she had. From the moment she rolled back into town just five days ago, they’d been embroiled in a life-and-death race with escalating stakes. Looked as if that wasn’t going to change any time soon. He needed her support. . . he needed her .
    “Thank you, Chief Harris,” he acknowledged. “Point taken.”
    “ Chief Harris? That’s a little premature, don’t you think?” she countered. “You only made that offer this morning.”
    “You accepted,” he reminded her.
    “Sort of.” She waved her hands back and forth. “And that’s deputy chief, by the way. But we can talk about that later. This situation is complicated enough without making that announcement right now. We need everyone’s attention on the investigation, not on why or how I was selected for a newly created position in the department.” She started for the conference room again but hesitated. “Besides, depending on how this turns out, you may want to retract your offer.”
    Before he could argue Jess joined the others around the conference table while he stared after her, stunned and frustrated that she still believed this situation was her fault.
    The Player had apparently taken on the part of nemesis to Jess and he wanted to punish her. She had no control over his actions. As brave as she wanted to appear, Dan could see that she was, as she had admitted, terrified for Wells. . . terrified for her family and anyone else who stood