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felt distant. A large chasm seemed to separate him from her. She kissed his neck. Where was the shiver, that ecstasy he had once felt anytime she touched him? Dutifully Jason lifted a hand and blindly placed it on the side of her face, hoping for some connection. Nothing,
    Pulling away, Jason bent down to pick up more trash leaving Amanda standing behind him. He kept his eyes down. He knew he loved Kallie and he would do anything for her, but where was that desire for Amanda?
    Have I grown that distant?

CHAPTER 6
    January 27 at 7:40 a.m. EST
    Norfolk, Virginia – FBI Norfolk Field Office
     
    Beams of sunlight filtered through the bare forestry and around the cloudy sky. Ethan welcomed the balmy rays that slivered through the trees and into the Tahoe. The warmth was refreshing, a contradiction to the freezing temperatures outside the SUV.
    Ethan was on his way to the office, still trying to shake the sleep from his eyes. Unlike the yellow Beemer that had blown by him a couple miles back, nearly clipping his front bumper, Ethan was in no hurry.  He took the drive slow and cranked up the radio. His ears bathed in a hard-hitting guitar riff from a new number from one of his favorites, Five Finger Death Punch.
    His thoughts were stuck exactly one hundred and ninety-eight miles south in Raleigh, with Kate. After four years of dating, Ethan was finally ready to commit to a lifelong relationship. It had only taken him two years longer than Kate to get to that point. It was all he could do to resist turning around and heading for Raleigh right now. Yet, he was sure the federal government would not take kindly to a federal agent skipping town to propose to his dearly beloved.
    As the Tahoe drifted from forest covered state roads to the interstate, his thoughts shuffled between avoiding the idiots driving around him and Kate. Her deep brown eyes beckoning to him. The occasional fifty in a sixty-five mile per hour zone grandma. Kate’s soft cheeks and rosy lips. The teenage wannabe race car driver trying not to be late for school. Her long locks of soft hair in his hands. He wanted to be with her; he dreamt of feeling her lips against his.
    “Oh, hell,” Ethan snapped back to reality to the sound of a blaring horn. Lost in his daydreaming, the Tahoe had drifted into the neighboring lane. The tiny excuse for a sedan next to him was not especially happy about it. He made a quick course correction with the snap of his wrist and waved apologetically. In return he received a single, long, boney finger.
    Ethan looked away, keeping the irritation bottled up and forced a smile as the car sped in front of him. He refused to stoop to their level. Not today at least. Any other day, but not today.
    Ahead he took the off-ramp for exit 11B onto East Brambleton Avenue. The street brimmed with traffic. He hoped it moved quickly.
    A few minutes later he pulled into the parking lot of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and stepped out of the Tahoe. Using the SUV’s window he checked his reflection. He straightened his blue striped tie and pulled his long coat tighter around his chest. Satisfied, he made his way into the brick faced structure.
    Ethan continued down the hall, passing office after office until he reached an open door. The plaque next to the door post read Special Agent Grayson Whitaker and Special Agent Dante Mercer . He peeked in, finding Grayson sitting at his desk, coffee cup in hand and his sandy brown hair messy as usual. Dante sat by the opposite wall in about the same state, except the coffee.
    “Gray, Dante,” Ethan greeted them, startling Grayson.
    “Good morning Ethan,” Gray said, flashing a faint smile as he settled back down. His usual morning grogginess evident. A few cups of coffee would eventually fix that.
    “Morning, Ethan,” Dante echoed, pointing one large finger out toward Ethan in greeting. “Just as a reminder, nothing Gray said about me at the party last night was true.”
    Ethan chuckled at Dante. He was