Nicky crossed her arms. She didnt know Ken well, since he was still a new transfer to the office, but that meant he didnt know her well either. She wasnt the type to take patronizationfrom a man, no less. It was hard enough being a woman in a field like this, and she didnt get as far as she did by having no voice.

I appreciate the offer, Agent Walker, Nicky said, but make no mistake: Ive been put in charge of this team, which means you follow my lead. She eyed him up, but his blue eyes didnt leave hers. I might have less field experience than you, but I was chosen for a reason. Dont forget that.

They locked eyes for a long, tense moment, before Ken shrugged and turned away, hands in the pockets of his pants. Like Grace said, youre the boss. So, what do we do next?

Nicky couldnt deny the idea of working closely with Ken after that was unappealing. But she couldn't let that ruin this. She had to get this right. This was her first chance to lead, and she was going to seize it with both hands.

She took a seat at the table. She needed to follow this case, to prevent more girls from disappearing.

She looked at the projector screen, where the mugshot of Bernard Brown stared at her.

"We're going to find this girl, and we're going to make sure she's safe. Until then, we have to go over the details of Bernard Brown," Nicky said. "We need to know all the information we can get. Because we need to be ready to go if we get a lead." She turned to Ken. "I want to know everything about this Brown guy."

"I'm still not sure about this," Ken said. "But whatever you think is best, let's do it."

"Good." Nicky's eyes hardened on his. "In that case, you and I need to catch a flight."

CHAPTER SIX

Nicky felt a rush of adrenaline as the plane swooped to a steady descent. She had the window seat, with a full view of Southern Florida beyond; through the clouds, grasslands emerged, followed by a span of forest. As the plane continued to fly on a steady downward trend, Nicky found herself staring down at the sun-bleached sand of the beach.

Ken was beside her, and he'd been quiet the whole flight as he read a book--one Nicky noted was on human psychology. Nicky didn't mind the silence; she had nothing to say to Ken, anyway, and it was obvious he didn't like her, or respect her as his boss. But he would just have to get used to it, because this case wasnt about Ken. It wasnt even about Nicky. It was about Meghan Salinger.

Still, Nicky wanted to clear the air with him before they were officially working together. She needed to know that she could rely on him.