The memory of Shane Livingstone hovered in the back of her mind. She’d been so tempted to take up his invitation to call him over the weekend. The fact she’d resisted should feel like a victory but instead felt hollow and depressing. She didn’t like that either.

Yesterday, Yael had gone to her boss’s house where Alex and Mallory had shown her some basic self-defense moves in their home gym while they all took turns entertaining baby Georgina and their cute Golden Retriever, Rex.

Alex had also offered to teach her to shoot in the small range he’d had built in his basement. She’d declined and he hadn’t looked surprised. She was pretty certain that, although they’d never discussed it, he knew her full history. He knew why guns freaked her out so much. He hadn’t pressed and she was grateful.

Yael reached Building 64 and stared at the small plaque that told her she was in the right place. The structure was a bland, two-story affair with all the personality of a cardboard box.

She was an hour early for the meeting, but she liked to be set up and prepared before other people turned up. Voices nearby spurred her into motion.

She pushed inside and searched for Room 3. She found it easily enough on the ground floor and heard more voices suggesting others had arrived before her. She opened the door and came to a complete stop.

Shane—Shannon Marcus Livingstone III—originally from Madison, Georgia—because give a hacker a small amount of data and they simply couldn’t help themselves—stood near the front of the conference room near a white board covered in various images and pieces of information. He wore green tactical pants and a black t-shirt with boots and was armed. All FBI agents were armed, she reminded herself, but somehow he looked more dangerous than those she’d previously encountered. He held a paper handout, talking to Ashley Chen, his cast, for once, obediently nestled in its sling.

“Yael. Good, you’re early. Set up over here.” Ashley Chen indicated a desk to her right that had a power strip on the floor beneath it. Yael nodded without speaking and headed reluctantly to where Ashley pointed.

“You two met in Texas, correct? Shane Livingstone, this is Yael Brooks. Yael, this is Shane.” The agent introduced them again.

“Yes,” Shane told Ashley with a serious expression. “We met.”

“Shane is acting as HRT’s liaison on the task force until he is medically cleared for full duties.”

“I see.” Yael gave him a pointed stare.

Ashley turned away to attend to something on her laptop and Shane walked over to where Yael stood.