Maria smiled. If Jed was tied up with work—or that tramp Nisha—then she’d have to get to Sarah Beth another way. And once the little brat was taken care of, Victor would finally be happy and she could focus her full attention on infiltrating the Shepherds.

Her phone chimed.

Love to but busy early tomorrow. David and I have a meeting with SB’s school. David working after. How about lunch? You pick the place.

Perfect . . .

She sent a reply, picking a place that was nice but out of the way from prying eyes and ears. Feeling better, she slipped her phone in her suit pant pocket and smiled. Originally Jed had seemed the easier conduit, but Rachel was lonely—a woman in need of a friend. Someone she could laugh with but also ventilate to. That’s exactly who Maria had modeled herself to be. But there was something about Rachel that was hard to crack. Also, she had an unnaturally strong connection with her daughter, which could be a problem. Maria worried that Sarah Beth could get inside her head, like Victor. Once she’d thought she’d even felt the little brat rooting around in her memories, but she’d had a couple of glasses of wine that night and dismissed it.

Probably just my paranoia at work.

She pulled her Glock service pistol from the lockbox in her top desk drawer and slipped the weapon into the holster on her hip. Then she grabbed her shoulder bag from the bottom drawer and headed out of the precinct to her Nashville MPD car and fired the beast up. She’d work out, drink some wine, and revise her strategy.

Maybe I’ve been going about this the wrong way, she thought. Maybe instead of pushing so hard, I need to let Jed come to me. Play a little hard to get . . .

And on that cue, her phone chimed with a text message notification. She pulled it from her bag and looked at the screen.

Hi, Maria, so sorry for the radio silence, but I just got back in town. Meet for coffee tomorrow? Can’t wait to reconnect!

Flush with possibility, she thumb-typed her reply: How about getting together for drinks tonight? I’m available . . .

His reply took over a minute:

Would love to, but I’m completely wiped. I’d be terrible company. Going to bed. Tomorrow, okay?

Irritation blossomed in her chest, but she tamped it down and decided to take his word at face value. He’d responded and wanted to see her. That was a win.

Sounds good. Can’t wait to see you!

She added the kiss emoji at the end and waited.

And waited . . .

Finally her phone dinged and she saw that he’d responded in kind.

A victorious smile curled her lips. It had taken time and persistence, but her plan was working. She was worming her way into both Jed’s and Rachel’s hearts. When the opportunity to complete her mission presented itself, they’d never see it coming.