EIGHTEEN HOURS. IT had been eighteen hours since she’d hit PAVAD—two hours before her regular shift began. Shannon stretched. She needed coffee or she wasn’t going to make it another fifteen minutes.

She and Ezra and the forensic specialists had managed to recreate every crime scene digitally that they currently had. They knew where the shooter was located for each and every event.

What they didn’t have was what he looked like.

She was still combing footages for the approximate times of the events. And before.

Ezra had pointed out that a sharpshooter would often get into position well in advance and wait.

Sometimes for days.

But she didn’t know exactly how that was going to help their case. She didn’t have all the footage to check for days before each attack. Several traffic cams and security systems were the kind that overwrote themselves every twenty-four hours.

It was a Hail Mary effort, but she was going to try.

Someone sat a cup of coffee down in front of her before she’d even fully turned around. “Drink. Eat.”

Shannon thought about retorting back, but he looked just as tired as she felt. And he’d been through a rough day. Far rougher than hers. He’d brought her a sandwich, no doubt ordered from the cafeteria. And coffee just how she liked it. He held his own in his hand. It was the first she could recall him actually eating anything the entire day. Maybe. They’d skipped breakfast yesterday in her kitchen. Or was it the day before? She couldn’t remember now, and he might have grabbed something when Ken had them separated. She looked around the conference room where they’d set up camp so many hours before. Everyone looked just as exhausted as she felt. “Thanks.”

“You need to take better care of yourself. It’ll catch up to you one day.” He nudged a container of sliced fruit toward her. Shannon took it without protest. There was something in his eyes that had her complying, feeling that maybe he needed to take care of her in that moment.

“Look who’s talking.” She took a moment to study him. Cases wore on people; everyone in PAVAD—in the entire bureau—knew that. Some were far harder than others. This one could be no other way for him. “You’re right. I can’t keep living on pizza and cafeteria food forever. And I’m starting to forget what sleep feels like.”

“We’ll catch him. I promise that.” He rubbed his eyes with his free hand, then took the chair he’d pushed up to her desk earlier. “Some buddies and I are getting together, going to give Geoff a proper send-off—once I have answers and his body’s been released, anyway. Nils wants to be there, too. I’ve already talked to the funeral home, gotten things started.”

She winced. She hadn’t realized that would fall to him. It was just another added burden he shouldered now. “Did he have any family?”

Ezra shook his head. “Geoff has some distant family, but I don’t remember where. Leghari’s flying in from Ft. Benning in the morning. I made the call an hour ago when I was in with Chalmers. Warned them to watch themselves. Just in case. I couldn’t reach Kessinger or Sefton, but they weren’t overly close to Geoff to begin with. We’re tracking down Hollace now. He’s the one guy in our unit Geoff didn’t like. But he’s the only other one who lives in St. Louis. Figured it couldn’t hurt to see what he knows and give him a warning. It might be best if he takes his wife and gets out of town for a while.”

She dropped the chicken salad sandwich back on the desk and wrapped her hand around his arm. He wasn’t the bulkiest of the men she worked with, but Ezra was definitely in fine physical shape. He felt so strong and real beneath her hand.

She didn’t like the idea of him suddenly being so vulnerable.

They were on the clock and visible for anyone who wanted to look closely at them. But she didn’t care. “I’m sorry, Ez. About your friends. About all of this.”

“We knew each other well. Emailed all the time. Hell, he drove the rental truck with half my shit in it from West Virginia when I moved here. He was always pestering me to go do this, go do that. I meant to introduce him to Cam but never did. I wish I had—the two would have gotten along like wildfire.”

“I’m not sure what to say.”

“I’m going to find this guy no matter what. I won’t stop.” His hand went around her elbow, less than two inches above the bandage still on her arm. She was healing, but she had to wonder if he would. “He’ll not hurt you again. Or anyone else I care about.”

“Ez... He’s not going to hurt me again. I promise that.” She’d been incidental. Bad luck all around.  Chances were slim the man who had shot his friends even knew she existed. She and Ezra had certainly never gone out to eat like that together.

Except for Smokey’s that one night.

And if something was going to happen, it would have happened that night.