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The drive across town to the Nashville FBI Resident Agency on Tuesday morning seemed to take forever. In some ways, it felt longer even than their journey down from Pennsylvania.

Rush hour traffic ground slowly down Donelson Pike as it did every weekday morning, and Stella fidgeted in the seat next to Hagen. She tapped her foot. Adjusted the heating. Wiped condensation from the window.

Everything was familiar, but she felt strange.

The last half year had been challenging and intense and life-changing. A string of tough cases had run one after another for two months. They’d tracked and eventually eliminated Joel Ramirez, her father’s best friend and murderer, who’d ordered the killing of Hagen’s father too.

For a couple weeks, Stella and Hagen had followed up the leads Ramirez’s right-hand man, Hal McKay, had given them during interrogation, then taken a long, overdue break.

They’d left as fall settled in. They’d returned as winter began deepening. The morning air was warmer than in Claymore but still colder than Stella liked—in the high forties. The people in the streets walked with a new haste, eager to flee the cooling weather and stride into their heated offices.

Everything was different.

Even Hagen was different.

He wore a full suit and tie.

Stella had been surprised, even shocked, when he’d pulled a tie out that morning. He’d always been meticulous, but a tie was extra. He explained ties were a winter thing. Otherwise, he was always removing them in the summer months. Too hot.

Stella had realized then how briefly they’d known each other. Less than a year. Not even half a year. They’d achieved so much in that time.

And they’d fallen in love.

Completely in love.

When Stella looked at Hagen, she saw not just his square chin, his slim, muscular build, and those dark-green eyes into which she could sink forever. She also saw someone who knew her and understood her better than anyone. They’d traveled the same route. They hadn’t always had the same outlook, but over time, their views of the world had merged and strengthened each other. They made each other better.

And Hagen did look smoking hot in a suit.

But it wasn’t only Hagen’s new look that had changed. The team had changed too. Before her first day, Stella had looked up her new colleagues and run background checks. She’d wanted to know who she was working with and whether they’d be able to help her find the man who’d killed her father.

That help had come, even if it hadn’t come from the places she’d expected.

So many of those people were gone now.

Dani Jameson, who’d been kidnapped, went on maternity leave and hadn’t come back.

Chloe Foster transferred, taking a promotion in Florida.

And Martin Lin, poor Martin, was dead.

Hagen drove with one hand on the steering wheel. Stella reached for his other and squeezed. He rubbed the back of her wrist with his thumb, and for a moment, all was right with the world.

They parked in the garage and made the short walk to the glass doors of the entrance.

As they headed down the corridor to the bullpen, the heating system hummed under the faint whir of computer fans. No one else was in. They’d turned up thirty minutes early.

Stella took her seat and logged into her computer for the first time in over three months.

As she checked her messages, the sound of light footsteps came from the corridor. Stella looked up to find Mackenzie Drake, the team’s cyber expert, passing by their desks on her way to her office. Happiness struck Stella like a blast of warm air.

But Mac’s face was buried in her phone. It was a miracle she hadn’t slammed her shin on a rogue office chair.

“Mac!”

Mac froze mid-step, jerking her head up. “Stella? Hagen?” A smile bloomed across her face as she pivoted and rushed toward them. “You’re back!” She flew across the bullpen and greeted Stella with a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you.” Straightening, she held Stella’s face, smushed her cheeks, then hugged her again before finally stepping back.

“Slade has been fretting for days about you not being here. He should’ve told us.”

“We didn’t know ourselves until the day before yesterday.” Stella rubbed her friend’s shoulder. Claymore had been good. But coming home and seeing her friends was wonderful. “How have you been?”

Hagen grinned at Mac from above the monitor on the opposite side of the desk. “Hey, Mac.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess Hagen’s back too.” Mac winked at him. “I’m kidding. We’ve missed those steamy exchanges around here. I’ve had to make do with Ander, and he’s been a lot less fun since he and Alessandra started getting all serious.”

“Those two moved fast, huh?” Stella sympathized with her friend. Mac had liked Ander, and she could see how their colleague’s long curls and muscular body held appeal. But Ander had a son he rarely saw and often mentioned. He needed someone with a similar history. Mac wasn’t it.

“Sorry, Mac. Win some, lose lots.”

Mac jabbed Stella in the ribs with her elbow. “Shut up. Yeah, Ander’s cute…but only if you’re into guys who look like Scandinavian gods with magic hammers.”

“At least your pictures would hang straight.”

“True. But at some point, Ander was bound to cut his hair, and I’d wonder what I ever saw in him.” She leaned closer to Stella and lowered her voice. “And I told you about the guy I met at the library, right?”

There was a twinkle in Mac’s eye that Stella hadn’t seen before. She mentally crossed her fingers this relationship might go somewhere perfect for her friend. “I think you might’ve mentioned him. But I’m starting to believe there’s a lot more to know.”

“There might be.” Mac laughed and put her arm through Stella’s. “All in good time. But I want you guys to meet him.”

Stella raised her eyebrows. “Wow, meeting the family already. That’s fast.”

“Meeting friends ! My brothers can wait. A little. Come on. Let’s go get some coffee.”

Mac led her out of the office just as Ander came through the entrance. He flashed a wide, toothy grin at Stella and flicked his head so that a long, blond curl flew away from his face. Stella remembered what Mac had seen in him. She waited.

“You’re back!” His grin widened, and his arms wrapped around her. “That’s awesome. So Hagen’s here too?”

Stella pointed at the office. “He’s in there.”

Ander was close to Hagen. A short period when they’d both shown an interest in Stella had created some strain. But now Ander had started a new relationship with Alessandra Lagarde, a forensic scientist specializing in explosives, the tension had dissipated. Ander looked more relaxed and content than Stella had ever seen him.

The four of them talked in the communal office. Ander and Mac perched on corners of the desks while Hagen and Stella lounged in their office chairs as the clock above the corkboard ticked on toward nine.

Hagen wagged a pen in Ander’s direction. “So…beers? I need to finish unpacking tonight, but…”

Stella winked at Mac. “He has to unfold all his shirts, then refold them before he puts them away.”

“After I’ve ironed them.” Hagen side-eyed Stella before turning the tip of his pen back toward Ander. “We’ve got some catching up to do.”

Ander rubbed the back of his neck. “This week’s kinda tough, man. I’ve got Murph down for the week, and Alessandra’s kid’s been sick the last couple of nights. If I don’t get some sleep soon, I’m gonna be dozing off standing up.”

Hagen swung in his chair. “No worries. We’ll find a time.”

Stella recognized the disappointment in Hagen’s voice. He wanted a night with his friend.

Mac punched Stella’s shoulder. “Well, if Ander’s too busy to play with Hagen, the four of us can go out. Let’s say tomorrow night. I’ll square it with Werner.”

A double date already. Ander and Alessandra weren’t the only ones moving fast.

Stacy Lark arrived, her outfit both understated and elegant. Her family was from money, but Stacy never flaunted it. She and Stella had always gotten along, but between confronting an axe-wielding classical pianist and then being trapped in a cave network with a crazed country singer, they’d truly bonded.

Caleb Hudson was the last to arrive. The office’s financial analyst gave Stella and Hagen the kind of giant hug that only someone his size—as big as a linebacker—could deliver.

As Hagen told them about their time in Pennsylvania, the walks they’d taken and the nature they’d seen, Stella’s gaze shifted to the empty desk at the back of the room, across from Stella’s. That was where Chloe Foster had perched like a fierce bird of prey. Her menacing presence was gone. She’d taken an SSA position in Miami, Florida.

Stella’s gaze landed on Martin Lin’s empty desk. The chair was pushed neatly under, the surface bare of any personal items, as though waiting for his return. An unexpected wave of grief washed over her as she remembered his quick wit, his steadfast loyalty, and how he’d died helping her seek justice.

The absence of his warm, sarcastic presence in the room was a void that no replacement could ever fill. One that chilled Stella like a cold fog.

Caleb broke the silence, and it was like he read her mind. “We’ve got a replacement. Came in on Friday. You’ll meet her today.”

Stella nodded. She didn’t envy the replacement. Walking in a dead man’s shoes was never comfortable.

Ander kicked Hagen’s chair. “Hey, I forgot. We’re in the presence of celebrities here. We should be asking you both for autographs.”

“Selfies,” Mac corrected him. “People don’t do autographs anymore, Ander. You gotta keep up with the times.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve read those articles.” Hagen didn’t look amused at the reminder of how popular David Broad’s pieces had become. Stella knew her partner liked to keep himself to himself. The prospect of fame did not please him at all.

Ander took out his phone. “You bet we have. You’re like superheroes taking down some big, evil menace. The articles have been flying around social media like funny cat memes.”

Hagen groaned. David Broad had followed them all the way down to Nashville. Well, at least his words had. Ander flashed them the screen of his phone. Stella recognized the story and the picture. Hagen shrugged, but she hoped Broad was still locked in a cell in the sheriff’s office. And that Sheriff Deacon had lost the keys.

As the clock reached five minutes to nine, Slade arrived. The team’s boss stopped in the doorway. He eyed the group, saw Stella and Hagen, and greeted them with the smallest of smiles.

“Welcome back. Briefing room. Five minutes.”