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Jessie Hunt did her best to hide her delight.

It almost felt like the old days, but she worried that saying that would ruin the vibe.

As she sat at the breakfast table, she watched Hannah Dorsey move deftly around the kitchen. Her little sister, who was home from college on spring break, was making Jessie and her husband, Ryan, breakfast.

Hannah was a talented amateur chef, and she appeared to be compensating for her inability to use those skills very often in her freshman dorm by putting together a massive spread for them. There were already yogurt parfaits and egg bites on the table, and she was putting the finishing touches on a stack of blueberry pancakes.

"You know that we have to leave for work in a half hour?" Jessie reminded her, referring to the police station where both she and Ryan worked. She was a criminal profiler for the LAPD, and Ryan, professionally known as Detective Hernandez, led an elite investigative unit.

“I know,” Hannah said, “but breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You don’t know what societal dregs you’ll be dealing with when you get there. You’re going to need your strength.”

“I, for one, am not complaining,” Ryan said, popping a cheddar, bacon, and chive egg bite in his mouth. “And what are you using your strength for on this first official day of spring break?"

“I thought I already told you,” Hannah said, as she slid the last pancake onto the stack and placed it on the breakfast table.

“You only told me ,” Jessie reminded her.

"Oh, right," Hannah said, joining them at the table. "I'm helping out Kat this week."

Jessie had already known that answer was coming, but she shifted uncomfortably in her chair anyway. The topic of Kat Gentry, her best friend and a private detective, was a sensitive one these days.

“You’re helping her with a case?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah,” Hannah answered. “She said she has some surveillance gig and having a partner would be a lot easier than handling it solo. She offered me fifty bucks a day and all the junk food I could eat, so I didn’t really have a choice.”

“Do you have any idea what the case is?” Jessie asked.

“She said she’d fill me in when I got to her office,” Hannah said. “I get the sense that I might be dealing with some societal dregs today myself.”

“Well, please be careful,” Jessie said, realizing she sounded more like Hannah’s mother than the adoptive half-sister who had raised her for the last two years of high school. “I know you can take care of yourself, but some of these people are more than a little extra, especially when they’re desperate.”

She knew her little sister could take care of herself. She'd made sure of that by taking her to self-defense classes and giving her some basic martial arts training. But Hannah, five foot nine and slender, with blonde hair and the same green eyes as Jessie, was a beautiful 18-year-old co-ed, which made her a target.

“I promise,” Hannah said before taking a long sip of coffee. There was a pregnant pause before she asked the question Jessie knew was coming. “How are things between you two? I don’t want to spend eight to twelve hours in a car with Kat without having a sense of what topics I have to avoid?”

Jessie sighed. “She’s still mad about me working with Haddonfield. At least I think she is. I haven’t heard much from her since she lashed out at me over it. I’m just trying to give her space, hoping she’ll eventually come around.”

“Good to know,” Hannah said, pouring some syrup on a pancake, “so steer clear of any mention of my sister while trapped in a car with her best friend. Got it.”

“I meant to ask you,” Jessie said, clumsily changing the subject, “how’s everything going on the…passion front?”

"The passion front?" Hannah repeated with a quizzical smile. "Are you talking about my love life, or are you referring to my latent desire to violently extract retribution against perceived wrongdoers?"

“The latter,” Jessie said, “no uncontrollable urges to physically punish scumbags?”

Hannah shook her head.

“I’m proud to say that, at least lately, it remains dormant,” she said. “I’ve been pulling a ‘Jessie.’”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that when the feelings of bloodlust surge in me, the ones I assume we both got from our shared serial killer father, I do what you do. I know it sounds cheesy, but I try to channel it into a fight for justice. That’s why I’ve been informally helping other students at school with issues they don’t want to take to campus police. If I can help them unmask a stalker, or find a missing friend, or even bust someone who falsely accused them of cheating on a final, it gives me the same thrill I used to get from—less altruistic methods of payback. That’s what you do for a living, and it seems to be working pretty well. So I figured it was worth a shot.”

Jessie smiled as she swallowed a spoonful of parfait. It was yummy, but that wasn't the reason she didn't respond. The truth was that these days, she wasn't doing as well at managing her own bloodthirsty impulses as her little sister seemed to be. It was something that she'd finally acknowledged—at least to herself—she couldn't ignore anymore. But none of that was stuff she intended to share with Hannah. She didn't want to disappoint her.

Ryan, who had been witness to some of her recent struggles, stepped in to save the day.

“I’m happy to ask about your love life, “ he said boisterously. “How are things going with—what’s his name—Finn?”

Hannah’s smile faded.

“That’s a conversation for another time,” she said. “it’s not a blueberry pancake topic.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to bare your soul to the guy who isn’t technically your stepdad but who you’ve always viewed as a hero and a mentor?” he teased.

“Maybe I can fill you in on Finn after you update me on how things are going with Parker,” Hannah shot back with a mildly malevolent grin.

“Touché,” he said and went silent.

Parker was Captain Gaylene Parker, who had taken over the job after Ryan resigned to return to his old position as leader of Homicide Special Section, or HSS, which specialized in cases with high profiles or intense media scrutiny—typically involving multiple victims or serial killers.

Jessie knew what Hannah was doing. Her sister was aware that things had been bumpy between Ryan and Parker and that asking about the relationship would put him on his heels. What Hannah didn't know—but Jessie did—was that the two of them had actually recently had a meeting with LAPD Chief Roy Decker to try to hash out their differences. And while things seemed better on the surface, it was clear to Jessie that the simmering tension between them remained. She feared that one day, it would erupt in a way that could put Ryan's career at risk.

Just then, both their phones rang. Jessie looked at hers. The call was from Parker.

“Speak of the devil,” Ryan said.

“That’s not constructive,” she chided.

Ryan stuck his tongue out at her before answering.

“Hi Captain,” he said, “You’re on speaker with me and Jessie. What’s up?”

“Sorry to bother you both before you even get in for the day, but I didn’t want you to waste time by coming into the office.”

“Why?” Jessie asked.

“I’m going to text you an address in the West Adams district,” she said. “There’s been a home invasion murder. We just got word a few minutes ago.”

“Why are they requesting HSS?” Ryan asked.

“I’m not sure,” Parker said, “But apparently the officer in charge at the scene was pretty adamant that this was up your alley. All I know is that he said this was definitely a case for HSS. And we all know that other divisions don’t like to give up case unless they have to. I guess you’ll find out more when you get there.”

She hung up without another word.

“Always the charmer,” Ryan said sarcastically.

Before Jessie could respond, they got a text with the address.

“Let’s go,” she said, before returning to Hannah. “Sorry to bail on you.”

“That’s okay,” her sister said. “Catching whoever did this is more important than egg bites. But I’ll still save you some.”

Jessie gave Hannah a kiss on the forehead and dashed back to the bedroom to put on her most comfortable walking shoes. She had a feeling she was going to need them today.