Page 52 of When 're Silent

“Considering we’ve stared downdeath together and came out on top...” Amelia paused, her gaze locking onto hiswith an intensity that sent a ripple through the calm surface of the morning.“The case is done. Isn’t it about time you asked me out on a date?”

Finn blinked, momentarily takenaback. The invitation hung between them, bold and unexpected—just like Ameliaherself. He could see the challenge in her eyes, but also a warmth that spokeof more than just the adrenaline-fueled bond they’d forged in the fires oftheir investigation.

“Amelia, I would be—”

His response was cut short as thedoor to the squad room burst open with an urgency that immediately set Finn’snerves on edge. A young constable, chest heaving with the sprint from thecommunications room, skidded to a halt before them, his eyes wide with a blendof excitement and apprehension.

“Sir, ma’am,” he gasped out, “MaxVilne’s been spotted. Great Amwell, not five minutes from where you’re staying,Detective Wright.”

The air in the room seemed toconstrict, the celebratory atmosphere sucked away in an instant. Finn’s mindbristled as the name Max Vilne clawed through his thoughts, the specter of thecunning killer eclipsing the momentary lightness.

“Can’t even let us have this onemoment, can he?” Amelia sighed, the stoicism in her voice unable to mask theundercurrent of frustration. Her features were etched with resignation, thefamiliar mask of the investigator sliding back into place over her earliersoftness.

“Life never pans out the way youwant,” Finn said. “This is the third time I’ll be chasing Vilne. We can’t failagain.”