"I think he did it but I just can't prove it,
No, no body, no crime
But I ain't letting up until the day I die
No, No, I think he did it
No, no, he did it"

- Taylor Swift, "no body, no crime"

Chapter Thirty-Nine

A conference room was our destination. With unsettling dark humor, I thought of the other times I'd been in rooms just like it to discuss that case. Each time had followed or included a course-altering event, and each had also included a major decision on my part. The first time to stay, the second to leave—the third, I wasn't sure, but I was in a conference room again.

Did I have a decision to make this time?

I gratefully took a seat at the long table. It was much easier to seem composed when sitting versus standing. Reed didn't seem to have the same need to compose himself as he pulled out his phone. He looked as unmoving as a wall where he stood behind me, his eyebrows low and angry as he communicated with his teams.

Simon took a seat across from me, his wrist turning so his gaze could drop down to his watch. He looked thoughtful, a look I hadn't really seen on him before. At least, not that type of thoughtful. From what I'd seen of Simon, I'd never thought of him as thoughtful per se. But truly, Simon was rather unknown to me. Beck was warm and caring, Reed was precise and purposeful, but Simon didn't entirely fit in with any of those traits. Simon seemed bold and rash, mischievous and daring, unapologetic but guarded. Yet there was a refinement to those traits, one borne from his training at Greystone; it showed every move he made was planned. He was the one to push boundaries, but only after careful evaluation, and only after he narrowed on the weak spots. It was an interesting personality type; one that could cause rapid success or immediate downfall. Luckily, he seemed like he was achieving the former. I had a feeling he was extremely easy to like—but also extremely easy to resent. Success too often bred resentment as much as it did acclaim.

The door opened abruptly, startling me out of my quiet evaluation. I was surprised to see Beck; I remembered he'd said he was going to his office earlier. Simon looked up as well but he didn't seem nearly as surprised as I felt.

"Finally," Reed grumbled. Beck shot him an indignant look.

"I came down as soon as you asked! I haven't found anything new in the last thirty minutes, by the way, if that's what this is about. You could've just asked me on the phone, I didn't need to come all the way down here to tell you that."

"It's not that. We're regrouping," Reed said impatiently.

Beck's intrigue was immediate as he closed the door behind him. "You guys talked to Cawton already? Anything new? Where's Romano?"

"Romano is MIA, and Cawton wasn't forthcoming," Simon said with a shrug. "Luckily, his behavior sang like a canary."

Beck settled at the table, leaning forward to rest on his forearms with a frown. "I didn't see Romano in his office, where could he be?"

"Doesn't matter. We'll find him later," Reed said gruffly, dismissing the topic. "Right now, the focus is Cawton. We don't need Romano's permission."

Beck and Simon shared a look but offered no rebuttal. Instead, Simon sighed and took a longer and more critical look at his tense teammate.

"Sit down, Reed, you're not helping nerves," Simon reprimanded.

Nerves? Simon is nervous? He doesn't seem nervous.

Then I realized it wasn't his own nerves he was referencing; that time I didn't miss the sneaky glance he shot in my direction. His words and expression caught Reed's attention, too. I quickly looked away, ignoring the pointed looks as Simon silently communicated with Reed. I realized Beck was sneaking occasional looks as well, cautious concern increasingly prominent on his face.

The trained and overly attentive security members were trained in body language; they could easily see through my façade of stability. I'd walked in there with my chin up and I'd tried hard to maintain that, but there was only so much of my primal nerves I could control. Even then, as I tried to sit still and steady in the chair, I wasn't acting normal. I probably looked like an alarm clock wound way too tight, waiting to explode with a shrill shriek.

I refused to look at them, too embarrassed at knowing Simon was silently chastising Reed for stressing me out even more. Still, I knew Reed got Simon's message, and I also knew Simon was right. I was incredibly in-tune with Reed for some reason and his tension was not helping mine. Finally, I felt Reed relax ever so slightly, forcing himself to calm for my sake. He slowly sat in the chair next to me, his gaze prickling my skin. Still I refused to turn.

"Julian reached out, he said Alpha team's escorting Cruz here. Cruz apparently insisted when he heard Cawton was being questioned," Simon announced. I hesitantly relented then, swiveling my head back to the men. I assumed Alpha was the team assigned to the Cruz family.

"Jesus," Reed hissed, rubbing his temples. "Who told him?"

"He's the attorney general, Reed. As the person under our protection, he deserved to know."

"Not if it was going to make him decide to come here!" Reed shot back furiously. "It's not a good idea to have both Avery and Cruz in the same building. They shouldn't be in the same location at all until this is over."

"Look, it was Romano's choice, he was the one who told him. They're old friends or some shit, remember?" Beck intervened. "We're all aware it's not a good idea, Reed. It's out of our hands. Julian was told to follow whatever Cruz wanted, including escorting him here if needed, and he decided it's needed."

"Is it? Out of our hands?" Simon shrugged. "Maybe it's better if Julian keeps him away like Reed said. Direct disobeying of orders and all that, sure, but Romano's apparently dipped. No one's seen him. Reed's Romano's second, so he's in command in his absence. Wouldn't it be up to him?"

Beck, Simon, and Reed all paused for a moment as the crossroads presented itself—a crossroads of questioned loyalty. A variety of emotions flitted across each of their faces as more silent conversations were traded between them. I wasn't sure how silent it truly was, however, because their eyes spoke louder than their words ever could. Doubt, anger, frustration, and uncertainty clouded the strong gazes of the powerful men around me. I'd spent enough time around Reed to learn those small shifts in their trained expressions, the minuscule ones required for their jobs.

Even Beck, an analyst more often than not tucked behind his computer, had mastered the stony expression of discipline. In those moments, I was reminded while he was usually as grinning as a golden retriever, he was still able to bite when needed. Even Beck was still a guard dog at the end of the day.

So I watched with bated breath.

Their loyalty to Quentin was being evaluated by both themselves and their teammates, the questioning going bitterly against everything they'd ever known or were ever taught—against everything they'd sworn to maintain, and what they took an oath to protect and uphold. Questioning a leader was detrimental to something like Greystone; it poisoned the very bonds keeping the team together, severing the same ties that kept people alive. But Quentin's actions had caused the breeding of these dangerous questions, and his teams knew it. His competency to lead had to be questioned.

"Look, either way, we need to figure out how we're moving forward with Cawton," Simon said. "There's no official proof Warren was the shooter or that he hired someone else to be. The only evidence we have is him walking downtown, and that he was associated with a prominent case handled by the AG team. For all we know, he had nothing to do with the shooting or the pictures."

Simon leaned back and continued. "It could truly be a coincidence. He lied, yes, but there are plenty of reasons someone like him would lie about being in the country."

My chest ached with this possibility. What if that was true? What if Warren really was innocent? What if this wasn't over? Anyone in the legal field worth their weight in salt would know there was no official case here. There was no leg to stand on; any judge would throw this out like said salt over their shoulder. It truly could be a coincidence Warren was walking downtown that day.

Sure, it was suspicious he'd had a large bulky backpack with him, and that he was the only person with any involvement to Cruz or I that was identified in the security cameras. And sure, no other possible suspects or motivations had been revealed yet—but that didn't mean he was guilty. Just that he was the most likely so far to be anything but innocent.

With this deep-seated fear in my gut, I turned fully in my seat. Reed had a very peculiar expression on his face, he almost looked disgruntled at Simon pointing that out, just as I was. We were both eager to receive closure.

"He's involved in this somehow," Reed said adamantly.

"I agree," Simon admitted half-heartedly. "I have a gut feeling about it, and he definitely has a subpar sense of morality. There's just no way to prove it. We have delta scouring his room but nothing's turned up so far."

Beck looked deep in thought.  "Have they found any laptops? Any devices?"

"One laptop, presumably his. It's in transport now."

"I'll get on it immediately when it arrives," Beck promised.

"You know what else we need to discuss," Reed said, giving both Beck and Simon a direct look. Beck looked uncomfortable, as Simon looked uneasy.

Simon shifted first. "Look, Reed—"

"You know it needs to be considered. There's no other way someone got into that party. You weren't there, Simon, that place was locked down like we always do." Reed's voice was harsh. "How else would a shooter have gotten in? Not to mention the safehouses were then compromised, so how else would that've happened? If you have ideas, I'm all ears. But if not... there's someone here at Greystone we need to take care of."

Oh shit. He agrees with me. Someone at Greystone is dirty.

Based on the other men's reactions, he'd already brought this up to them—what'd changed his mind from when we'd privately discussed the possibility?

I felt horrible for the teams. On top of questioning the soundness of their boss's decisions, they also had to question each other. I wondered if Reed bringing this up to Beck and Simon meant he trusted them, and that they'd been ruled out as suspects. In all honesty, I trusted them. I couldn't see Beck betraying Reed, and Simon hadn't even been at Greystone when it happened.

Reed and Simon's phones both buzzed, distracting the men from the volatile conversation. Simon's expression remained calm, but I watched Reed's shoulders tighten as he read the message.

"Julian will want to talk to you, Reed. Cruz will, too. You should go meet them," Simon suggested.

Reed didn't even think about it. "They can come up and meet us here."

"Go check on the teams, dude. I know you, you also want to check the building. I'll stay here with Avery."

Reed shook his head, opening his mouth to reply.

"Go." My voice was stronger than I expected when I cut him off. Reed looked at me in surprise.

"I'll be fine, go do what you need to. I won't leave the room." My hand fell on his arm, squeezing lightly and cherishing the warmth. Reed's eyes darted between mine, searching intently and ready to argue, but I didn't waver.

It was only after a heavy moment that he hesitantly nodded, standing to leave.

"Stay here. Do not leave." He turned to Simon. "By her side at all times, Gatz. She shouldn't have come here."

He shook his head in anger, apparently regretting his decision to return. With a final look—one both of us held for a moment of promises and comfort—he disappeared through the door, Beck hot on his heels.

But Beck popped his head back in. "Avery? I know I mentioned it earlier, but Gabby's on her way. I thought it might be nice to spend time around someone other than us. If not, that's okay too. She can stay with me."

Although I was nervous to meet someone new, someone I wasn't already comfortable with, it would be a relief to talk to someone else. The men around me were stressed. I couldn't blame them, of course, but I needed a different kind of friend. One that could offer a little more normalcy; someone who could offer a look other than caution, pity, or concern.

"Thank you, Beck. I'd love to meet her in person."

I smiled faintly at him as he nodded warmly and slipped out the door. With friends still on my mind, I turned to Simon. "Do you know how Rolo is? Reed said the drop-off went well."

My heart hurt again thinking of Rolo and Kennedy.

"It went great. Crossed my mind a few times to just keep him myself, your dog is awesome." Simon smiled fondly before elaborating a little more. "Your friend seemed a little surprised. Almost a little suspicious, actually, but it didn't seem like it crossed her mind at all to turn him away. She called him Cujo and practically snatched the leash from my hands."

"She wouldn't turn him away," I agreed.

Of course she was suspicious. I'd known she would be. She was probably furious and worried, and for all I knew she was replacing me in her wedding party. She had cause to be worried; it was unlike me to let Rolo go. Especially without at least calling to ask if she could watch him. I could only hope there'd be forgiveness at the end.

"I gave her my number in case anything happened, and she's reached out a few times asking about you," Simon mentioned. "She was concerned when I told her you'd be off the grid, unable to be reached."

A lump lodged itself firmly in my throat.

"Oh," I croaked. "Right. Yeah, she's a good friend. And I'm sorry I never thanked you for all this. So... thank you. I know I didn't react very well when you said you were taking Rolo."

Simon looked at me closely before responding. "I would say you reacted very well considering the circumstances."

I only nodded mutely as silence swelled. My thoughts were full of muddling worries, throttling doubts, and tense panic.

Simon seemed to notice this. "In fact, I think I was invited to the wedding. She told me Rolo's the ring bearer."

I choked out a laugh.

"Yeah, she wants the rings on his collar and everything. I'm pretty sure I'm Rolo's plus-one to be honest," I admitted.

"I've been to a wedding like that before! My cousin works at a dog rescue. Honestly, it looked like 101 Dalmatians at her reception."

It felt good to laugh. It felt good to think about a reception filled with dogs, and discuss hypothetical goody bags of treats. It felt good to think about silly things like a bone buffet, or paws on the dance-floor, or anything else instead of my life and its stress.

Simon and I chatted for a few more minutes before a knock sounded at the door. When it opened, it revealed a head of curls and a gentle smile. Beck's girlfriend popped her head in.

"Beck told me you guys were here." She quickly slipped in and closed the door. "Hi, Avery!"

I stood up to greet her, letting out a soft oomph when she immediately yanked me into her arms.

"Sorry!" Gabby pulled back with a blush. "You might not be a hugger. I hope I didn't startle you!"

She seemed embarrassed, looking worried she'd pushed me too far in her forgetfulness. It wouldn't be unreasonable to have an avoidance to hugs, and it'd certainly be understandable in the face of my trauma. I supposed what'd happened to me had made me wary of strangers—but Gabby didn't feel like a stranger, for some odd reason. It'd felt like a hug from a friend. Nevertheless, she seemed aware I might need space, and took a big step back.

"Sorry, I might be a little overexcited about there being another team S.O.," she admitted. She was smiling wildly, her cheeks still pink under her large eyes.

There were only a few acronyms I could think of that would fit those letters, but none of them made sense. "S.O.?"

"Significant other."

It was my turn to blush. Admittedly, that'd been one of the ones that'd crossed my mind, but that was the acronym I'd thought had made the least amount of sense.

"I'm not—"

"I'm so excited for you and Reed." She beamed brightly.

"But we're not together," I blurted.

Gabby looked surprised before turning to Simon. He was watching us with his own wide-eyes; Simon seemed to glance at me in disbelief before hastily looking away. 

"Oh! I thought—Beck said... are you sure?" She shook her head quickly before I could respond. "Sorry, I don't mean 'are you sure', obviously you'd know if you were together! I'm just... surprised."

I could only smile weakly in response, still feeling a flush creep up my neck and pool in my cheeks.

"Either way, I'm glad to meet you," Gabby assured. She sat down at the table and I followed, swallowing down any feelings that'd stirred at the thought of being a team S.O.

Being Reed's girlfriend—his significant other. His partner.

Despite recent events, I was surprised at the unsettling ache that accompanied those thoughts. I wondered if I'd always be surprised at the gentle longing pulsing in my veins. Maybe I would, if only because of how new it was, and how intensely it flamed, and how much it rocked the ground beneath my feet.

I wondered if I'd always feel blind-sided by my feelings for Reed.

For a few moments after that, fleetingly brief moments I wished I could hold onto, I felt normal. I sat and chatted with them. They allowed no breaks in the conversation; Gabby consistently poked fun at Simon and Simon complained loudly in response. Still, they got along well despite the loud bickering. It was a comfortable back and forth with no malice or ill-will. They worked in tangent, not allowing me to withdraw or settle for too long on a single thought. They didn't allow my mind to wander to what laid behind the door, or to what waited past the four walls of the conference room.

There was no way to know how much time had passed when Reed finally returned. When he came in, bold with no hesitation, he looked like he owned the place. I could believe it; I could believe the building was his.

Julian followed behind him with a grim expression. I hadn't seen Julian in weeks; I hadn't realized how much I'd missed his gentle, fatherly protection. He looked more serious than he'd seemed in the hotel back then—and deep in my stomach I felt the tension Simon and Gabby so valiantly fought return with one fell swoop.

"Avery!" Julian exclaimed, striding over to greet me. I hardly had time to notice Reed begin a quiet, terse discussion with Simon before Julian was before me.

The socially trained part of my brain took over, despite my distraction with Reed's unheard words. "Julian, it's nice to see you! I hope you're doing well."

"I could say the same to you, Ms. Woodsen. How're you doing?" He tried to keep his voice light, even teasingly referring to me by my last name, but I could still see the intense look in his eyes. He was waiting for an honest response.

"I'm okay. Reed's been very helpful," I said truthfully.

Julian looked surprised when I used Reed's first name before a small smile settled. I quickly remembered Julian was one of the few who'd called him Reed before, and how surprised I'd been when he did. I'd been shocked when I'd heard someone call him Reed instead of Sterling.

Now, I only called him 'Sterling' when I needed to distance myself—when I worried he was no longer, or never really was, my 'Reed'.

"I've missed you and Rolo. I heard he was at your friend's house?"

"Yes." The admission tightened my throat. "I miss him, too."

"Don't worry, you'll be back with him before you know it."

I tried to change the subject. "And you? I'm assuming you've been with Cruz and his family."

"Yes," Julian confirmed. "I'm Alpha team lead, and I was head of Mr. Cruz's security while he was at the safehouse. When that became unsustainable, we had to move him and his family."

I appreciated the information; I'd wondered what happened to Cruz and Amanda when the safehouses were compromised. Although I didn't know the fine details, it was nice to know their safety hadn't been too greatly threatened with the exposure.

"Where's Cruz now?" Simon walked over, joining our conversation. "I thought you were with him, Julian."

"I have half the team with him, the other half is back with Mrs. Cruz. He's looking for Romano. Reed said he was supposed to meet with you earlier, but no one's seen him?"

Simon shook his head.

"Well, I'll need to meet with him," Julian said. "Reed and I were discussing Bravo's involvement—whether they should be integrated with Alpha for increased protection or kept on Richard Cawton. I'll need Romano's input before I take any action."

As Julian spoke, my mind pieced together a general idea of what was going on; Alpha and Bravo must've been the two teams kept on the case when Greystone split. Alpha team with the Cruz family, and Bravo on the Cawtons.

"Has Bravo checked in yet?" Simon asked, turning to Reed, who grimaced angrily.

"No. Bravo lead was transferred to Gomez, and he's been silent. His check in was an hour ago, but he missed it."

"Who the hell gave it to Gomez? I specifically said not to give it to him or Samson!" Simon rose his voice furiously in an immediate swell of anger.

Julian noticed my confused expression, speaking quietly to me as Simon continuing raging, "Simon was Bravo team lead before his sabbatical."

I remembered when I'd first met Simon. Reed had asked him if he was ready to come back, and Simon had replied he hadn't even wanted to leave. It'd clearly been a forced sabbatical, and one Simon had not taken kindly to.

"I know, Simon! It wasn't my choice," Reed said, finally cutting him off and thundering over Simon's furious spew of rebuttals. Simon shook his head and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose before breathing deeply.

"I'll talk to Romano. Dipshit Gomez shouldn't have been given command," Simon finally spat out. Reed nodded in agreement before his focus fell on me.

His eyes scanned me up and down, like he was verifying I hadn't been attacked in his absence. Then his guarded eyes finally met mine; I felt him trying to read me. But I didn't even know what message I was sending—I felt too detached.

His eyes returned to his teammates. "Let's go. Cawton's got some goddamn answers to provide."

Long chapter to make up for not posting while on vacation! Also, I know I announced I would post a new chapter yesterday. A big storm said no, that would not be the case. But hey, long chapter!

Things are getting complicated at Greystone. Is someone dirty at the security agency? Is Cruz part of Avery's rise and downfall? Where in the world is Quentin Romano? Drop your theories down below!

- H