Dead Even - Mariah Stewart [51]
It had taken him months to live down what could have been a fatal mistake, months before he could look at himself without loathing, cursing himself for his stupidity and knowing that only Kendra’s own quick thinking and resolve had saved her life.Will had retreated to his house in the woods and had ventured back into the office no sooner than he’d had to. He had three weeks’ vacation coming to him, and opted to take all three right then.
“Will, we all suffer from poor judgment at times,” John had told him when he’d finally reported back in.
“Kendra could have been killed. She almost was killed,” Will reminded his boss.
“Thank God it didn’t turn out that way.”
“How can you gloss over this?”
“Oh, make no mistake, Fletcher—” John had frowned “—there’s no glossing over here. What you did was stupid. You handed a woman over to a serial killer and walked away without a second thought.”
“So why aren’t you firing me?”
“Because in spite of your carelessness in this one instance, you’re a fine agent. You’ve done outstanding work in the past, and I’ve no doubt you’ll do outstanding work in the future. You’re an integral part of my team, and I need you.” John’s chair swiveled back and forth slowly, and he faced Will straight on. “And I have to admit, looking back over my career, there have been times when I’ve done incredibly stupid things. Yes, even handed a witness or a potential victim over to another law enforcement agent without thoroughly checking their identification. In your case, there were several dozen cops, other agents, and state troopers on the scene. I can see why you would have assumed that the man who identified himself as the agent expected to take Kendra Smith off your hands was exactly who he said he was. Who expected to find a serial killer right there in the midst of all those lawmen?”
“I’ve relived that minute over and over—”
“Don’t.” John stopped the chair’s back-and-forth motion. “It’s done. Move on. Learn from it, and move on.”
“John, when I think about what that guy could have done to her—”
“I understand, and I’d have serious reservations about you if you’d shrugged it off without a second thought. But at this point, you need to move past it. If you can’t, you will become a serious liability to the unit, Will. You’ll spend too much time second-guessing your every move. Sooner or later, that kind of hesitation is going to get someone hurt. So I repeat. Learn from the mistake, and move on to your next assignment.” John reached across his desk for a file. “Which I happen to have right here . . .”
Will had taken the file and left the office, determined to regain his standing within the team. He’d moved on to that case, and then to the next, and then to the one after that, keeping as low a profile as possible within the unit, spending as little time in the office as he could get away with. He’d pretty much avoided everyone, for a while. For as long as John allowed him to lick his wounds, anyway. Moving back among the ranks of his unit hadn’t been quite as bad as he’d feared, though the first time he’d had to face fellow agent Adam Stark had been a bit tense. Adam, who’d been quietly in love with Kendra for several years, had been the last person Will had wanted to see. But Adam had been reasonably civil, if not cordial, and even Kendra had not been accusatory when they’d run into each other briefly in the hall several weeks later.
It had taken him a while, but he soon reestablished himself as one of Mancini’s top dogs.
But not the alpha dog, he reminded himself as he strolled to the shower. Not today, anyway, but that was okay. Today he was going to be Mr. Nice Guy. Mr. Best Friend. At least until he could figure out just what was really between Miranda and him.
He showered and dressed in record time. He hummed softly on his way past the room where Miranda slept, pausing to listen outside the door. There was no sound from