I slipped back under the tape, leaving Marcus behind, but his presence lingered.
Daniels glanced up. "Anything?"
I shook my head. "Nothing useful."
"Typical," Daniels muttered under his breath.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
The forensics team had started working on the body, snapping photos and collecting samples. I stayed back, watching the process from a distance, my mind wandering.
The apartment was dark when I got home. Only the faint glow from the living room TV flickered across the walls. I dropped my coat by the door, rubbing the back of my neck.
Reid was there—stretched out on the couch, a half-empty glass of whiskey dangling from his fingers. He didn't look at me right away.
"You're late."
I glanced at the clock. 2:17 AM.
"I caught another case."
His eyes shifted toward me, sharp beneath the dark circles that had grown over the past year. "Convenient."
I sighed. "Reid—"
"Do I need to remind you what happened the last time you got too close to one of your cases?" His voice was calm, but the threat was there, buried just beneath the surface.
I dropped onto the chair across from him, avoiding his gaze. "This isn't like that."
Reid's laugh was soft, bitter. "Right. You don't have time for me anymore and it's fine, Kate.. I'm used to it."
I stared at the cracks in the ceiling, biting the inside of my cheek, "I'm not lying Reid. I don't think you're in a proper state to hear me out"
It hadn't always been like this.
Reid used to be warm—soft in the way that made you feel like the world couldn't touch you when he held you close. He used to bring me coffee in bed, kiss me on the forehead before work.
Now he watched me like I was something to be controlled.
I don't know when it changed. Maybe it was after the first time he grabbed my wrist too hard during an argument. Or maybe it was the night he punched the wall, barely missing my face.
Reid always apologized. Changed his tone when he thought he was being too harsh. Said he loved me. That he didn't mean it.
But each time, the space between those apologies grew smaller.
He looked up, and his expression softened. "The Puzzler?" he asked, frowning.
"Yeah." I poured myself a drink, feeling the exhaustion settle into my bones.
Reid was a lawyer. A good one. Corporate law, mostly—clean cases with big clients. He didn't like my work. Too dangerous, too consuming.
But the distance between us hadn't started because of my job. It started because of Anna.
I hadn't wanted to believe it at first. The late nights. The secretive phone calls. But the truth had a way of creeping in, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.
Anna was his assistant. A twenty-six-year-old blonde with a permanent red-lipped smile. Young, beautiful, and eager to please. I'd found the texts by accident.
I didn't confront him right away. I wanted proof—something undeniable.
So I waited.
Now, every conversation felt like a landmine. I didn't trust him, and he knew it. He did not want me confronting him about it, maybe that's why he tried to be more understanding.
"Are you coming to bed?", Reid's voice broke the silence, his eyes searching mine for something he wouldn't find.
"Not yet," I replied, swirling the scotch in my glass.
I needed space. From Reid. From this life.
And when I closed my eyes, it wasn't Reid I thought about.
It was Marcus.