Today had been an eye opener for her. Clocking in and out at set hours was a novelty she could get used to. Such a difference to being a plain clothes cop in America running her own show. Over there, her day never seemed to end and she was constantly being called out in the middle of the night. Murder didn’t have a stop watch and since she headed her own division, she was the first port of call whether she liked it or not.
It’d been fine in the beginning. The adrenaline was something she looked forward to, it kept her edge. But once she married Gabe it had slowly changed. Ryder wanted more time with her new husband and while they were in the honeymoon stage it was easy to sneak out of the office when things settled down for the night.
Getting a phone call at 10 pm just as she was crawling into bed naked with her husband made her wish she was a secretary rather than a detective for awhile. Once they both settled down and she accepted it was the way it was and nothing was going to change that, she was happier. Truth be told, she wouldn’t have been able to leave her job anyway. It was in her blood and Gabe understood that about her. One of the bonuses of marrying an FBI agent, he was always getting call outs too.
And after Ebony had been born, things had changed again. They’d taken turns at being available and it’d worked fine.
But that was before and this was now. She was on her own with a young child to raise, away from her mother and the memories that made it impossible to stay. At least she’d managed to catch up with the woman who’d introduced herself as her cousin who ran the day care centre and squeezed Ebony in on Ryder’s rostered days on. So far things hadn’t been that scary and she was settling in well.
Ryder signed out and placed her gun in the lock box in her car ready to transfer to her wardrobe lock box once she got home. It was nice to be back in the country of her birth after being away for so long. A huge change, but she’d needed a new adventure to drag her out of the rut she buried herself in when Gabe died. Her mother had been horrified when she said she was going back to Australia.
“Honey, you’ve had a terrible couple of years, what with losing Gabe and all. We understand how you must be hurting, but don’t you think this is just a little bit of an over the top reaction?” Her mother had tried to placate her and when that didn’t work, she became angry and lashed out at her only child. “You don’t know anyone over there anymore. You’ll be alone in a strange town with a little girl. To say nothing of how much I’m going to miss my only grandchild. Hells teeth, Ryder. I just don’t understand you.”
“You know, Mum, some days I don’t even know myself so I don’t find it strange that you feel that way. But I need a change. I have to get away from this place; it’s suffocating me. Don’t you see that?”
Her mother had stroked a hand down Ryder’s cheek, tears in her eyes. “No, honey I don’t. All I see is my beautiful girl running away because she can’t face the truth. It wasn’t your fault and you know that. I don’t want you to wake up one day and regret this move, Ryder. Australia is a long way away from here.”
“I’m a big girl, Mum. It’s what I have to do. Can I ask you to put flowers on Gabe’s grave for me? Keep it looking pretty until I get myself sorted?”
“You know I will.”
Saying goodbye had been one of the hardest things she’d done. It was a rainy day in Washington when she’d handed in her badge and gun before driving to the cemetery where she parked her Dodge truck. Ryder walked in the rain to the small headstone that was all she had left of her husband.
Gabe Quinn
Loving Husband of Ryder Quinn, father of Ebony Jane.
Died serving his country
“I’m going to miss you, babe but I have to do this.” The tears on her face merged with the rain trickling down her cheeks. “I can’t bear to be here without you anymore. I feel as though I’m going insane. I hope you understand.”
The nightmares had come again that night as Ryder tossed in the big bed by herself.
“Get down, everyone down.” Gabe’s voice boomed out over the sound of screaming from the terrified hostages. He lifted the bull horn and spoke, his voice strong and calm. “This is FBI agent Gabe Quinn. I want to talk to you, try and sort this out so these good people can go home. We all want this to end peacefully and I’ll do anything I can to make that happen.”
Silence met his statement. He waited by the car in plain view of the liquor store and Ryder watched her husband at work doing what he did best. Hostage negotiation. A woman screamed from inside, followed by the sharp retort of a gun, then silence for a moment before all hell broke loose.
* * *
The sound of a crowing rooster outside her bedroom window hammered the inside of her skull the next morning. There was something comforting about the farmyard noise after being in Sydney for the last year doing her training where all she heard was the rush of traffic outside her
