"It looks that way. He left a note saying he was sorry he'd crossed a line he shouldn't have crossed. We're not sure what it means yet, but it appears you were right about him being involved in some way."
"That's all the note said? Nothing more specific?" she asked.
"Unfortunately not. The police are investigating as well. We'll also look into any connections Benedict might have had with anyone in the bureau, in case he was the one who provided that FBI file to Mr. Tix." Tracy took a breath. "On a positive note, Hayley is safe. Johnny and a half-dozen men who worked for his criminal enterprise are dead. Stix and his associates are also dead. So, the streets are going to be safer for a lot of people."
"What about Sierra?" Nathan asked.
"She's not talking," Tracy replied. "But it doesn't appear she knows much of anything. I think that's it." She paused. "If we need more information from either of you, I'm sure someone will be in touch."
"Someone?" Bree asked curiously. "Not you?"
"I'm going to be on vacation the next week or so."
"Really? Where are you going?"
Tracy flushed. "I hear there's a lovely beach in Ecuador."
She smiled. "You're going to see Diego."
"If he's in the area, I might look him up."
"Tell him I said hello."
"I don't know if it's a good idea," Tracy said, uncertainty in her gaze. "I haven't seen him in years."
And suddenly Bree wondered if this was really why Tracy had made the trip over to Nathan's apartment to brief them.
"I hadn't seen Nathan in eleven years. Sometimes time doesn't matter."
"We'll see. I'm not quite the romantic you are."
"Bree is not romantic," Nathan said with a laugh. "I am the romantic one."
"Hey," she said, giving him a playful punch on the arm. "How can you say that?"
"Because it's true. You might be one badass, superwoman, FBI agent, but sentimental romantic stuff—that is not your thing. But I don't care, because I just need you, not the romance."
"Well, maybe I'll surprise you," she told him, knowing once again he was right about her.
Tracy smiled as she got to her feet. "I'm glad you two found each other again. And I'm glad you and I got to work together again, Bree. Good luck with whatever comes next."
"You, too," she said.
"I'll let myself out," Tracy added, nodding to Nathan.
As the door shut behind Tracy, Nathan said, "What do you think about all that? Was Detective Benedict Stix's connection? Or is there someone else we need to worry about?"
"I'm not sure. I'm unsettled by the fact that my FBI file was in the house in Wisconsin, but with Stix and Benedict both dead, I think we're okay. Stix was really the only one with motive. He could have paid someone to give him that file. Perhaps Detective Benedict used his agency connections to get it. The FBI and the police will probably dig up more information over the next few months."
"Months? I'd like the answers now."
"And here I thought I was the impatient one." She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I think we're good, Nathan."
"We're very good," he said, giving her a kiss. "I just wish we could start the rest of our lives right now. But you have to go back to New York."
"And you need to finish your house. We'll be responsible people and take care of our obligations, and then we'll be free to do whatever we want to do."
"As long as we do it together, I'm happy." He gave her a wicked smile. "I am, however, feeling a little weak. I don't know if I'm completely healed from my injuries. I think I should go back to bed, and you should go with me."
"That sounds like a plan."
Epilogue
Six weeks later
Bree landed at Chicago O'Hare a little before four and grabbed a cab to get into town. She had a six-hour layover in Chicago, which gave her just enough time to attend one very special birthday party before she and Nathan got another plane to Los Angeles. The next chapter in their lives was about to begin. She could hardly wait.
The last month and a half had been incredibly busy. She'd had to finish up the current work on her plate, which had been made easier by the arrest of the White Rose Kidnapper, thereby closing the biggest case she'd been working on. That man would be going to jail for the rest of his life.
In addition, she’d kept in touch with the Chicago team, who had wrapped up Hayley’s kidnapping case. It appeared that Detective Benedict had been working with Stix, as the police had found evidence of several calls and a money transfer between them. She still didn’t know how Benedict had gotten her FBI file, or figured out that Hayley was her child, but she was satisfied that the key players were dead.
Her last lingering concern had been that Johnny's family would try to lay claim to Hayley, but apparently Johnny had not had time to tell anyone in his family that Hayley was his daughter, and the FBI and police had kept that information out of the press, maintaining that Hayley's copycat kidnapping had been used to lure Bree to Chicago where Stix could get revenge on her and Johnny, the two people he believed had destroyed his life.
The only other person in Johnny's circle who knew differently was Sierra, but she'd kept her mouth shut, preferring to enjoy the money and the deed to her salon that Johnny had left her in his will.
Feeling confident that Hayley was out of danger, she'd moved forward with her own plans, calling contacts and scouring available jobs with the FBI office in Los Angeles, finally landing one in White-Collar Crime. Going after individuals and companies involved in financial and corporate fraud would be a nice change from the sadness that had often come with the CARD team. While she was very proud of the work she had done, she was ready to live a life that was not quite so dark, but she could still put criminals out of business.
She tapped her fingers impatiently on her thighs as the taxi took her to Lincoln Park. She thought about that morning almost seven weeks ago when she'd come to Chicago to find Hayley.
She'd found her daughter, her love, her life…and to think how afraid she'd been to return. Sometimes confronting the past was a good thing.
Finally, the cab pulled up in front of Hayley's house. There were no news vans out front, just two large bouquets of balloons on either side of the walkway. And coming down the street was Nathan. He must have been waiting for her.
She jumped out of the cab and threw herself into his arms.
They'd talked every day of the last six weeks, sometimes more than once, and they'd done a bunch of video chats, but now she was holding him, kissing him, sharing the love and the passion that had only grown deeper with absence. It was difficult to tear herself away, but she managed to do so with a breathless laugh.
"We better keep this PG-rated," she said. "We're on the sidewalk."
"I don't care," he said with a grin. "I've missed you, Bree."
"I've missed you, too." She kissed him again. "I'm so excited to start our life together. No regrets about leaving Chicago?"
"Not even a small one. I'm ready to go. Are you?"
"As soon as we do this," she said, feeling nervous for another reason.
She hadn't seen or spoken to Hayley or the Jansens since she'd dropped Hayley off at the hospital after the confrontation with Stix, but a week earlier, she'd received an invitation to Hayley's birthday party. It had obviously been written by Hayley, but there had been a small handwritten note attached from Lindsay, saying she hoped she could make it.
She knew from Nathan that Mark and Lindsay had not told Hayley that she was adopted yet. They felt it was too soon after the kidnapping, and they were following Hayley's therapist's advice to let things be for a while. They were, however, very much open to sharing Hayley's life with Bree and welcoming her into the house as a friend, if that worked for her.
"Am I doing the right thing?" she asked Nathan.
"If it's what you want, then you're doing the right thing."