tapped a finger to her chest, her heavily mascaraed eyes wide.
As she took her seat, Alana nodded in Aria’s direction. “Tell us a little something about yourself, Aria.”
Aria cleared her throat. “I grew up in Holland, Michigan, and joined the PD in Detroit. Due to my age, I did a lot of undercover work in narcotics, especially at the schools, and worked dope as a beat cop. While working as a cop, I put myself through Wayne State, criminal justice major. Got lucky on a big case and helped bring down a drug kingpin. That’s when Director Suzuki invited me to apply to the FBI with this division as my goal.”
Axel, Alana’s second-in-command, held up a finger. “That’s ‘Alana’ to you. We’re not into formalities.”
Selena Lopez, the K-9 handler, her dark hair in a sleek chignon, nudged Axel in the shoulder. “And don’t you dare call Axel ‘Supervisory Special Agent Morrow.’ He hates that.”
“She’s right. We’re on a first-name basis around here.” Axel rubbed his arm. “Impressive stuff, Aria.”
Alana took off her glasses and hunched over the table. “Yeah, that was a little more than luck, Aria. Her investigative work was instrumental in bringing down that dirtbag. That’s why she’s a perfect fit for this team. Anything else you want to tell us?”
Anything else...such as how she felt as if her entire career hinged on her ability to pull her own weight on this team? Such as how she felt like an imposter? That her real self was that distorted image in the elevator door?
“That’s it.” Aria pressed her lips together and eked out a small smile.
“You, go.” Alana leveled a finger at Opaline in the corner.
“We met earlier because I was the first person here, as usual.” Opaline wiggled her fingers in the air. “I’m the tech support for this motley crew. They’d fail miserably without me. Oh, and I heard you had a bunch of brothers who are firefighters, so if any of them are single I’m willing and able...and that was well under a minute.”
Aria shot a quick glance at the K-9 handler, Selena Lopez. She’d read in the bios that these two were sisters. Selena’s tight smile and clenched hands in front of her told Aria nothing...well, almost nothing.
“I’ll go next.” The tall, cool blonde sitting across from Aria held her up hand. “I’m Carly Welsh. I’ve been on TCD for three years, and before that, I was with the FBI in Detroit. So, we have that in common, Aria. Welcome to the squad.”
Selena spoke up, her low voice vibrating. “That’s Dr. Carly Welsh. She’s got a Ph.D. in biological warfare.”
Aria’s gaze darted back to Carly, a rosy hue washing over the blonde’s pale cheeks. The knots in Aria’s gut twisted a little more.
The brooding man at the end of the table ran a hand over the top of his head. “I guess I’ll go next. I’m Max McRay. Explosives. Did a stint in the Army. Looking forward to working with you, Aria.”
Axel put a hand over his mouth and coughed. “War hero.”
Aria nodded at Max. He hadn’t mentioned the fact that he’d lost the lower half of his left leg to a bomb in Afghanistan. Although he’d had a slight hitch in his step when he’d walked into the conference room, if Aria hadn’t read his bio, she wouldn’t have known about his leg.
“I’m Selena Lopez.” Selena put her long, slender fingers in the air and wiggled them, just as Opaline had done. “My raison d’être on this team is surveillance and tracking. My partner’s a white shepherd named Blanca, and if she doesn’t like you... I don’t know, Aria.”
“Blanca’s a good judge of character.” Axel tugged on the lapels of his jacket. “She happens to love me.”
Max shot back. “That’s because you give her treats when Selena’s back is turned.”
“Busted.” Carly flicked a rolled-up piece of paper at Axel, who caught it easily in one hand.
Aria’s lips stretched into a smile. The relaxed camaraderie of the team tightened those knots in her belly even more. Would she ever be able to engage in this friendly back-and-forth?
She’d never been one of the boys on the PD; had always felt like she had her nose pressed against the glass. As the only girl in a family of five siblings, she was accustomed to that feeling. Her brothers loved her, of course, but were overly protective and, like Rudolph, she’d never joined in their reindeer games.
Axel bobbled the ball of paper Carly had fired at him between