Redemption

Chapter Fifty-One

The park across from the Hoover Building was peaceful and tranquil; her soft footfalls were the only things she heard as she thought to herself. Danni could see why Sue always brought Levi here. Not only were there a plethora of squirrels, chipmunks, and bunnies for him to chase, but it was a nice, quiet place to think. Of course, once she thought about it, Sue never really had to worry about quiet, now did she?

She shook her head to clear it. She didn't come out here to think about Sue, though it would end up being a much safer topic than the one she wanted to concentrate on. Palmerro, she focused. Where had she seen him before?

She pulled her jacket tighter around her body and stuck her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. An expletive exited her mouth under her breath. Her gloves were in the car back in the parking garage; they'd fallen out of her pocket when she reached inside it for something. She'd been cooped-up inside all day that she'd forgotten how cold it was. She hated the cold, but she would bear it enough to clear her head. That was most important; not the case, not her parents, not even Bobby.

A series of loud, crunching footsteps sounded from behind her, but she didn't turn. Speak of the devil, she thought. She only huddled more inside her well-insulated leather jacket and continued on. She didn't want to talk to him. She was still angry about lunch and she was pretty certain she wasn't going to warm back up to him as quickly as he hoped.

He walked slowly behind her, giving her enough space to make her feel comfortable. Things had been left unsaid between them and he wanted to bridge the gap that had suddenly been created, yet if he stayed behind much longer, things would remain strained between them. He would give her only a bit more time before he'd make his move.

Finally, his patience had worn thinned enough to the breaking point. Her silence was never a good sign and he wanted to rectify the things he'd said. He picked up his pace and was relieved when she didn't do the same. Her gaze was focused forward and nowhere else as he walked alongside her. He, at least, expected a spared glance from her, but there was nothing.

"How long are you going to stay mad at me?" he asked after letting out an exasperated sigh.

She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "As long as it takes for you to get it through your thick skull that you gave my parents a whole new reason to hate me." She spoke with anger added to her tone, thought she couldn't help it. He deserved it; he was the one who just had to voice the one thing that could turn things all topsy-turvy.

"That's a bit harsh, Luv. Besides, they don't hate you." The comment about his "thick skull" had hit hard. Yes, Myles had called him a dunderhead once or twice during their friendship, but he wasn't in love with Myles. It hurt so much more coming from the woman he loved.

She rolled her eyes as she continued her trek. "Yeah, right. Were you listening to the same conversation I was?" She finally turned to look at him, pain filling her eyes. His ability to speak his mind had really hurt her this time, both emotionally and progressively. She'd taken large steps with her parents and now she felt like they were right back where they started.

"Danni, I-" he tried to say as he made an attempt to touch her arm before she pulled away.

"Don't." Her tone had become suddenly soft, which was even more frightening and dangerous than her normal, angered tone.

With a sigh, Sue checked her watch, expecting Danni and Bobby to walk through the door any second. But, as each minute passed, she knew something important was going on between them. If she didn't know Danni as well as she did, she wouldn't be able to see why what's he'd said affected her so, but she did and Bobby had definitely taken the wrong move and revealed something that wasn't his place to.

She brought her lower lip between her teeth and worried it as she thought about what they were discussing. When the couple had returned and after she'd been rebuked about her dealings with her snitches, Sue had taken her aside and talked to her about it. Danni recounted everything loading up to Bobby's big mouth and everything after. She knew the argument would be hard on the both of them and silently thanked God that they'd had enough sense to leave the building to set things straight. If they hadn't, she could only imagine the implications that would affect both teams. One of their squabbles need not attribute to a rule against the FBI and Metro PD working together again.

A hand resting upon her arm caught her attention. She glanced up to find Jack staring down at her, worry in his usually warm eyes. "You okay?" he signed.

She shrugged. "Worried," she replied. "Jack, Danni and Bobby have worked so hard to get where they are as a couple. I don't want to see them torn apart because of something pointless."

He nodded in understanding, though he couldn't comprehend what was going on. He felt left out of the loop, which he didn't like and wasn't normal. "What happened?"

"You know how touchy Danni is about what happened in college." He nodded as he took a seat upon her desk and listened carefully. Their tones were hushed so they wouldn't be overheard and they resorted to sign whenever possible. "Well, Bobby kind of let slip the details of why she was first arrested."

He wore a puzzled expression as he held up a hand to halt her story. There was something that either wasn't making sense or he'd missed. "Didn't they bail her out that time?" She nodded. "And they didn't even know then?"

"They sort of knew, but they never heard the entire story. They were never told the reason why, because Danni didn't want them to know." She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. Danni was always protective of herself, Sue now realized. She might not have always showed it, but in the clutch, she'd always managed to break away and take care of herself. She now realized that that was the reason why her cousin made such a wonderful detective.