Flashes of cop cars and ambulances illuminated the night street. SVU had picked up a robbery and rape late in the night and were all over the scene.
"You're here," Sonny's surprise made Montserrat roll her eyes, though there was a tiny smile on her face as she walked up to the scene.
She definitely looked more put together than the last time they'd seen her. There was that sneaky smile on her face, the glint of 'it's time to work' was back in her eyes. "Who else would it be?" she responded since she was aware, from Olivia's texts, that Amanda was MIA again.
You doin' better, then?" Sonny walked alongside her towards the victims' house, which turned out to be quite big and elegant.
"A little," Montserrat shrugged her shoulders. "So, what do we got?"
Sonny led her into the house that turned out to be even more elegant on the inside. It was crystal white, though now tarnished with overturned furniture and broken glass.
"It's a Brazilian diplomat's home. Perp uses the security keypad, enters, pulls a gun, ties the husband up, rapes the wife. He took some cash but left her jewelry and electronics."
Montserrat stopped in front of an empty wall that had marks of where a portrait once hung. "And I'm assuming we got some missing art?"
"Major case is sending over their art crimes expert," Sonny said and was met with surprised eyes.
"Art crimes expert?"
"Apparently some significant paintings were stolen."
Olivia walked into the home, along with Amanda, and was surprised to find Montserrat inside. However, the sergeant seemed to be pleased once it hit her. "Novak, glad to have you back."
Montserrat nodded. "Duty calls and I think I'm taking advantage of my sick days."
"Alright," Olivia looked ahead to where Fin was interviewing the presumed-to-be husband, "Let's go see what we have."
Amanda tailed behind the sergeant looking pretty rattled for a detective who'd been around these crimes more than she could count.
"Does Amanda seem off to you?" Montserrat meant only for Sonny to hear, but instead she got Nick on the side answering her.
"Yes! Finally someone agrees!"
"Okay…" Montserrat cleared her throat. Maybe she'd missed out more than she thought.
~ 0 ~
Though their case had the potential to be a big one since the victims were foreigners and diplomats, both of them seem to shut down.
Olivia had all the papers of their call last night set on the conference table. She was going through each of them just to make sure they had the right details since there was a clear contradiction between now and last night. "So the diplomat told the responding detective that he saw the rapist's face, but he told you that the rapist wore a mask?" he locked eyes with Fin since he was the one who interviewed the husband.
"Yeah," Fin gave the confirming nod.
"And how's the wife?"
"She shut down," Montserrat answered. She and Amanda tried to interview the wife but as soon as she saw them, she told them she didn't remember anything. "Maybe she's in shock."
"Or they know the perp and they're afraid of him," Sonny threw the idea out there which, logically thinking, could very well be it.
"Well, the assailant knew them-" Nick started counting off his fingers, "-knew their door code, which paintings to take…"
"So the rape is to throw us off?" Olivia made a face at him, not quite getting it.
"Or send a message."
"You know what? I can pull the front door security video, check for other cameras on the block," Amanda volunteered. She opened up her laptop to do the task but, for some reason, shifted when Nick moved to stand behind her and watch. "Okay, so the front door video's just gone."
"Well, the perp had to have taken it," Montserrat shrugged. "Not surprising. If anything, it just shows he's pretty damn smart."
"I found a good camera from across the street," Amanda said, but Sonny yelped behind her since she was zipping through the feed.
"Whoa, whoa. Slow down! You can't see a thing!"
"I got it, Carisi," Amanda rolled her eyes.
"This is going nowhere," Nick moved to take a seat next to Montserrat. "The victim wouldn't even do a rape kit so we've got nothing from her."
"But CSU recovered semen and hair from the crime scene. They're running the DNA," Fin said.
"Then we wait," Olivia rose from her chair and looked at Montserrat. "My office, Novak."
Of course. Montserrat sighed but nodded. She got up from her seat, ignoring the looks from the rest of the squad, and followed Olivia to her office.
"You look a lot better today, Montse," Olivia said as soon as the door was shut. She flashed one of her mother-hen smiles at the detective.
"Yeah, well, a friend helped," Montserrat said softly.
Olivia noticed the smile Montserrat was trying to keep hidden. "Well, I'll be sure to thank Kara when I see her."
"Mhm," Montserrat's eyebrows raised together since her sarcasm was threatening to spill. Yeah, she'd let Olivia think it was Kara. Better that way.
"And look, I am sorry I visited your old Captain," Olivia knew that despite having the best intentions, she didn't go about it the right way. "I wanted to help and I-I wanted Carroll to know that you were not alone. I went over. I'm sorry."
"I know you are," Montserrat nodded. Olivia Benson was incapable of being evil. "I just...I don't know if that was good or bad for me. Carroll retired which...I don't know, could mean that she does feel guilty."
"Oh, believe me, she was," Olivia still remembered the way Carroll looked after she yelled in the woman's face. "It is despicable that she manipulated you into staying quiet."
"Manipulated…" Montserrat repeated with a heavy breath. She chewed on her lower lip and bitterly chuckled. "I never really thought about it like that. That I was...manipulated." The realization that she was a victim had been a terrible moment, but the fact she'd been manipulated by her own Captain - a woman she looked up to - was a close second.
"You know...I know that you don't want to press charges, but...have you considered confronting Carroll?" Olivia knew it was a troublesome idea to throw out there, but she only wanted Montserrat to get some type of closure. "It sounds difficult but...maybe it can do you some good."
"I...never thought about that," Montserrat admitted. "My last interaction with Captain Carroll was a formal but with a clearly tensed atmosphere. To see her again...I don't know what that would do to me. Plus, even if I wanted to, Jonah said she retired and that no one's been able to contact her since then."
"We'd find her," Olivia said with absolute certainty.
"I have to think about that," Montserrat decided it would be better to think about the option when she wasn't at work.
"Okay," Olivia nodded. "But I'm here for you, alright?"
A small smile graced Montserrat's face. "I know. A lot of people are."
~0~
"Hey, we got a hit on the DNA," Fin announced to the rest of the squad. "Carlos Riva."
Amanda blinked in what anytime would call shock. "A-are you sure? I mean, he's in the system, and he leaves his DNA at the scene?"
"I take back what I said about the 'smart' thing," Montserrat muttered to Sonny.
"Does he have any record?" Nick asked Fin.
"He got a gun charge that just got dropped."
"Well, how do we have his DNA then?" Amanda still couldn't get over her surprise.
"Had a misdemeanor last fall, stalking in the fourth degree. He got it pled down to domestic assault."
"Good thing New York finally authorized all crimes DNA," Montserrat waved her pen in the air.
"He must've not realized that," Amanda said slowly, as if coming to terms with it. "He must've thought that once the gun charge was dropped his DNA wasn't in the system."
"So we're looking for an idiot," Sonny remarked.
"Aren't we always?" Montserrat had to think about it.
"The arrest report says he was a driver at a Chelsea art gallery," Fun read off more from their report. "I say we follow up with this gallery, see if he still works there."
"Guys, I've been on 16 hours," Amanda rubbed her face and offered her team a weak smile, silently asking to be let free.
"You go," Fin told the blonde. "We got this."
As Amanda hurriedly grabbed her things and made a hasty stride out of the bullpen, Fin watched Nick's lingering look on her. "Whatever you're thinking…don't."
Nick didn't have to say anything to indicate he was dying to know what Amanda was doing. And truth be told, the others were curious too.
~0~
It'd been a while since Montserrat visited Dr. Weslin and she felt like there was a lot of things she needed to get off her chest. It started from her birthday - which was, in general, troublesome before anything else - to Rafael, then the setback with Captain Carroll and, most recently, Jonah's appearance. It was the only free space Montserrat could use to say everything she thought without fearing the consequences.
"I'm very sorry you've been having a rough time," Weslin said after Montserrat finally finished. "But the way you've handled things...I'm happy to see you dealing with them."
"Well, I don't think I've been dealing with them in the most mature way," Montserrat admitted. "I've been reclusive, I've-I've been screaming. I've done a lot of screaming actually." If it wasn't for professionalism, Weslin might have chuckled. Montserrat continued to think about her way of acting afterwards and made a face. "I'm not joking."
"No, I know you're not."
"But even after all that, my friends...they still helped me. I'm grateful for that." Montserrat nodded at herself but as she continued to think about her latest period of life, it was hard to keep a head held high all the time. "Even if things don't always work out...I am grateful...for things. People."
Weslin lowered her head as a curious expression settled across her face. "Do we want to continue about these certain people?"
Montserrat's face was an unsure one. "There's not much left to say."
Her defeated tone was something Weslin took note of. "Sounds like it's final."
"Isn't it?" a weak smile left Montserrat's face. Even if she didn't want to keep talking about it, the words kept leaving her mouth. She supposed it was the fact she had the reigns of the conversation here. "I just don't have the energy to keep arguing with Rafael about this. What's the point? He's as stubborn as I am. Changing his mind is...next to impossible."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Weslin offered the woman a kind smile.
Montserrat shrugged because it was the only thing she could think of to do. "Least now I can try to move on. But you know, if it wasn't for Kara putting these ideas in my head...none of this would've happened. I probably wouldn't even have looked twice at this…" her hand made a gesture in front of her, "...stubborn, snarky ADA." Weslin kept a locked stare on Montserrat, no real expression on her face but it was enough for Montserrat to think twice and sigh. "Okay, maybe I would have. Much later, but...probably would have."
"I think it's good for you to admit that out in the open," Weslin said. "It's part of that moving on thing you want to do."
Montserrat sighed again but agreed with Weslin. She couldn't move on if she didn't accept her fault. And part of her fault - if not all of it - was that she kissed Rafael because she wanted to. It was not Kara. It wasn't even Rafael. It was her. All her.
"Yeah, I know," Montserrat glumly said. "But you know, the parts where I should be more confrontational is where I am alarmingly not."
"How do you mean?"
"You know how I mentioned my old partner was in town? I sort of had my go with my sergeant because of what Jonah told me. Turns out Olivia visited my old Captain and now the woman, suddenly, retired."
"You think it was connected?"
"Oh, I know it was," Montserrat nodded. "Olivia confronted Carroll about silencing my entire rape case. I guess she guilt tripped Carroll so much she decided to leave the police department. And now Liv is suggesting I find Carroll so I can...get things off my chest."
"Confront her," Weslin concluded. "How did you respond?"
"Same as always: 'I don't know'," Montserrat shook her head. "Story of my life. This is my case - my unsolved, not even started case - and I'm not sure about anything."
"Well, let's start with this: how does the idea of seeing Captain Carroll make you feel?"
"Angry," Montserrat said instantly, almost automatically. It was a realization for her, actually. The idea she was still angry with her Captain - that she was angry in the first place was mind-rattling. "Oh my God...I'm angry with her."
Weslin watched silently as Montserrat came to the conclusion on her own. It was usually how it went in these sessions. With Montserrat thinking lucidly about things, her mind opened to new possibilities and...new realizations.
"I mean, I never really thought about how I felt towards Carroll. Back then, before I left Queens Homicide, I just thought Carroll was making a tough call. Not pursuing my case so that we could get this awful woman. And when I got out of there, I made my personal mission to erase everything from that place...including my old squad." Montserrat gazed down at her fingers that were picking at each other.
"Sometimes it's not about forgetting that gets you through," Weslin remarked. "You try to seal it away like it never happened. It doesn't necessarily bring closure."
"Confronting Carroll though…" Montserrat put some actual thought into the idea, now with the fact she would no doubt scream in the old woman's face, "It would be satisfying but...not the kind I'm looking for."
"How do you mean?" Weslin asked, though by the look on her face she might have already known what Montserrat would get at.
"Even if I do say everything to Carroll...I wouldn't be content...because it's not him," Montserrat particularly picked at a spot near her left hand's thumb nail. She'd already picked at it so much she'd drawn blood from it last night. "I could scream in Carroll's face, at everyone who silenced the case...but it wouldn't be enough." Her dark eyes looked up from her open thumb wound and, for a minute, displayed hard hatred. Her voice even lowered. "They're not the man who hurt me. And that's why I don't want to confront Carroll."
~ 0 ~
It really seemed like SVU couldn't catch a break this week. If it wasn't their victims, then it was their actual employees.
Montserrat tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she watched footage of Amanda, wearing a cap meant to shield her face from security cameras, successfully checked out a gun belonging to the culprit of their recent rape. "This cannot be real," she looked up at Nick and Fin in shock.
"It is," Nick gave the low nod of his head. "I told you that something was up with her-"
Montserrat shut the laptop in front of her. "-yeah, but I thought she was just...I don't know...having a secret relationship or something! I didn't think it was...this!"
"That makes two," Sonny walked up to her desk with a cup of coffee in hand. He'd already watched the horrible footage.
"It gets worse," Fin hated to admit. "We got her at the Brazilian couple's house two nights ago when she was out sick."
"And there's more. Rollins brought in an elimination DNA sample-"
"-okay, stop!" Montserrat waved her hands to stop both of them. The more they went, the less she recognized Amanda. "I just...Amanda wouldn't do any of this stuff just because. She has to be in trouble."
"Doesn't matter, she's doing the wrong things now," Sonny shrugged. "We're showing this to Liv and...it'll be out of our hands."
"But we have to help Amanda too, not just throw her under the bus," Montserrat's insistence was met with some kind of agreement from Fin.
Still, Sonny was right. They needed to show everything they had to Olivia and let the sergeant make the decision how to proceed.
"Hey, where is Amanda right now?" Montserrat whispered to Sonny after Nick and Fin had gone into Olivia's office.
Sonny shrugged again. "Don't know. Called in sick again. But hey, I gotta ask you something…" Montserrat raised an eyebrow at his questionable shifting. "Kara just...she said she wanted to have dinner with her brother and her parents."
Montserrat really tried her best not to laugh. Sonny had suddenly become so nervous it was...yeah, she was a terrible person.
"I gotta ask how they are…" Sonny continued on, very grateful she wasn't laughing in his face already. "I've only met Damien once and that was for a few minutes."
"He's nice and funny," she waved him off. "And Kara's parents are so nice."
"Well yeah but they might only be nice to you because you're Kara's best friend. They might not share the same sentiment towards me…"
"...because you're screwing their daughter?"
Sonny deadpanned her and yet all she did was smile. He ultimately shook his head at her and moved on. "I am a little nervous here. It's tomorrow night at your place."
"Huh, Kara didn't mention that…" Montserrat paused to think but she realized she'd shut herself up and hadn't really given Kara a chance to talk to her. "But you'll be fine, Sonny. You have a natural born talent at being...charming." She rolled her eyes at his smug smile. "Don't get any wrong ideas, Carisi."
"Oh, don't worry, I know where your feelings lie." It was now Sonny's turn to smile innocently.
Montserrat, for her part, glared but only for a minute. "Whatever. Just be yourself and I'm sure everything will be fine. Oh!" she raised a finger in the air so suddenly that Sonny's eyes widened a bit. "But if you want to be extra sweet, bring in a souffle. Kara's mom loves a good souffle. It's funny, though, because Kara sucks at baking those."
"I know where I can get some good ones," Sonny started smiling as he thought about his gesture he'd definitely bring in. "Thanks, Montse."
"Of course," she shrugged. "You know I only kid about you and Kara, right? I actually am happy you guys are together and good."
Sonny smiled at the woman. "I know, Montse."
"Okay," Montserrat leaned back in her chair with a small smile. She then glanced in the direction of Olivia's office and wondered what the sergeant's reaction would be after hearing Amanda's rogue path.
~ 0 ~
That night, when Montserrat returned home, she saw Kara zipping around the apartment in an attempt to clean up. She had her hair tied up over her head, messy as if she'd been at this cleaning for hours. Without asking, Montserrat knew Kara must have been preparing for this dinner she hadn't known about.
"Hey!" Kara sent her roommate a cheery smile. "You're back! And early too!"
"Yeah, um, strange things are happening at SVU," Montserrat left it at. She wasn't even sure what Olivia and Fin would get out of talking with Amanda tonight. The woman was, as terrible as it sounded, done. If anything, Montserrat hoped they would at least be able to help Amanda recover.
"But you look better," Kara gestured at Montserrat's appearance. She tossed the rag in her hand to the coffee table. "I'm really glad to see it."
"Everyone says the same thing." Montserrat hated this awkwardness she knew she was responsible for. She'd been so rude to Kara and now...here she was.
Kara seemed to sense the awkwardness judging by the clearing of her throat. "So listen, I haven't had the chance to tell you…" she moved around the coffee table, "I'm having dinner-"
"-with Sonny and your family," Montserrat smiled at how shocked Kara was to learn that she already knew the plans. "Yeah, Sonny told me earlier. He's pretty nervous."
"Montse, I was planning on telling you but you were having a bad day and-"
Montserrat raised a hand to stop Kara. "It's okay, Kara. You didn't have to tell me-"
"-course I did," Kara nodded. "You're my best friend. I tell you everything just like...I hope you do too." Even if she didn't mean it in an accusing tone, she felt guilty for her choice of words. Still, Montserrat let it go because, well, Kara was right. "You're more than welcome to stay for dinner. You're part of my family too."
"It's okay, Kara. I can stay at Casey's," Montserrat shrugged. "But please tell me how nervous Sonny was because then I can tease him the next day."
Kara playfully rolled her eyes. "Glad to see you're definitely back." Montserrat agreed with a nod. "And you know, you could tell me anything...like what was upsetting you? I went on a rampage trying to find the culprit-"
"-I know," Montserrat once again nodded. "And thanks for that."
"I know it's none of my business but I have to ask if it was because of Rafael…?"
Montserrat visibly shifted. "It wasn't, actually. And you know what, while we're on this subject...I'd appreciate if we didn't bring up that topic anymore."
Kara's face softened once she realized Montserrat was planning on moving on. "So then...things are really over?"
Montserrat's eyebrows raised while her expression flickered between resignation and something akin to disheartening. "I guess so." She walked past Kara, letting her bag's strap fall from her shoulders. She tossed it to the couch and started pulling her coat off.
"Montse, I'm so sorry," Kara turned after her friend. "I was so sure you two would get together, I mean...you're kind of the same."
A loud snort left Montserrat's finger as she raised a finger in the air. "I don't know, maybe that's the problem. We're too much alike."
"Still..."
"Kara we're doing that thing I asked not to do anymore," Montserrat shook her head.
"Sorry," Kara dutifully apologized. "But I am sorry things didn't work out."
"Yeah," Montserrat sighed. She looked around the apartment and saw Kara had done quite a good job so far with the cleaning. "You want some help?"
"Um…" Kara bit her lip, "It's not your dinner. Definitely not your boyfriend. You don't have to-"
"-okay, I'll take over the living room and you finish the kitchen," Montserrat grabbed the rag Kara had tossed to the couch. "We'll finish faster if we do it together. Like always."
A grin came to Kara's face. "Like always."
~ 0 ~
Amanda Rollins was a force to be reckoned with. She not only duped con artists and most of SVU, but she finished an ongoing, 2 year undercover job in the span of three days. The only problem was the fact she lied all the way through it, even to her friends.
"What was I supposed to do? I was working undercover!" the blonde detective was having a shouting match with Nick in the bullpen. The others she could argue at a normal volume, but Nick was always more easily irritable. "I couldn't go blabbing it to everyone!"
"You didn't tell anyone," Sonny pointed out only to receive a death glare in return.
"I think what Sonny and the others mean to say is we're a little upset you had to keep it from us," Montserrat spoke up for the first time after hearing the entire story. "Not to say we don't understand why, because of course we understand why. Right, fellas?" she gave each of the men a warning look to just nod their heads.
"Rollins!" Olivia suddenly called from her office. They hadn't had the chance to speak with her since Amanda arrived, but the squad knew that Olivia was informed of Amanda's doings before they did.
Amanda took in a deep breath and turned for the office.
"She is about to get it," Nick muttered as he dropped into his desk.
Montserrat shot him a glare he completely missed. She understood that Amanda had done wrong, she absolutely understood, but now it was up to them to give the proper solution. The fact was Amanda had fallen into this mess because she'd been at an illegal gambling place and yet no one seemed to be paying attention to that detail. Montserrat did. She hoped Olivia did too.
Ten minutes after Amanda had been called into the office, the door re-opened and out came the blonde detective. She had red, glossy eyes she tried to keep hidden as she came to pick up her jacket from her desk.
"Hey Amanda-" Fin tried to talk to her but the woman made a hasty way out.
"That can't be good," Sonny remarked. Nick nodded and looked after Amanda.
Montserrat suddenly got up from her chair and turned for Olivia's office.
"What are you doing?" called Nick.
"Something stupid, probably," she answered on her way. She gave a light knock on the door and poked her head inside. "Liv?"
Olivia was at her desk, staring at some papers but Montserrat knew the woman hadn't been paying attention to them. "Did you need something?"
Montserrat walked in and shut the door. "I, um...Amanda just left?"
"Uh, yeah," Olivia gave a nod. "She's done."
Montserrat blinked as the words processed in her head. "She's...what? Like...done-done?"
"Yes," Olivia nodded again. "She's done here. I'm transferring her. We can spare one."
"Wait a minute," Montserrat hurried up to the desk and sat down. "You can't do that. She needs us."
"What?" Olivia gave the detective a crazed look. "You know what she did-"
"-yes and it's exactly why you can't send her away." Montserrat sighed and scooted her chair closer to the desk. "Amanda's hit rock bottom and instead of sending her away to some precinct that won't care about her...we should help her."
Olivia's mouth opened but nothing came out. She was stunned to hear this very different perspective on the situation. "She lied. A woman was raped-"
"-and do you honestly believe Amanda could have set that up? That she could've gone through with that?" Montserrat was horrified to see Olivia having to even consider it. "Olivia! Amanda has a problem. Please...please don't turn your back on her. You've helped me how many times?"
"That is different," Olivia pointed.
"No, it's not," Montserrat said quietly. "I was undercover too."
"That was your job that you did on legal terms. Amanda was at a gambling casino because she wanted to be!"
"And she regrets that! Olivia, you know that if you send Amanda away it'll only hurt her more. She can spiral without the right support." Montserrat paused for a moment to calm down. She didn't come in to argue. She wanted to make Olivia see her point. "You have helped me countless times and I know you've helped the others too. I think Amanda deserves the same. One more chance."
Olivia opened her mouth again but the words failed her and instead she sighed. She seemed tired...and with good reason. "I...I will think about it."
"Thank you," Montserrat rose from her chair. She walked out of the office and went straight to her desk.
"What did you do in there?" Sonny asked her as soon as she sat down.
"Just talked," the ginger smiled like nothing had happened.
By lunch time, Montserrat was confident Olivia had re-thought the whole transfer process. The Sergeant seemed to be in a better mood that would hopefully stay for when she spoke to Amanda again.
"I'm going out for lunch," Montserrat announced to the rest. "Anyone wanna join?"
"No thanks," Nick answered first, not even looking up from his screen. Fin said the same thing but at least he looked up to shake his head.
"Pass too," Sonny said last.
"Right, you'll be eating light for dinner tonight," she flashed him a smirk while she put her coat on. She grabbed her things and went on her way.
She made it into the elevator and down with ease. It was on her way out of the building that she came into some trouble...or perhaps not trouble just...annoyance.
"Montserrat," called Jonah from the sidewalk.
For a brief moment, Montserrat considered turning around and walking back into the precinct. She could do take out from her desk, after all. But, if she did that, then she wouldn't be able to say a couple things she thought of. "Haven't seen you in a few days," she remarked as she came down the final step of the precinct.
"Yeah, I, um...was giving you some space, to be honest," Jonah put his hands into his coat. "I'm sorry for demanding things from you. I'm just fed up with all this secrecy. First you leave us and then Carroll too? C'mon."
Montserrat's eyebrows knitted together as she tried to decide if this was an apology or the beginning of another demand. While she was stuck listening to Jonah, she missed the familiar figure walking towards the precinct.
Rafael recognized Jonah immediately. A wave of anger hit him first since he knew, in his mind was sure, that Jonah was responsible for Montserrat's recent mood. And then concern washed over. Concern that whatever Jonah said to Montserrat would make her fall back again. He had half a mind to go over there and take her away...but if he did that, Montserrat would surely kill him. But the closer he got, the more he could see her face and it honestly looked like she was going to be killing Jonah instead.
Nothing wrong with that, he thought then realized he actually thought that.
"I'm glad you came back, Jonah," Montserrat said honestly, "Because it gives me the chance to tell you something." Jonah looked expectant of her words so she delivered them without hesitation. "I don't owe you anything," she began and already surprised the man with her choice of words. "You were a great partner and the entire Queens squad was like a family to me, but not everything is what it seems over there. I don't regret leaving it and I definitely don't feel sorry that Carroll retired early."
Jonah was stunned. Very quickly his face turned into outrage and offense. "How can you say that!?"
"Very easily, actually," Montserrat said with a small smile. "Because I know that I am right. You don't know what happened and you never will. But hopefully without Carroll, your squad will be the best it could be."
"Montserrat...where is this coming from?" Jonah looked her over as if he wasn't seeing the same detective anymore.
"From my experience," Montserrat said loud and clear. She stepped closer to him, getting right in his face, "Watch your back."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. Just something else I say from experience," she offered the man a small, polite, smile before stepping away. "Goodbye, Jonah." In that moment, she could not have felt more satisfied with herself.
It seemed like the same applied to Rafael. He knew that smug face anywhere. When Montserrat saw him, her smugness faltered but not by much.
"You seem to be in a good mood," he remarked.
"Am I?" she pretended to be casual but her widened smile betrayed her.
"What did you say to the poor man?" Rafael caught Jonah's figure heading down the opposite street. "Not that I feel sorry for him."
"Just the truth," Montserrat shrugged. "Actually, you kind of inspired me to do it."
"Oh, then I definitely am not sorry for him."
Montserrat laughed. "Remember that thing you told me way back when I first started working here? No one being entitled to my secrets? You're still right about it."
As curious as he was to know what Montserrat was keeping back, Rafael wouldn't ask her. She seemed better this way and he wasn't going to ruin it. "I'm glad."
"That you're right?" Montserrat chuckled.
"No-"
"-just kidding! So, were you going in?" she made a nod at the precinct behind them.
"Yeah. Were you leaving?"
"For lunch. I'll be back later. Might get something completely barbecued."
Rafael's face scrunched at her. "That's blasphemy. Your tastes are…" he shook his head at her.
"I'll be sure to bring some back for you."
"Don't you dare," he said all too quickly.
Montserrat mirthlessly laughed at him. Oh yeah, she was back. Rafael definitely liked seeing her this way instead...even if it was her laughing at him.
"I'll see you later," he said after it started getting old. He moved around her but only a few steps away, she called him again. He turned sideways just as she walked up to him, looking more serious now.
"Thanks for talking to me the other day," she bit her lower lip as if things were suddenly nerve-wrecking. "For what you said. It was the reason I came back to work." She gently reached for one of his hands.
There was something in Rafael's chest that he couldn't make out. Seeing her open and...soft. Yes, he definitely wanted to hug her. My God are you 17? he berated himself. "I…" he had to clear his throat in order to speak normally, "...I'm glad I could help."
Montserrat leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to his cheek. She pulled away with a smile that widened when she saw his shocked face. "See you later."
"Mhm," was all that came out of his mouth. You are definitely 17. He watched her leave like he was frozen to his spot.
Author's Note:
Sooo I thought I updated this before I went on vacation for 3 weeks and I was pretty disappointed to find out I had not updated. I hope everyone had fun in the holidays a lovely New Years!