Shadow Of Hearts (Emily Prentiss X OC)

Chapter 8: Unraveling

Across the hall, Echo sat in Garcia's cluttered office, her eyes glued to the screen in front of her. The lines of code and spreadsheets blurred together as she sifted through the financial records, searching for anything that might link the victims. It was tedious work, the kind that required patience and a keen eye for detail-both of which Echo possessed in spades.

Garcia sat beside her, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she pulled up more data, her face lit up by the glow of multiple monitors. "I've got a hunch," Garcia said, her voice tinged with excitement. "There's something off about these transactions. It's almost like they're laundering money, but not quite."

Echo leaned closer, her brow furrowing as she examined the screen. "What do you mean?""Look here," Garcia pointed to a series of numbers on the screen. "These amounts are all similar, but they're just slightly off from each other. It's like someone's trying to cover their tracks, but they're not being as careful as they should be."

Echo's eyes narrowed as she considered Garcia's words. "Could it be the unsub?"

"It's possible," Garcia replied, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she cross-referenced the data. "Or it could be someone working with them. Either way, it's worth looking into."

Echo nodded, her mind already racing with possibilities. "Send this to Reid and Rossi. Maybe they can cross-check it with the crime scenes and see if there's a connection."

"Already on it," Garcia said with a grin, her fingers dancing across the keys.

As they worked, Echo's thoughts kept drifting back to Emily, to the way she'd looked at her the night before, the way their hands had lingered just a little too long when they'd said goodnight. She tried to push the thoughts away, telling herself that it was just the adrenaline of the situation, that she was reading too much into it.

But even as she tried to focus on the case, Echo couldn't shake the feeling that there was something between them, something that had been simmering beneath the surface since the moment they met.

She knew it was dangerous to let herself get distracted, especially with a case this complex, but the pull she felt toward Emily was undeniable. It was like gravity, drawing her in no matter how hard she tried to resist.

"Earth to Echo," Garcia's voice snapped her out of her reverie, and she blinked, realizing she'd been staring at the screen without really seeing it."Sorry," Echo muttered, shaking her head as if to clear it. "What did you say?"

"I said, are you okay?" Garcia asked, her eyes narrowing in concern. "You seem a little... distracted."

"I'm fine," Echo replied quickly, though the words felt hollow. "Just trying to make sense of all this."

Garcia studied her for a moment, her gaze penetrating. "You know," she said slowly, "if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here. And I mean anything."

Echo hesitated, the offer tempting, but she quickly shook her head. "Thanks, Garcia. But I'm good."

Garcia didn't press further, but the look she gave Echo said she wasn't entirely convinced. "Alright," she said finally. "But remember, I'm always here if you change your mind."

Echo nodded, grateful for the gesture even if she wasn't ready to take Garcia up on it. There were things she wasn't ready to talk about, things she wasn't even sure she fully understood yet.

As the day wore on, Echo found herself immersed in the work, her mind racing through the details of the case with relentless determination. But no matter how deeply she tried to bury herself in the investigation, thoughts of Emily kept creeping in, tugging at the edges of her focus.