𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝖪𝖺𝖼𝖾𝗒 𝖣𝗎𝗍𝗍𝗈𝗇

𝟏．𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖡𝖾𝗀𝗂𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀

"𝖸𝗈𝗎'𝗅𝗅 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝖻𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝖿𝖺𝗏𝗈𝗋𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝗀𝗁𝗈𝗌𝗍．"
━━━━━━ ☆ ☽ ☆ ━━━━━━

𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙩 her desk with a heavy sigh before resting her head in her hands. She'd just finished consulting on a case in Manhattan; a child abduction turned to murder; it'd been a mentally taxing case for Maggie, especially when it was revealed that it was the little girl's father.

The special agent was pulled from her train of thought when her office phone rang picking the phone up from the receiver, "SSA Sinclair." she answered the phone, leaning back in her chair.

"It's John."Maggie paused at the familiar gravelly voice.

"John..."Maggie greeted her Ex-father-in-law uneasily. "What happened." Her heart instantly began to speed up.

"It's Lee... He's gone." John cleared his throat.

Maggie froze, staring blankly at the wall in front of her. "Maggie," John called to her over the phone.

"Yeah, uh– I'll be on the first flight out," Maggie told him, hanging up the phone.

An ache spread through Maggie's chest as she held back tears."Fuck, fuck, fuck." Maggie chanted, running her hands through her hair. Maggie stood up from her chair and went to her boss's office.

"Come in." Emily's voice called from behind the door.

Maggie pushed the door open, smiling at Emily. "I need to go home." Maggie cut right to the chase; she'd been working in the behavioral analysis unit for six years now, under Emily's command, and outside of work, the two girls had become close friends.

Emily nodded, looking at the woman before her, "I understand." Emily told her. Maggie and Emily spent countless nights talking about their pasts, and Emily knew almost everything about Maggie. "There's a field office in Helena; I'll set something up so you can keep your badge and gun," Emily told her.

"Thank you, Em."

☆ ☽ ☆

Maggie drew in a deep breath as she approached the grave sight. Ignoring all the eyes on her, she made her way towards John, who brought her into a hug. "I'm sorry," Maggie whispered. John silently patted her back before letting her go.

Maggie turned to Beth, who stood at her father's side, and pulled her into a hug. "It's good to see you again." Beth rubbed Maggie's.

Maggie looked around, her heart-stopping when her eyes fell on a familiar dirty blonde. He seemed so familiar but so...she wasn't sure how to describe it, the only word coming to mind was different. Her eyes trailed to the woman next to him, Monica Long. They all used to party together in high school, and her eyes fell on the young boy standing between them. Her stomach churned. He was seven, maybe eight, and realization washed over her.

Kacey and Maggie divorced six years ago. "How old is he?" Maggie whispered to Beth.

Beth tried to hold back a sigh, knowing the information would hurt Maggie, "Seven, his name is Tate." Beth told her. Maggie sucked in a deep breath while blinking back tears, silently waiting for the reception to start.

☆ ☽ ☆

The service was over, and most people were making their way back up the lodge, "Well, look who it fuckin is!" Ryan's voice exclaimed from behind Maggie.

"Little Miss. FBI Agent!" Colby spoke.

"Ah! It's my favorite assholes!"Maggie smiled, throwing her arms over both men's shoulders.

"How long are ya back?" Ryan asked, looking at the girl.

"You're stuck with me for a while," Maggie told them, earning playful groans of protest.

Maggie stood beside her rental car, grabbing her bags; gravel crunched behind her. "Cute kid," Maggie said, not bothering to turn around.

"Maggie..." Kacey's voice spoke.

"You're a lot of things, Kacey Dutton. A cheater is never one of the things I would have used to describe you until today." Maggie still hadn't bothered to look at the man.

"Maggie, please..." Kacey's almost pleaded with her.

"What happened with Lee?" Maggie finally turned to him, her rigid stance nearly flattering when she saw the familiar brown eyes.

Kacey looked away from Maggie, "I need to know so I can help you." Maggie told him she needed to know how Lee died.

Kacey drew in a deep breath before telling her everything about how Monica's brother shot Lee right off his horse, and in return, Kacey killed him.

"How many times?"Maggie asked, referring to how many shots Kacey had taken.

"Seven." He answered.

Maggie nodded, clenching her jaw, "Lay low and stay away from any fuckin' gun for a while." Maggie advised him.

"Got it." Kacey nodded.

"Kacey."Maggie's voice held a warning.

"I Promise." He held his hands up in defense.

Maggie nodded firmly, "See ya around, Kacey." She turned, walking away.

"Maggie, we need to talk," Kacey called after her.

"I've seen all I need to see," Maggie said.

☆ ☽ ☆

Maggie had dumped her stuff in the bunkhouse before making her way back up the lodge, where
Governor Lynelle Perry and all of her people were talking to John.

The brunette stood between Beth and Jamie on the porch, "He never looked at me the way he looked at Lee." Jamie spoke.

Unlike Maggie who didn't acknowledge the comment, Beth sneered at Jamie"And he never will." She glared before walking down the porch steps and to her father, Jamie, following behind her.

Maggie watched the dysfunctional family from her spot on the porch; she loved and hated them all. They spoke for a few minutes before John approached Maggie, "He tell you what happened?" John asked. Maggie nodded, keeping her gaze on the sunset.

John grunted, understanding that she wouldn't tell him it was always something John found infuriating yet enduring at the same time. No matter how loyal she was to John, she was ten times more loyal to Kacey.

"I want you to go by the last name Dutton again to ensure your safety. You're not protected since you're not branded." anyone in Montana knew the influence the Dutton name carried, and while it wasn't a shock, John asked her to use the name she didn't exactly want to.

"I'm not a Dutton, sir, not anymore. And I don't think Monica would be okay with it." Maggie told him.

"Magdalene, you've been a Dutton since I found you. I need you by my side more than ever. And I don't care about what Monica will be okay with. It's my last name, and my children have my last name." John told her.

Maggie nodded with a smile, "You have me, sir." She told him and John nodded appreciatively