𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄- 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐈𝐏 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍. She stood beside two old women inside of a local church, listening to go them go on and on about religion. They'd asked if Alana had been baptized. Yes. Then, they asked if she'd gone to church regularly, to which she lied and responded yes once more. She wanted to get the hell out of here now. Her phone rang in her pocket, and she sighed in relief as she pulled it out, and she smiled when she saw it was Spencer. 

"Hey, stranger," she drawled, stepping outside and squinting at the mundane scene in front of her. God, she hated this place. If she never stepped foot in here again it would be too soon. 

"How's your business trip going?" Spencer questioned. 

"Boring," she sighed. "I'm in this little town that has a population of like five people. The job is creating a website for their church, and you can only imagine how that's going," she rolled her eyes. "Most of these people have never even touched a computer in their lives."

Spencer chuckled, "Where are you exactly?"

Alana pretended to sound confused, "Maple Hills, I think? Or something like that." Spencer went quiet on the other line for a minute. "Maple Crest?" He said slowly. "Yeah, that's it. Close enough," Alana hummed. "Have you heard of it?"

"Are you messing with me?" Spencer asked, sounding genuinely confused. 

"No, why would I be messing with you?" She said quietly. 

"My case is in Maple Crest," Spencer explained. 

"Wow, this town really is small," Alana grinned. "Does that mean we might finally get to see each other?"

"Sounds too good to be true," Spencer said, but she could hear the smile on his face through the phone. "Where are you?"

"I told you, I'm at the church," she explained. "I should be wrapping up here soon for the day. My partner still has to create the website for them, which could take a few days. Once it's done I'm going to have to show them how to use it." Rhiannon could easily have their website up and running in a few hours, but they needed a reason to prolong Alana's stay here. 

"Stay put," he demanded. "I'll be there in five minutes." Alana smiled and went back inside the church once more, coming up with an excuse to leave early. Just as she was leaving, she caught sight of Spencer strolling down the sidewalk, and she went over to him with a smile. 

"I was starting to think I'd forgotten what you looked like," Alana said, leaning up to press a kiss to his mouth. Spencer hummed, gripping her waist to pull her in closer. Alana pulled away with a sigh, "Careful there, Dr. Reid. This kind of behaviour in front of a church could be considered sinful."

"I doubt you care much about that," Spencer told her with a raised eyebrow. Alana chuckled and started walking with him. 

"How is that case of yours going?" Alana asked slowly. She didn't want it to seem like she was prying, but she figured it was a good way to get him talking about something. 

"Terribly," he admitted. "I get the feeling that whatever it is, is right under my nose, and it's driving me insane. We've been trying to get people in for questioning, but no one apparently wants to talk."

"Small town like this probably doesn't want FBI digging around," Alana pointed out. "Someone will slip up eventually, I'm sure." 

Spencer sighed, running a hand through his hair as they walked down the quiet street. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows along the cracked pavement, and the air smelled faintly of freshly cut grass and dust. Alana could see the tension in his jaw, the way his mind was running a mile a minute, trying to piece things together. It was almost admirable—if only she wasn't the one he was unknowingly hunting.