CHAPTER FORTY
As she sat and waited on the stage of the school auditorium, Riley felt an odd chill up her back.
Fear, she realized with some surprise.
Not deep fear, and certainly not panic. Even so, it seemed silly to be fearful at all under the circumstances—especially given all that she and her colleagues had survived just a week earlier.
Besides, it wasn’t the first time she’d spoken in front of a group of people. She’d taught plenty of classes at the BAU. Still, public speaking in front of an audience of mostly strangers always stirred up a certain degree of anxiety in her.
She reminded herself …
This is good. This is a good thing to be doing.
After all, this was a celebration of something very important to her. Today Jilly was finishing middle school. Although the school held
