"Ready to go, Jenny?"

"No, actually, I'm not."

"No rush, you know." Tony bounces from heel to toe. "We'll just hang out here."

She adjusts her tinted sunglasses. "No need to wait for me. In fact, we are not due to fly out until tomorrow, so why don't the two of you —"

"Yes, sure." He responds rather quickly.

". . .take the rest of the trip off." She completes her statement.

"Should we call you a taxi?" I suggest, but the director extends her right hand. "The car? But it's the two of us and — the keys, ma'am." Reluctantly, I drop the car key into her awaiting hand.

And she walks away from Special Agent Decker's funeral without saying goodbye.

"Tony, where's the nearest car rental shop?"

"If you would have taken the family phone plan with me, we could have used our brand new iPhones to see —"

"Excuse me!"

"Or you could just ask someone."

Instead of renting a car, Tony and I take a taxi for a short ride back to the hotel. He and I spend some much needed time alone in the room before moving down to the pool.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

"Tony, why are you taking pictures of me?"

"Um, because you're gorgeous. Is that even a question?"

"Well, thank you, but I thought we were spending some time away from each other."

"Only because you wanted to read a book, and I wanted to eat."

"We ate two hours ago, Tony." I remind him of the room service he ordered over the phone.

He scoffs loudly. "That meal was meant for a kid, and you know it."

"Do you need something, Tony?" I slip the bookmark between the pages "Because you're kinda covering my sun."

"Well, you'll thank me later for that. Now come on, let's go."

"Seeing as you're more relentless than a child. . .where to?"

Tony lets me change into something more covering before leading me back outside. . .where a valet pulls up with a cherry red convertible.

"Zero to sixty in 5.2 seconds."

"I could say the same about you in —"

"You're joking." Tony lets out a forced laugh. "She's just joking."

Our self tour of Los Angeles has been filled with nothing but beautiful views, famous landmarks, and possibly a few celebrity homes.

But there's one downside to it all: traffic.

"You wanted the authentic L.A. experience, didn't you? Because I am giving it to you, baby."

"Maybe we shouldn't have left Jenny alone."

"Eva. . ." His hand curls around the top of my denim-clad thigh. "Eva, Eva, sweet Eva."

"Let me just call her."

With one hand still on the steering wheel, he rips the cellphone out of my hand. "The director is a flesh-and-blood woman with flesh-and-blood needs. If you want to call and ruin her private party. . .be my guest."

A few rings, and Jenny picks up.

"Yes, Eva?"

"Hi, Jenny. I just wanted to know how everything's going with. . .whatever you're doing."

"A little slow on the paperwork due to too many interruptions."

"You should go out, Jen. Explore the city on such a beautiful day." I feign a grin.

"Do you need something, Eva?" The annoyance in her tone is evident.

"Got it." A gruff voice says, clearly not her own.

Tony and I lock eyes before I reply. "No, but —"

"Eva, I gave you and Tony strict instructions to do what again?"

". . .take the day off."

"Right, exactly. So follow directions and take. . .the day. . .off." She repeats slowly. "Now, enjoy your time in L.A. because, believe me, I could always find something for you to do." And the dial tone emits.

The signature silent threat of busy work practiced by every parent and guardian.

"Paperwork had a deep voice."

"Just because she's with a man doesn't mean she's sleeping with him. Jenny isn't the type to sleep around."

His fingers grip the steering wheel. "You're right. I'm sure they're tag-teaming the paperwork."

"I know my godmother, and I know when she's hiding something — which she is."

"Yeah, it's called her sex life."

Oh, to be spontaneous.

"What did you just say?"

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Are you not happy with our relationship?" He inquires strainfully. "God, I knew something had to have happened with you and Jaiden."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not denying it, are you?"

I turn to him with narrowed eyes. "For your information, I barely kissed him, let alone have sex with him. But I'm sure you were quick to get in bed with Jeanne."

"Right, because the fact I broke up with you proves that. Oh, wait — you broke up with me."

"I can't believe you would bring that up."

"And I can't believe you don't think we're spontaneous."

Silence fills the more than tense atmosphere between the two of us. Tony's knuckles pale against the black steering wheel while I stare up at the cloudless blue sky.

We pull up to the parking lot of the Santa Monica Pier. Just before he can park, however, I notice the rental car we took to the funeral.

So I step out of the Mustang.

"Eva, what the hell are you —"

"Jenny isn't here." I peer into the vehicle.

Whoop! Whoop!

A few cars down the row sits a police car with active sirens. I let out a piercing whistle to Tony, who notices right away.

With our NCIS badges, we make our way down to the bottom of the pier, mere yards away from the water.

"Hey, you can't come up in here."

"N.C.I.S.. What's going on?"

The detective from LAPD allows us to cross the yellow tape, motioning to the victim's body laying across the sand.

Sasha Gordon, Special Agent Decker's girlfriend.

"There's no obvious signs of foul play."

"She's dead. How much more obvious can it get?"

"You said she just buried her boyfriend."

"Well, she's obviously been, you know, hitting the bottle." Tony points to the empty bottle of Tito's.

"She could have fallen. . .or jumped." He shrugs his shoulders.

"She could have been pushed."

"You know something I don't?"

"Give us-Give us a second. Excuse me."

Tony nudges me away from the taped-off crime scene, taking his sunglasses off haphazardly. I stop behind another police car and cross my arms over my chest.

"Leave Jenny out of this."

"I can't. It's not like her car isn't sitting up there."

"There are other cars sitting up there, too."

"You and I aren't on security detail for those other cars, are we?"

His voice surprisingly softens. "Sasha's been dead for two hours. You talked to the director twenty minutes ago. And she said everything was fine."

"You clearly don't know how to read women." I glare up at him.

"What makes you say that?"

"You wouldn't have let me break up with you if you realized just how much it hurt me, too. But I couldn't do anything about it because Jenny insisted I do so."

Rather than reply, he gazes at me longingly, his features filled with remorse for the night I broke up with him. Just to abide by the director's instructions.

"You still think this is all just a coincidence?"

". . .no."