Joel blew out a breath with a growl on the end of it. His anger was becoming more palpable by the second. And it was no wonder. His wife spent eight hours a day in this building. She could have easily become a victim. I’d burn the world down if that were Waverly.
“This is too much. How do we stop someone we can’t find?”
I’d meant for the question to be rhetorical; however, Duncan gave me an answer anyway.
“I have an idea.”
11FUCKED-UP FUCKERY
Waverly
“Abso-fucking-lutely not!”
After the meeting at Lachlan Industries, Duncan returned to the office with an update. To my surprise, Finn and Joel did as well. There was a moment, when they were explaining the maintenance man’s findings to the team, where I had to dig my nails into the palm of my hand to keep myself grounded. It was hard to wrap my head around the facts. At any point in the last week, Finn could’ve been taken from my life by a tasteless, odorless gas and we would’ve been none the wiser. Hell, hundreds of people worked in his building, many of whom experienced symptoms.
“It’s a good idea, baby.”
Duncan had lost his ever-loving mind if he thought there was any way on God’s green earth I’d approve of his hairbrained plan. Worse than that, he’d apparently convinced Finn to go along with his fucked-up fuckery. Where was Shayne when I needed her? She’d talk some sense into these idiots. Wait…on second thought, never mind. My best friend thrived on chaos. She’d be more likely to jump in headfirst than try to talk them off the ledge. I was screwed.
“What it is, is incredibly dangerous. And foolish.”
“We’d have him covered, Waverly.”
That was Keaton. He was the first of my four agents to throw out his two cents. Given the looks of sympathy coming from the other three, he wouldn’t be the last. Finn’s stalker was escalating and it appeared everyone was on board with using the banquet Friday night to draw him out. Using an untrained civilian to lure out a criminal wasn’t uncommon, but when that untrained civilian was the man I loved…nope. Not happening. There had to be another way.
Except there wasn’t and the knowledge sat in my stomach like a lead balloon. We'd been spinning in circles for weeks without a break in the case. There wouldn’t be another opportunity like this, where the risk versus reward was heavily in our favor. Still, knowing they were right and agreeing to put Finn in danger were two very different things. My mind knew what my heart couldn’t comprehend.
“If we do this––”
“All due respect, Waverly, there is no if.” Duncan sat forward, leaning his elbows on the table. His pale blue eyes bored into me. “I wasn't asking for permission to run the op. I was informing my friend and fellow agent it was happening. Director Ashland put you on the sidelines for a reason. You’re too close.”
Shit and damn.
That was a jagged pill to swallow and Duncan basically forced it down my throat.
“With all due respect toyou, Agent Palmer.” Finn mirrored his position. “Nothing happens unless I agree. Soif you’d excuse us, Waverly and I need a few minutes alone.”
The chair scraped against the floor as he rose to his feet, extending his hand to me. I took it. There was no hesitation; there never would be where Finn was concerned. Even from that first day on the beach, no matter how hard I tried to deny it, resistance was futile.
He moved with purpose down the long hallway, casually opening my office door, as if his name was on the metal placard instead of mine, then kicked it closed once we were both inside. With my hand still firmly in his, we maneuvered around the desk to my chair, where he sat before pulling me down on his lap. With the position, my skirt slid up, exposing more of my thigh than was probably decent, but I was too focused on what Finn was doing to care. One by one, he removed each of the bobby pins which held my long red locks in a perfect chignon. He pulled my head to rest over his heartbeat, as his fingers began combing through the strands from root to tip, soothing my nerves with every stroke. Everything else faded away. It was just him and me.
“If this were any other case, what would you do?”
I sighed. “It’s not that easy, Finn.”
“Nothing ever is.”
“Why do you have to be so logical? It’s really irritating.”
“There she is.” He kissed the top of my head. “Now, what’s really bothering you?”
How could I explain the irrational?
“The day Aunt Carolyn was killed; I was late picking her up. Her death was the catalyst for my twenty-year obsession with being on time. It was the one thing in my life, outside of my job, I had complete control over. Since I met you, my battle with time has changed. Instead of watching the clock tick by, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to slow down thehands. I don’t want to miss a second of our life together, and what you’re all proposing puts that future in jeopardy. How could I possibly be okay with that?”
“I’m not asking you to be okay with it. I’m asking for your trust. I’m asking you to trust your people to have our backs. You don’t think I’m terrified? You’ve seen the way I shoot. What if something happened and I couldn’t protect you.”
Despite the heaviness of our conversation, I grinned.
