Shit, shit, shit!THAT’S her father?Of all the people on campus—and this is her father?FUCKN’A!
“Kallie?What are you doing here and with my daughter?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Dad!She and I are chitchatting because I’m the RA of her female cadets.”
“You’re the RA they assigned?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong?You look pale.Did something else happen with the whole Zagan thing?Kalliopi and I were just talking about how that guy ruined her date night.”
Kalliopi sucked in a breath and thinned her lips.There was no way in hell she was going to out Stan to his daughter.She hoped he’d give Jewel a good enough excuse for how they knew each other before Jewel put two and two together.Instead, he said something she wasn’t prepared for.
“So, remember when I said I was going on a date?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t make it past date one!Dad, that’s a new low even for you.”
Stan let out a chuckle.“No, Jewel, that isn’t what I was going to say.What I was going to say, when you came over for Christmas dinner, was… Jewel, meet Kalliopi.Kallie is the girl I’ve been dating.And it’s two official dates so far.We went to the tree-lighting.”
“Wait, what?Oh my god!I can’t believe this.Who would have thought it was the two of you all along!This is awesome for you.I’m glad you are happy.And truth be told, Dad, I’ve always wanted to get along with who you dated, and I swear you couldn’t have picked a better person because Kalliopi and I have so much in common.I think this one is meant to be.”
All Kalliopi could do was smile, and with one that didn’t reach her eyes.The only thing repeating in her mind was Jewel telling her about Stan’s three-date rule.They’d already had two dates.Stan even admitted that to Jewel himself.Her heart began to ache.What if they had a third date tonight?Would he end things before Christmas Eve, which was tomorrow?Or was he thinking of breaking his three-date rule?Because as soon as her assignment was over, she was going back to Milos, so why would it matter how many dates they went on, anyway?Perhaps he already knew the relationship was doomed, and he merely wanted someone around for the holidays?
“We shall see, Jewel.Please don’t marry us off after only two dates.Kallie, I was hoping to run into you.I’m going to the airport to pick up Harriet, Carol, and Treasure.They were all able to come here on the same flight given the circumstances.I figured you’d want to come with me since they are your friends.We can grab a few things from your place before we head out.”
“Oh!Are those the ones you told me about?The ones you celebrate the holidays with?If so, invite them over to my dad’s place for our Christmas Eve dinner.It will be so much fun to have a full house this year!”Jewel said to Kalliopi as she clapped her hands and jumped up and down.
“We’ll see what happens.I don’t want to put your father out.That’s a whole lot of people to have over for dinner,” Kalliopi said as she inched closer to Stan.Stan wrapped an arm around her waist.His warmth was calming her from the turmoil racing through her head, but she still wasn’t sure if he liked her as much as he said he did.And to think she almost blurted out that she was falling for him last night.Ugh!
11
After coffee, Jewel insisted they swing by Kalliopi’s place so she could get the lay of the land—AKA see what kind of space there was for her to go on a decorating spree.
Kalliopi sensed before she saw that something was off.As Kalliopi opened the door, she gazed upon a scene of chaos: it was tossed.Her own belongings, as well as those of the condo, were tipped over and thrown around.The violation of her property and her safety angered her more than scared her, though.
“Whoever did this better hope I don’t get my hands on them!”
“Wait here,” Stan said, motioning for both Kalliopi and Jewel to take a step back while he took his gun from its holster and clicked off the safety.Had she been armed herself, Kalliopi would have insisted on being part of the sweep, but since she wasn’t, she impatiently waited for him to return.
Within minutes, he reappeared in the doorway.“Whoever ransacked the place is gone.Why don’t you look through your things and see if they took anything?”
“My laptop’s right here, and I didn’t bring anything else of value,” she stated, before remembering that physical property wasn’t the only thing worth breaking in for.“Crap, intelligence.They wanted info on the students.I had print-out copies of all our travel information, plus other important documentation, like the troop roster!”
“And these papers are gone?”Stan confirmed.
Kalliopi nodded her head, feeling shock creep into her veins.
“Do you want me to call it in?”Jewel asked in a steady tone.Kalliopi glanced at her.For a young cadet who likely hadn’t been on any field assignments yet, this very well could be her first interaction with a crime scene.But not only that, it was actually a scene connected to a large case that FUC had been on for years now.
“Why don’t we let your dad call it in?”Kalliopi suggested, hoping not to offend the girl by calling out her lack of experience.“They might ask for a lot of details that you’d end up needing to ask him for, anyway.”
“I’ll call it in,” Stan said.“Jewel, stick with Kalliopi.Shadow her to see how to walk through a crime scene.Kalliopi, do an inventory of your clothes and personal care items.”
Jewel looked quizzical at the last statement, so Kalliopi explained, “For my scent.If they decide that the next step is kidnapping me, they’ll want a starting point for tracking me.”
“Right.”Jewel’s eyes widened at the idea, but to her credit, she nodded bravely.“So, this has to be Zagan, right?It’s too much of a coincidence that?—”
Kalliopi placed an index finger to her lips to break Jewel off mid-sentence.She pulled out her phone and opened the notepad, typing out a message to Jewel.
They may have bugged the place, so no discussing the case.
