“Yeah, just a friend from my days in the Marines,” Daniel said. “I’ve been trying to get hold of him but it’s been hard because he’s stationed abroad. Who knows when I’ll get the chance to speak with him again?”
God, the lies came so easily.
She shooed him with both hands. “Go on. Hurry.”
He bent over to kiss her, but remembered where they were and picked up the empty water bottle next to her instead.
What the hell?
They’d both agreed that they didn’t want this thing between them to become fodder for the office rumor mill. Samiah had experienced enough of that after the Craig incident. For Daniel, it was more about mitigating the hurt and embarrassment she would undoubtedly face if he had to disappear from Trendsetters without a trace.
He grimaced at the sour taste that thought left in his mouth.
Daniel went downstairs, but encountering yet another downpour, opted for a corner of the lobby to make his call. He switched to his secured cell phone and called into FinCEN headquarters and asked to be patched to Preston August’s desk.
“Hey Preston, what’s up?” Daniel said when he heard the click on the other end of the line.
“It’s not Preston.” His spine went rigid at the sound of Lowell Dwyer’s gruff voice.
“Sir?” Daniel replied.
“Do you have five minutes to talk, Collins?”
“Yes, sir,” was his immediate answer.
“I have a proposal for you,” his supervisor began, and Daniel’s heart started to thump like a bass drum within his chest. “All intel shows that the outfit in Vegas is preparing to go dark and move their base of operation to Seattle. I want us to move in before they have the chance to do that, and I want you to run lead.”
A tidal wave of euphoria surged within his chest and spread to his extremities. This was it. The gold prize.
“You know what I think about you as an agent, Collins,” Dwyer continued in what passed for gentle when it came to his brusque tone. “This is the kind of opportunity that can catapult your career. Much more so than what you’re doing down there in Austin.”
The exhilaration still shuttling through his bloodstream began to wane as the full implication of his boss’s offer began to crystalize. If he answered in the affirmative, Dwyer would have him sitting at a gate at Austin-Bergstrom Airport tonight. There was probably a team of people working on the formal explanation email that would be sent to Trendsetters’ HR director.
The dread tingling at the base of his neck spidered out to the rest of his body.
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave. Not this soon. He needed more time.
Seriously, man, what the fuck?
He had a career to think about. The stakes were so high he could barely wrap his head around the enormity of this moment. He’d spent the past two years striving to prove to himself that he’d made the right choice when he turned down all those high-paying tech job offers in exchange for joining FinCEN. To prove he not only belonged, but that he was an asset. As the lead agent on the most monumental case to hit the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in years, everything he’d been working toward would be within his reach.
But how was he supposed to just pack up and leave? Even if Dwyer gave him time to tie up loose ends, the idea that in a couple of days he would be forced to say goodbye to Samiah forever sent a shock of panic rioting through him.
He couldn’t do it. Not yet.
“I…uh…I appreciate this vote of confidence, sir, but—” He stopped. Swallowed. “But, it wouldn’t feel right to leave things unfinished here.” Wrenching anguish twisted in his gut. “It may not have the panache of Vegas, but I’ve put too much time and effort into solving this case to just let it go.”
A daunting silence stretched out for several moments before Dwyer said, “You never cease to surprise me, Collins. Or to impress me.”
Daniel huffed out a humorless laugh. “You’re impressed that I turned down a career-changing opportunity?”
“I am. Don’t think I haven’t paid attention to the friendly competition between you and Stewart.”
He wouldn’t describe the pissing contest between himself and Bryce as “friendly,” but cool, cool.
“There’s a healthy rivalry,” Daniel said.
“And you know I’ll likely offer this job to Stewart now that you’ve turned it down, right?”
