“I wish I were wrong,” she murmured, wincing when Peanut’s overzealous kneading breached the fabric on her suit pants and reached her skin. “But his handlers in Charleston sound certain of the facts.”
“Fuck.” He swiped an agitated hand through his dark hair, causing his cowlick to stick up. Then, he winced. “Sorry for the profanity.”
“No need to apologize,” she waved him off. “It’s a fucking fuck of a situation, that’s for fucking sure.”
Just as she’d hoped, her attempt at levity had the tension in his shoulders softening.
“Born and raised Chicagoan here.” She hooked a thumb back at herself. “The F-bomb is pretty much mandatory ’round these parts. I’d be far more scandalized if you’d saidshootordarn.”
He chuckled, but there was no real humor in it.
And that was her cue.
As much as she’d love to sit there and drink in every subtle shift of his muscles, every minute expression that crossed his handsome face, every lovely word that drawled out of his mouth, they’d come to see if he’d heard from his brother. He hadn’t. Thus, their mission was complete, and it was time to return to the office.
Peanut meowed his displeasure when she dumped him off her lap. She was so used to pet hair that she didn’t bother wiping the gray fur off her slacks when she stood.
“Sorry to hit you with this kind of bad news and run,” she said. “But Agent Douglas and I need to let our colleagues on the East Coast know what we found here.” She made a face. “Or, rather, what wedidn’tfind here.”
She pulled her business card from her jacket pocket—yes, calling cards were still helpful in her line of work—and slid it across the island.
“That’s my office phone. I’ve written my cell number on the back. Call me, night or day, if your brother checks in.” She hesitated to say this next part but figured he needed to hear it. “If Knox turns himself in, chances are he’ll walk away from this without any extra holes in his body. I can’t guarantee he’ll walk away at all if he doesn't. It would be an understatement to say his handlers sounded unhappy. Your brother’s betrayal cost them millions of dollars in man-hours and set them back years in their efforts to bring down that cartel. I think they’re itching to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Britt took a deep breath and nodded. “Right. Thanks for the heads-up.”
“No thanks necessary,” she assured him, and since she couldn’t think of anything more to say, she threw back the last of her coffee and turned to leave.
She’d made it to the door when Britt called out, “I guess when it comes to my brother, it’s true what they say, huh?”
She swung around with a questioning frown.
“Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”
She immediately recognized the quote fromThe Empire Strikes Back.
The first time they’d met, he’d said something to the effect of,“Aren’t you a little short for a fed?”To which she’d immediately responded,“I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.”Confusion had ensued, and she’d had to explain that growing up with three older brothers who were allStar Warsfans meant she was steeped in quotes from the movies. And thus had begun theirStar Wars-themed flirtations.
She’d replayed each and every one of them at least a hundred times in the months since last she’d seen him. And she wasbeyonddelighted to discover he remembered their banter, too.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she countered as her blood sang happily through her veins. “As long as he lives, hope lives.”
Her quote was a little more obscure. But he didn’t disappoint. “The Last Jedi?”
“Right on the money,” she told him anddamnit!Shelikedhim.
Shehadn’tbuilt castles in the sky when it came to him. Hewasas witty and as wonderful as she remembered.
Screw it, she thought.The timing is terrible, but it’s now or never.
Glancing at Dillan, who looked rather bored now that it seemed theywouldn’tbe hunting a fugitive, she whispered, “Mind giving me a minute alone with Sergeant Rollins?”
A line appeared between her partner’s eyebrows, and she was reminded that he had just enough brain cells for basic motor function when it came to subtlety and innuendo.
“Why?” he asked.
The look on her face called him ten kinds of idiot. But her tone was sugary-sweet when she hissed, “Because I have something of a personal nature I’d like to discuss with him.”
“A personal nature?” Dillan’s frown deepened. “What could you possibly—” His eyebrows reached for his hair. “Oh. Right.” He glanced at Britt, who stood on the other side of the kitchen island, watching them curiously.
