Don’t forget he’s Carolina’s brother, too.Dick offers.
I ignore him and rub my hands together. Wysdom and Luke, plus their four kids, and the rest of the Saber family? That’s some entertainment right there.
“Bring Faylor,” Flint prompts.
I gape at him and realize I haven’t given him an answer.
“Uh, sure, man. That sounds nice. Thanks for the invite.”
Flint appears to be holding back a grin as he raises one of his famous eyebrows. “Oh, no, thankyoufor coming. I’m looking forward to dinner and a show.”
With that, he turns on his heel and marches back into the hallway.
Dinner and a show?What the hell does that mean?
It means we’re getting free food on Sunday.Dick reminds me.And maybe learn some more about Carolina Saber.
Dick has a one-track mind.
Chapter 9
“Funny. I don’t remember applying for that job.”
-Carolina
When I get into the zone at work, I have a one-track mind. Last summer, we shut down a counterfeiting ring tied to a group of international terrorists. A group of terrorists who coincidentally kidnapped my brother. Luke claims he went willingly, but hisLiam Neeson waysdidn’t sit too well with his wife, Wysdom - who led the rescue efforts and freed him.
Shutting down a counterfeiting ring isn’t as simple as confiscating all the equipment and fake plates that made the funny money. It’s a lot more complicated and involves tracking down all of the counterfeit bills.
The counterfeiter was in Flamingo Cove when he made the fakes. Those bills didn’t stay in Florida, though. We pulled in counterfeit twenties as far away as Bend, Oregon. I am wrapping up the evidence and finishing my report when the boss knocks on my office door.
“Mr. Liggett?” I straighten. It’s not like him to visit the offices of his subordinates.
“Ms. Saber,” he enters and eases down into my visitor’s chair with a grunt. Liggett was 70 if he was a day and refused to retire. “I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done, bringing in the counterfeiters and rounding up all the fakes. Dogged determination, girl. Dogged.”
I frown at being called “girl.” I am 46-years-old for crying out loud. But, there are some things you suck up because you don’t want to make waves in the workplace with yourshould’ve retired alreadyboss. “Ah, yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“I told you, you can call me Lonnie,” he smiles. “I want to talk to you about your future.”
Sweat breaks out down the middle of my back, and the spit dries up in my mouth.Craptastic. Not a great time for a panic attack. I take a deep breath in through my nose, hold it for three seconds, then exhale slowly to the count of three. When that doesn’t help, I do it three more times.
I take a sip of water. “My future?”
“You don’t want to be in the field forever, do you?”
Another sip of water. “I guess that depends on what we’re talking about.”
“A promotion,” Leggitt crosses his legs. He doesn’t prop his ankle on his knee, like a man would, though. He crosses his legs like a woman wearing a skirt. It’s distracting, and I almost missed his last words.
Wait.
“A promotion?”
“Yes. The SAIC of the Tampa Field Office is being promoted to Chief of Communications, leaving an opening,” Leggitt tents his fingers in front of his face. “I know you’re from that area.”
Special Agent in Charge of the Tampa Field Office? That would be a big jump for me. It’s the promotion I’d been working on for my entire career. I’d be closer to my family and…
And closer to where the worst moment of my life happened.
