“Like that’s going to happen,” Wade muttered loudly from his side of the table. “We don’t even have one.”
Jono grimaced. “We’ll do what’s best for our pack.”
Danai didn’t seem thrilled about that answer, but Patrick agreed with Jono. Their pack had to come first, especially now.
They spent another hour in the conference room, with Patrick forced to revisit moments of his life he’d rather forget about forever. Danai was brutally kind in her interrogation of his past to secure his future, but Patrick felt as if he’d been flayed open to the bone by the end of the meeting.
“I think that’s everything I need for now,” Danai said, gathering up all her paperwork. “I’ll be in touch if I have any further questions. Expect to hear from me on Thursday about your declaration.”
Patrick reached over and snagged her pen, writing out his new contact information. “I have a new number until I get my phone back. Since I’m not working, feel free to call me anytime.”
“You haven’t been fired,” Setsuna reminded him.
Patrick scowled at her. “You took my gun and badge and put me on unpaid administrative leave. That’s as close to fired as you can get.”
“If the charges are dismissed, you’ll be taken off leave.”
“That’s a pretty big if.”
“On leave or not, you’ll still be required to appear before whatever hearing Congress sets up regarding all of this. They haven’t picked a date yet, but they will sometime soon.” Setsuna started organizing the documents she was keeping and putting them back into her suitcase. “The truth coming out will change your standing amongst your peers, but it won’t change your employment with the agency as long as I am the director.”
“Your position isn’t permanent.”
“The president still backs me, which means I stay, and so will you.”
His badge made things easier when it came to following the gods’ orders. Paying his soul debt would become a lot harder if he didn’t have the government backing that would open doors. He knew that even if he got it back, none of his fellow agents would ever trust him again. They’d see him as dirty, and any chance at getting promoted or retiring with the SOA had been irrevocably damaged by the charges levied against him.
Jono curled his hand around Patrick’s, his touch warm. Patrick glanced at their joined hands, knowing that whatever happened, Jono would be right by his side, no matter what. If he could no longer work as an SOA special agent, then leading their god pack would become his job until he could find something else.
That all hinged on themkeepingtheir god pack. With everything going on, Patrick knew the stakes were even higher, and the risks were getting more dangerous.
But they weren’t backing down, and if it took finally coming clean on who he was to stop Ethan, then so be it. He’d kept enough secrets over the years, buried enough truth to survive. Time for some of it to see the light of day again.
13
Ten o’clockat night on Thursday in Brooklyn was hot and muggy, but the darkness provided some bit of cover from prying eyes. Patrick’s look-away ward helped ensure no one bothered them on their walk to Prospect Park.
Jono glanced at Patrick as they walked down Vanderbilt Avenue toward the Grand Army Plaza entrance. He was only half listening to the conversation Patrick was having with Danai on his new mobile, who was apparently still at work finalizing the brief. Jono had left his mobile at home to hide the fact they were in Brooklyn.
“We’re on track to file tomorrow morning. I’ll have our PR coordinator reach out to our contacts with some of the news stations to get a statement out. If it involves a live appearance, did you want to join in?” Danai asked.
Patrick hunched his shoulders, and Jono wrapped his arm around them, despite the heat. It might be creeping closer to midnight, but that didn’t mean the weather was any cooler.
“No. If the case gets dismissed, maybe later,” Patrick said.
“Then if you trust me to speak for you, I will.”
“Just don’t put words in my mouth.”
“I’m your advocate, not your enemy.”
Patrick let out a heavy sigh, tugging on the brim of his baseball cap. Despite them driving over to Brooklyn and it being well past sunset, he hadn’t removed it since it did a good job of hiding his dark red hair.
“I know.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow after I’ve handled everything on my end. Normally I wouldn’t seek out the news, but we need to change the narrative, and I won’t be saying anything that we aren’t stating in our filing.” She paused, her voice gentling a little. “I would advise keeping a low profile over the weekend. The docket is public record, and every interested news agency is going to be accessing the motion and underlying evidence once the word is out.”
“Understood.”
