“Two years ago, you had a year-long affair with a Special Agent in Charge,” Sin said. “You ended it, then you had your attorney pay her to stay silent. Conveniently, she got transferred out west.” Sin laid his hands, palm down, on the desk. “If you think for one fucking minute that I don’t know every goddamn thing that goes on in this cock-sucking town, you mistake me for an idiot.”
“Shit,” Hirzog groaned.
“Z, am I an idiot?” Sin asked.
“No,” Z replied.
“All we’re asking is that you give Deputy Director Santini your office,” Sin continued. “It’s a small request in exchange for our silence. I knew what you did, but I kept my mouth shut. Now, they know. You’ve got all the power, Hirzog. How do you want to play this?”
Hirzog slapped his laptop shut, yanked the cord out of the monitor. “Go to hell. All of you.” With his laptop under his arm, he stormed out.
With a smile, Sin said, “That’s how we get things done in DC.”
Z chuckled. “That’s howyouget things done in DC.”
“I have dirt on everyone who’s anyone, and I have a team who can dig up dirt on anyone else,” Sin said to Carrera. “You need anything, you call me.”
Carrera smiled. “Understood.”
“We’re heading to ALPHA,” Sin said to Z.
“I came up to check on Carrera,” Z said. “We’ll meet tomorrow. My office.” He slid his gaze to Sin. “I’m gonna miss that.”
“Miss what?” Sin asked.
“You, being you,” Z replied.
“We see each other every month,” Sin said.
“We play poker,” Z replied. “You have a terrible poker face and we never talk shop.”
“I have a fantastic poker face,” Sin said. “I smile, no matter what my hand.”
Z paused. “Hmm, that is a strategy.” He shook Carrera’s hand. “Tomorrow.”
On the way out, Carrera stopped at Tina’s station. “Thanks for the help. I’ll need the office first thing tomorrow.”
Tina glanced from him to Sin, then back to him. She walked around her desk, right up to them. “Do either of you have friends, you know, who are on the market?”
“I know a few men who would be lucky to date you,” Sin said. “I’ll let them know you’re available.”
With a satisfied smile, she sat back down.
“Deputy Director Santini, your office will be ready for you in the morning,” Tina said, a definite pep in her tone.
As he and Sin headed toward the elevator bank, Carrera said, “You’re ruthlessandcharming.”
“It’s about knowing how to take the power and when to use it,” Sin said. “It’s something I had to learn… most of it from Z.”
“I have big shoes to fill,” Carrera said.
“No, you have to get comfortable in your own shoes,” Sin corrected. “You are the perfect person for this position. Over time, you’ll come to know that.”
“How does Evangeline deal with you?”
Sin’s sincere smile touched his eyes. “She holdsallthe power, mine especially.”
In that moment, Carrera knew what he wanted. A love so pure and so true that it would withstand any challenge, any obstacle, any setback. A partnership that would last a lifetime.
