Page 100 of Tied Over

“Yes?”

“Yessir.”

“Okay,” he said, and I could tell from the catch in his voice that he was very relieved that everything was over. “Let’s move,” he barked at the others.

As he walked out, Becker walked in with Cho and Lopez.

“Where’s your computer?” Becker asked.

“In my bedroom.”

“Good. Some guys leave them at work when they go on vacation, and that annoys the shit out of me. We all know you’re gonna need it.”

“Truer words,” I agreed. “We had to write reports on the situation we encountered in Washington with Luke Stoker.”

“I heard about that,” Becker said softly. “Little girl all right?”

“She is. Yes.”

He took a breath. “Good.”

“The two of us will get our reports written later tonight.”

“That’ll work. Did you fire the gun?”

“I did not.”

“Then please secure it.”

“Yessir.”

“I’ll be here with the team.”

“Thank you.”

“Miro was going to come in the morning to get the dog. Does that work for you?”

I nodded, easing Bodhi back, and he just stood there, not moving, no longer shaking but looking like a zombie.

Going to my kitchen, I first got my phone out of the refrigerator—it was cold but working—turned on the volume, then got my gun off the counter. I walked back to Bodhi, took hold of his bicep, and led him to the bedroom, with Chickie right behind.

I could hear Becker barking orders to the tech team, telling them they had better collect only what they needed and not make a mess. He also said he had a cleaning crew showing up five minutes after them, so they better be thorough.

In the bedroom, I sat Bodhi down on my bed and then slid my left thumb over the slide-mounted safety, engaging it before putting the Glock in my nightstand. Taking a seat next to Bodhi, I put my arm around his shoulders as Chickie put his head in my lap.

“I’m okay,” I told him, petting the dog because he was such a good boy.

He just sat there like he was in a trance.

“Please talk to me.”

Silence.

“Okay,” I said with a sigh. “I’m gonna go get you some water, all right?”

The moment I started to move my arm, he grabbed my hand with both of his.

“Bode?”