Page 78 of Tied Over

I nodded. “And I’m sorry for making you wait, but I wanted what’s best for you, and you know how I feel about that being me.”

“I do, yes. But now?”

“But now I’m selfish, so you’re screwed.”

His smile was blinding. “No, baby, you’re the one who’s gonna be screwed.”

“Why you gotta make everything all nasty?”

He laughed long and hard, and that was a very good thing.

NINE

Once Bodhi left, I sat there and worried and second-guessed myself because that’s what I did. Always. When my phone rang, I saw a Chicago area code and picked up.

“Hello?”

Nothing. No sound. No greeting.

“Hello?” I repeated, like everyone did in every horror movie I’d ever seen.

“Harold of visions,” Ian whispered and then was gone, the call ending.

“The fuck was that?” I asked the air angrily, thinking he was fucking with me. I tried him back a moment later.

The line was busy, making a beeping sound like it was a landline, which made no sense. Why wouldn’t Ian just use his cell? And who did he know who even had a house phone? His father maybe? But again, he always had his cell on him; he had to. He was the deputy director, and the office always had to be able to get a hold of him.

I called again, then a third time, the line never ceasing to beep, and I finally called Miro to figure out what was going on. It was right after nine p.m. in Chicago, so still relatively early, but I was still surprised to get him on the second ring.

“Jed,” he said, his voice breathy, “are you on your way?”

On my way? “No, I’m—no. And I’ll ask what you mean in a second, but I just got a weird call from Ian, and I need to know if you have eyes on him.”

“Eyes on—no, we’re dealing with a crisis here and—”

“Miro, listen. Where’s Ian?”

“He’s coordinating with the FBI and Homeland about—”

“No. He’s not. Get me in a room with Kage and Becker now.”

“Jed?”

“Now, Miro. Do it now,” I commanded. “Hurry.”

There were muffled sounds, and I could hear yelling, and then he told me he’d call me right back.

I was pacing when my phone rang, and I picked up instantly. “Hello?”

“Redeker,” Sam Kage addressed me in that tone he had where I had better not be wasting his time. Not that I ever had.

“Sir, I just received a call from Ian, and I believe he’s in danger.”

“Yeah, we think so too,” Wes agreed, and I was glad he was there. “We pinged his phone, we got nothing, so tell us about the call.”

“First, lemme give you the number to trace. I think it’s a landline.”

“Go ahead.”