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Prologue
“What do you mean I’m suspended?” Tamilya Lowe asked her supervisor Addie March.
“It’s out of my hands and it is pissing me off,” she muttered.
The last few days had worn heavily on Addie. In her late forties with a long career with the FBI under her belt, she always had a look of irritation that marred her features. She was attractive, with short brown hair and steel gray eyes, and the sharpest mind Tamilya had ever encountered.
When it came out that the FBI might have had an opportunity to stop the bombing, everything had gone to shit. It had been Addie’s job to oversee the investigation into the splinter group that had eventually blown up the Virginia Star Mall. Tamilya had been wondering if they were going to make her boss the scapegoat. She had been wrong.
“How is it that I’m the only one who is getting blamed? How about all the men up the chain of command you submitted reports to?”
“They said it was your job to keep in contact with your CI.”
“You mean the one that was murdered a week before the hit? The one I couldn’t get hold of because he was freaking dead? I gave them three targets. One of them was the mall.”
“I know this sucks.”
“You havenoidea.”
“Yes, I do. I’ve been through things like this before. You’ll make it through. Just keep your head down and it will sort itself all out.”
“It’s different for you.”
They both knew it was the truth. Addie was considered FBI royalty, a woman who had a father and three uncles with distinguished careers with the FBI. She also was white, which helped out the majority of the time. Tamilya had never had to deal with racism right to her face, but she knew there was always some jackass with a badge who hated her for her sexandher skin color.
“I know,” Addie sighed as she rose out of her chair to walk around the desk and take the one next to Tamilya. “I am going to do everything I can to protect you, since the suspension is temporary.”
“With pay?”
When Addie didn’t say anything, Tamilya sighed. “I’m going to have to resign.”
Sadness stole over Addie’s features. “Don’t.”
“How long does one of these investigations take usually?” The sour look on her supervisor’s face told her all she needed to know. “Right.”
Tamilya looked around the office. When she had started this job, she had dreamed of one day having Addie’s position. Up until seven days ago, she had been on track. But she couldn’t go without a paycheck. She could last several months, but sometimes investigations could linger for a year. Without pay, she couldn’t make it. The only way to survive would be to leave the job she loved. Her chest hurt as her head started to pound.
“Tamilya, don’t do this. I need you here.”
She studied her mentor, the woman who had handpicked her out of the academy and had kept her at her side for all these years.
“I owe you, Addie. I know that. But, if they decide to make me a scapegoat, I’ll lose any chance of making a career of this outside of the FBI. And I don’t want it coming back on you.” And she knew without a doubt, they would do it. When people above you made mistakes you warned them about,youpaid the price.
She sighed. “No. I understand. I do know a few people you could hit up for a job, and you know I’ll give you a recommendation.”
“Thank you.” She rose out of her chair, her heart even heavier than when she had walked into the office that morning. “I’ll write up my resignation before I clean out my office.”
“Remember, use me as a reference. I owe you that much.”
“Thanks,” she said, as she stepped out of the office and felt the attention of the entire group latch onto her. Everyone knew that she had been suspended by now. She wanted to hide, run away and pretend that the last ten days hadn’t happened.
Instead, she did as her mother taught her. She raised her chin and ignored everyone as she walked to her office. She could hold it together until then…and she did. But the moment she shut the door, she leaned back against it, then sunk to the floor. There, in the privacy of her office, she felt the pain and sadness hit her. She knew it would take her weeks to recover from this, months…years even. She had spent her life planning for her career. And it was now gone. Granted, she could fight it; but, in the end, she only had about a twenty percent chance of winning that fight.
Before she did anything, she rested her forehead on her knees and let the tears fall.
ChapterOne
Today wasnotgoing to suck.
