I stare at my phone, shocked and confused. Frustrated tension has fueled most of our conversations the past twelve months, but this is the first time she’s lashed out like this. I understand her annoyance. If you told me twelve months ago I’d still be sitting in my office, digging through a mammoth load of paperwork seeking a way to bring Isaac to justice, I would have laughed. I thought he’d be doing hard time by now.
This kills me to admit, but Isaac is a lot smarter than I first perceived. It’s not hard considering the people he has surrounding him. They’re so loyal to him, they’re not seeing the entire picture. I’m so desperate for Regan to see the truth, I’m considering breaking protocol to show her. If she would just step back for a minute to see Isaac through my eyes, she would have a better understanding of everything. My case. My dislike. Why I hate him with every fiber of my being.
My thoughts return from dangerous grounds when I witness Brandon darting past the glass wall of my office with his hand clamped around an ashen-faced Isabelle’s wrist. In silence, he makes a beeline for the supply closet all the agents hide out in when discussing matters they don’t want publicized. The supply closet isn’t soundproof, but it is free of the many listening devices I had installed on the main floor my first week on assignment.
Pretending I can’t feel Theresa’s eyes on me, I travel the steps Brandon and Isabelle just took. Because I’m a few seconds behind them, I only catch a portion of their conversation. It’s enough to understand Brandon is more embedded in Isabelle’s life than he’s let on. They’re talking more as friends than agents.
My suspicion piques when Brandon mentions Isabelle’s flight to Ravenshoe, but before I can work through my confusion, Theresa joins me in the corridor. I don’t want her to catch me snooping on my fellow agents, so I enter the supply closet Isabelle and Brandon are hiding out in.
When Brandon’s narrowed eyes lift to mine, the duplicity in them raises my hackles. He’s glaring at me in suspicion, yet he’s the one hiding out like a coward.
As I step closer to them, my eyelids squint to match Brandon’s. “It is now after 11 AM, and that report I requested to be completed first thing this morning has still not been finalized, but you have time for a friendly chit chat with Isabelle in the supply closet.”
Brandon surprises me by remaining quiet, but I don’t miss the flash of anger darting through his eyes. I’m not surprised. They often say it is the quiet ones you need to watch the closest. I’m not just watching Brandon, I’m on to him. Before today, he was down the bottom of my list of suspects. Now he sits at the top of the podium.
I shift my eyes to Isabelle. “I need to see you in my office.” When her eyes dash to Brandon as if she is seeking his permission to leave, I snap, “Immediately, Isabelle!”
After a look that reveals she’s truly stumped by Theresa’s interest in her, Isabelle shadows me to my office. She sits in the chair opposite mine when I lower the privacy blind to conceal our conversation from the agents watching me as closely as I’m watching them. Until I discover my snitch, everyone is on my suspect list.
I’ve been called many things the past twelve months. Heartless. Anal. The biggest fucking douchebag in the world, but despite all of this, there is one name I’ve never been called, and that’s a shit leader. I’m hard on my team because I want them to succeed in their field of expertise. If that means we can’t be friends outside of work, I’m fine with that. I’d rather them see me as their supervisor than their friend. If Isaac’s investigation has taught me anything, it is that mixing business and pleasure never works. Eventually, one fucks over the other.
Isabelle is about to learn that lesson right now.
I take my seat before raising my eyes to hers. She looks afraid, which I hate yet understand at the same time. “Because of your unwillingness to cooperate with their investigation, the internal affairs department is recommending you go on unpaid leave until they have finalized their investigation.”
The color in her cheeks drains as her throat works hard to swallow. While nodding to acknowledge she heard me, her hand shoots down to the hem of her shirt. She fists it tightly, needing to distract her brain from the moisture welling in her eyes.
“Although I don’t agree with their investigation, I believe it will be best for my department if you do take a step back,” I continue, my tone less harsh. “Running an investigation like ours is already hard enough, let alone having the internal affairs department breathing down our necks.”
My teeth gritting together is the only sign I’m annoyed that I’ve succumbed to both Theresa and Kristin’s pressure. This is my team, so shouldn’t I run it how I see fit?
The worry in Isabelle’s eyes dampens when I add on, “Once we confirm their investigation is unwarranted, I’ll accept you back onto my team, Isabelle, but for the time being, you need to gather your belongings and leave the office immediately.”
The last time I said words similar to these, I was filled with an immense amount of satisfaction. I’m experiencing nothing like that now.
After plastering a fake smile onto her face, Isabelle stands from her seat. She clasps the stainless-steel handle of my office door in her hand before cranking her neck back to me.
“Isaac isn’t the man you think he is.”
Denying me the opportunity to rebut, she exits my office.
Twenty
Regan
“Just say the word, Isaac, and I’ll hit her with every injunction known to man. You have a restraining order against her. I don’t care who she is, she can’t just waltz into your office and question you for no reason.”
“She isn’t after me—”
“This time,” I interrupt, my tone high enough that Axel startles. After an apologetic grimace to Raquel, I shift my focus back to my phone. “Theresa has never followed the rules. She could have been ghosting you with Isabelle.”
“Come on, Regan. Give me some credit. I’m not stupid.”
The hard week he’s had is reflected in his voice. He’s struggling as badly as I did the month following Alex’s betrayal. There were so many times I nearly broke. If it weren’t for Raquel and Isaac keeping my thoughts busy, I would have.
“I don’t trust her, Isaac. She filed another petition for paternity last week. She’s not going to vanish like you’re hoping.”
He exhales deeply before replying, “Maybe we should give it to her.”
