“This is the first time I’ve run into them.”
“I know, because the other two times, I steered them elsewhere until I could find out what your game is.” He frowned. The lines around his eyes made him look older and tired.
“I meant them no harm.” Moving to lean forward, I then checked myself. “I just wanted to make sure they were okay.”
“Why wouldn’t they be? Is there something Stanley hasn’t told me?”
I pressed my hand flat against my sternum. There was a version of the truth I could give him. “My sister, Becca, went missing five years ago.” I watched his face. Nothing moved. “I thought maybe—I don’t know. That getting close to Tinley might tell me something. About surviving. How she did it? My sister, Becca, she may still be out there somewhere.” I shook my head. “I know how that sounds.”
I peeked up at him. His eyes stared at the ground, jaw set, and I couldn’t tell if what came off him was anger or something that had once been anger and had since gone cold and quiet. I didn’t fear him. I wasn’t sure I should have trusted that.
“I’ll check out today and go.” I rose, but he grabbed my arm. He let go immediately.
“Please sit back down.” He whispered and rubbed his face.
I sat back down, but scooted a little further away. All signs pointed to being wary of him, but my instincts didn’t signal danger.
“You enjoyed your job?”
The question caught me off guard. I opened and closed my mouth, not sure how to answer. “My–Yes.”
“You sure about that?” He leaned back and placed his hands on either side of his thighs.
“I mean, I was good at my job, and most of the time I was helping people, but I never enjoyed it.” I shrugged. “I’m not sure you enjoy that type of work. You are exposed to some horrible things. You see people doing the worst to each other. I think I got tired of doing it from behind a desk.”
“So, are you going private? Or do you have some other career path in mind?” His head tilted.
“I’m undecided at the moment.” I wrung my hands.
“Why don’t you come and work for me?”
My hands stilled in my lap. “What do you mean, work for you?”
“Work on my staff.” He stood up and walked over to the edge of the modern gazebo. It stood a couple of feet off the ground. He turned his head up to survey the tops of the buildings. “You certainly have top-notch training. You know how to handle yourself in the field, weapons trained. And you made head analyst in three years. You’re good at your job.”
“How do you know that?”
“I asked Agent Stanley.” He turned and leaned back against the gazebo, his arms crossed over his chest. “Wedocheck references at Grant Enterprises.”
“Wait,” I stood up. “You already asked Agent Stanley about me. He knows I’m here?” God, of course he does.
“I was looking to expand our team with more of an analytical approach. We’ve been surviving on tips and dumb luck. I get what you mean. We want to do more. I figured with your skill set, you can help us do that.”
We stared at each other for a moment before I moved to stand next to him, peering over the gazebo railing to the ground below. “I’d be trading one office job for another.”
“Partially.” He pulled on my sleeve. “Have a seat.” We returned to our respective benches.
“I had spoken with Kyler and Josh about adding a woman to our staff. Someone the girls can relate to, but who they would also listen to and respect.” He tapped on his phone.
“You want me to guard the girls?”
“With a team, of course, but it would give you more field opportunities and still allow us to pick your brain on how we can help more people on the other side of it.”
I covered my mouth with my hand.
“Is there more we could be doing?” Patrick wondered aloud. “Are we covering all our bases?” The plea in his voice hit me. This wasn’t just a job for him either. His bright, deep-set eyes held pain he wasn’t ready to share. But this was important to him.
“Yeah, I mean, there’s more that can be done.” I exhaled. This was it—my in. The Grants had more resources and less bureaucracy than my last job, and it put me closer to the girls. I pressed my thumbnail into my palm. I was already lying to him. He had just told me I wasn’t in trouble yet. “And you want meto guard the girls?” The words came out softer than I intended. Something loosened in my chest that I didn’t want loosened.
