Gene was putting the tray with bagels and coffee down when he heard the detective. Oh, he’d been listening from the counter as he was making their coffees and grabbing some napkins from the dispenser.
His initial instinct was to protect Ethan, but he had to let his partner do his thing.
Yeah, it was going to be a challenge not to try to run this like normal. Only, Gabe would bust his balls so hard that they’d fall off if he found out he was working in the field while on the injured list.
Desk duty meant desk duty.
It meant sitting behind a laptop, not walking on the street with his badge out.
Or so he said.
This was going to be where they bent the rules a little bit.
Ethan heard her tone, and he didNOTlike it.
Not.
At.
All.
“For the record, I’m not an outsider,” Ethan offered. “I grew up here.”
That seemed to surprise them. In fact, so much so that Dannie lifted a brow.
“You did?” he questioned.
Leah was confused.
“I did, too, and I have never seen you here before,” she admitted. “What part ofDamascusare you originally from?” she asked.
Really?
Two more people that only saw the white part of him, and not the Native part?
Was it the lighting in there?
Ethan knew that the cops were always going to be a curious bunch, so he was to the point and honest. It wasn’t like they could research him and find that information. The FBI protected their agents’ lives—just in case.
“Yes, I’m from here. In fact, I’m half-Native American. I grew up on the reservation where the bodies were dumped. I’m very familiar withDamascus.”
Yep.
That caught them off guard.
In fact, so much so, that they both stared at him.
“Our boss has a rule. If you’re off or on vacation, and you catch bodies, you’re no longer off from work. The FBI is short-staffed and can’t lose a single agent to downtime. Normally, I work out of thePhillyoffice with my partner. We were here seeing my family.”
Leah went there.
“I don’t like that. Conflict of interest…,” she began, and someone wasn’t having it.
Gene was about to bust balls for his partner but didn’t get a chance.
Why?
Oh, because Ethan held his own.
