“I reacted. I thought I heard someone else say?—”
“It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, Kim, when I’m your superior and I told you to stay. Prince always sends someone to clear the way.”
Macy’s clear disappointment added to the deep ache pulsing in Dani’s chest.
She nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Obviously, becoming a federal agent had not cured her habit of creating messes. Undercover agents were supposed to be cool under pressure. Sophisticated. Precise. Not bumbling fools who went after the wrong guy and got the snot kicked out of them.
Dani fought the tears stinging her eyes as she followed Macy and the others. She wouldn’t give Clarkson the satisfaction.
Back in the field office, with Prince on his way to prison, Clarkson relished the congratulations floating around the long conference table as they waited for the debriefing. Too bad Dani couldn’t crawl under said table and hide. She tried to smile and ignore the pain as Reese gave them a play-by-play.
“You should’ve seen Clarkson’s tackle. He sailed through the air like Ray Lewis, I’m telling ya. It was beautiful.”
Clarkson didn’t hold back a cocky grin while the others slapped him on the back and congratulated him on his first takedown. His ego was probably inflating at an exponential rate.
“All right, let’s settle down.” Special Agent in Charge Francine Bettler walked into the room with a small stack of envelopes. She stood at the front of the table in her navy-blue power suit like a proud matriarch who didn’t want things getting out of hand but secretly enjoyed the banter going around.
“Before we go over the op, I’d like to call the three rookies that have been following you around, learning the ropes. Their training, areas of expertise, and their work here have all been under careful evaluation, and they will now receive their first assignments. Why don’t you come up here with me.”
Dani fought to keep a fake smile in place as she followed Clarkson and Reese to the front of the room and stood facing the table. The SAC handed an envelope to each of them. “We wish you the best on your next endeavor. Go ahead and see your permanent assignment.”
This was it.
Clarkson ripped into his and let out a whoop. “New York City, baby!”
They were sending Clarkson to NYC?
Reese was more methodical. He carefully pulled out his letter.
“Well? Where ya heading?” Clarkson asked him.
“San Diego.” Reese’s expression brightened considerably. He’d been hoping for the West Coast. He turned to Dani. “How about you, Kim?”
If they’d already figured the assignments out before her massive failure today, maybe there was still a chance. NYC might not be big enough for both her and Clarkson, but she’d make it work. Or maybe Miami…
She tore open her envelope and read the letter, her ability to breathe once more failing her.
“Well? Where are you going?” Clarkson asked.
She looked up from the words in black. The whole room stared at her.
Surely it was a mistake. A joke?
A rather cruel one, at that.
Not that she didn’t deserve it after her big fail…but still.
She waited. No one jumped up or started laughing.
“Do we get to keep you here in Baltimore?” Macy asked from across the table.
“What’s your assignment, Kim?” Reese nudged her.
“Renegade, Colorado.” She couldn’t even try to infuse any enthusiasm into her voice.
Not when they were sending her home.
