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“But your ideas, you’re just giving them away.”

“Not really,” she explained. “Most of the time, they’re not my ideas. I get an outline to work with most of the time. So basically, I’m just filling in the spaces, if you think about it.”

“Wow,” I said, leaning back in my seat, and eyeing her. In the dim light of the coffee shop, she looked even more beautiful, and I found myself staring a little too hard. “Wow,” I repeated, not really knowing what else to say.

“I’ll send you a few things I’ve written,” she smiled. “Get your opinion and all.”

“I’m not much of a reader, to be honest, but sure, why not?”

She smiled wider and nodded, gazing out the window as we sat silently for a few minutes, just enjoying the coffee and each other’s company. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt this comfortable, and it was strange. I found it funny that in Kent, of all places, I’d come across someone who didn’t make me want to immediately shoot myself in the head.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I said. “Shoot.”

“Did you ever think of quitting?”

I frowned. “The DEA?”

She nodded.

I thought about her question for a few seconds, wondering just what I could say that wouldn’t make me sound too cliché. “Not really,” I finally answered. “I love the job. Small wins or not, I feel like I’m making a difference.” Yeah, not cliché at all.

“You’re not worried?” she asked.

“About what?”

“Well, you know?” She hesitated. “I mean, you were shot.”

I shrugged, trying to look like it wasn’t a big deal. “Part of the job.”

“Come on,” she scoffed.

“Okay, maybe that’s playing it down a bit,” I admitted. “Sure, it’s crossed my mind a few times. Especially since Kelly’s only got me and Samuel. I’d hate her to grow up without both parents.”

“But you wouldn’t quit for her?”

I frowned, wondering what she was getting at, and a part of me a little uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. I hated when people assumed that I didn’t care about my daughter, that I was being selfish, but I didn’t want to jump the gun and think Jenni was just going to attack me for this. She looked like she was genuinely concerned.

“If she asks me to, I probably will,” I replied. “So far she’s dealing with it as best as she can. She was my wall when I was bedridden after the accident. She’s a lot stronger than people give her credit for.”

“What exactly happened in this accident?” Jenni asked, leaning in and resting her chin on her hands.

I sighed and sat back, playing with the table spoon. “Long story.”

“I’m actually interested.”

“Actually?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She smiled and nodded.

“We had a lead on a major drug deal, and my partner and I were assigned with staking the place out,” I started. “We didn’t think it would be anything. You have so many moles in the business, bad information is quite common. And if the information is right, the dealers usually get a warning before we can do anything. It’s rare that we actually catch a deal of that magnitude when it’s actually happening.”

“But this was different?”

I nodded. “The dealers showed up. My partner, Raul, wanted to wait for backup, but I was sure that by the time the cavalry arrived, the dealers would have been warned. So, we went in.”

“How bad was it?”