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“Exactly. Jeremiah is our next lead. I just know it.” She began to excitedly bounce on her toes, and I somehow found myself even more enthralled by her energy. “If he shares what exactly got him shot, and if it’s related to the trafficking, then he may be able to confirm or rule out our suspects and hone in on a better trail to follow,” Abby said in an excited rush. Didn’t she need to breathe like the rest of us?
“All right, we tried our way and it didn’t pan out, at least for now. We put cameras at the waterways around the island, so we will see if anything suspicious occurs. For now we’ll follow your lead. Do you need help calling around to hospitals to track down our new person of interest?” Garcia asked.
“That would be nice,” Abby answered sweetly. She was going to drive us all insane if she was going to be right all the time.
“All right, everyone, start searching hospitals,” Christine said with a clap of her hands.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
adam
“And you’re absolutely sure it’s him?” Abby asked. “Mhm, mhm. When are visiting hours?”
The others fell silent so she could finish her conversation. She found him, and it sounded like he was still alive. Abby’s instincts were hard to argue with, she might just elevate our group, and I became excited just thinking about all the good she could help us accomplish.
“Perfect, thank you.” She hung up and looked at us. “Well, I found him. He was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital. It’s not far from here, and visiting hours are over in an hour. I’m going to go talk to him.”
“Do you need back up?” Mendez asked.
“No, I don’t want to scare him, and I don’t want to draw attention to the fact that he’s still alive. Someone tried to kill him for a reason, and I’m going to find out why and if it has to do with our mission. If so, we are going to get him justice, and I hope that’s the incentive he needs to start talking. The idea of seducing him just feels wrong.” She paused and shook her head as if she couldn’t believe she had the thought. “What I need help with is the schedules of the three managers we named as suspects. I’m going to need to work on them as soon as I get back.”
“I’m coming with you,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes. “All right, big guy, let’s go.” If I were a bird, I would have preened at the name. It reminded me of the nickname for a superhero, who was also very jacked, and I couldn’t help but tuck that bit of knowledge away for later. I wanted her to say it in the bedroom as I plowed into her.
“Stay safe!” Christine called out the door as we exited the room.
I didn’t miss the way that Abby smiled when she heard the words.
“You like them, don’t you?” I asked her quietly, suppressing a knowing smile.
“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t,” she said with a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. She was trying to be nonchalant about it, but I could see right through her. She did a lot of her undercover work alone or with little interaction from the outside world, but this was different. She had a whole team she was working with, and we were undercover together…in a sense, anyways.
“It’s okay to admit it, you know. They like you back.” I liked that my friends liked her. I wanted Abby to be a part of our team, and I wanted her to become a more permanent fixture in our lives…my life. I knew I’d only known her for days, but I was a firm believer ofwhen you know, you know.Right now, I was getting those “I know”vibes.
“They do?” she asked curiously. She gave me the side-eye as we walked through the hall.
“Yeah, they do. Christine bought you a snorkeling excursion because she thought you could use the break. People don’t just do random things like that for people they don’t like,” I said.
“Okay, you have a point. Fine, yes, I like them, but I’m trying not to get too attached, okay?” She sounded slightly flustered. I felt thrilled that I had the same power to get to her that she did to me, but I also felt slightly anxious at her response. No one wanted to get attached if they planned on leaving. My stomach bottomed out, but I did my best to ignore it.
The elevator doors closed in front of us as we headed down to the lobby.
“Why not?”
“Because eventually this all has to come to an end. We will get our guy, and I’ll go back to the Bureau. You and your friends will continue on to the next one, and life will go on.”
“You don’t want the heartbreak that comes along with saying goodbye,” I said. The saying, “You can’t miss what you don’t have,” was a cruel one. I was a firm believer that it wasn’t true. You could certainly miss what you couldn’t have, especially if you’d had even the tiniest taste of the real thing. She’d been accepted into our group whether she liked it or not. She’d had the taste, and she was going to miss us after this was all over, regardless if she admitted it or not.
“Maybe…” she said with a slight hesitation. I didn’t miss the sadness that suddenly seemed to set in. She was already missing us and hadn’t even left yet.
“Hey, I don’t blame you. But you know you are welcome to join us, right? I know that we’ve hooked up and all, and this may be a little awkward to talk about, but I like you, Abby. I think we are very similar, and the sex is fucking fantastic. If you wanted to stick around, if you wanted to take a chance on me and my friends, I wouldn’t object,” I said, with the most sincere expression I could muster. I didn’t want to put a lot of pressure on her, and I wasn’t one to beg, but I wasn’t going to ignore this feeling. I wasn’t going to let her walk away and always wonder what would have happened if I told her how I felt. I was firmly placing the ball in her court; if she wanted to join us, and wanted to be with me, she could. If she didn’t join us, that was solely her decision, and she’d have to be the one to live with that.
Asking her if she wanted to date me or make something permanent out of this felt like it would be too much too soon. However, I wanted her to entertain that option, because I wanted her to stay. I wanted her in my life for more than just this trip. I’d be disappointed as hell if she went back to the Midwest.
“I appreciate that, I do.” She paused for a moment. It was silent, with only the sound of my heartbeat pulsing in my ears. “I have a lot of shit to figure out. It’s my issues, not yours. If circumstances were different, if I wasn’t already married to my job, I’d definitely consider it.” She paused again and placed her hand on my arm. Damn if I didn’t hate rejection. “You don’t know it, but you are a hell of a package. The problem is I don’t know how to fit you all into my life and keep my career. I’ve worked so hard to get to my position, and I’d hate to lose that,” she said, letting me down easy.
“I meant what I said. If you change your mind, the offer is open. Even if it’s two years from now,” I said.
