AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You remind me of my brother and sister-in-law. I always say that Kennedy is Steve’s security blanket.”
That made Mia nod thoughtfully and she let Scott pull her onto his lap. “Heismy security blanket,” she admitted with a small smile. “I went through some terrible things at the hands of an ex-husband...” Scott’s face looked absolutely murderous. “But this man loved me through the panic attacks and self-doubt. For the first time in my life, I don’t doubt someone’s love for me. I’m safe with him. Secure. He holds me together.”
Scott’s expression softened and he wrapped his arms around her. His rough voice was affected when he finally found his words. “And you were our miracle worker, polytíma.”
She burrowed closer and he raised his eyes to me. “She has been the mother my kids needed their whole lives. She helped us put everything back together when we discovered my daughter was being mistreated, and she saw to it that both of them had everything they needed: therapy, love, home cooked meals and help with their homework…” The big man’s voice trailed off and I thought his eyes looked a little glassy. “She is my miracle.”
“Ugh.” I couldn’t keep the grunt inside. It forced its way past my lips and I hurried to explain. “I’ve stopped looking for that kind of happily ever after. I’m not sure it exists, so don’t give me false hope.” I tried to smile. I didn’t really want to get into my whole college experience with either of them. Admitting that kind of trauma to a person’s potential employer can be off-putting and the last thing I wanted to do was to shoot holes in my only parachute.
“Good.” Mia patted Scott’s cheek before removing herself from a lap. “That’s when it will find you: when you’ve stopped looking.”
“I married a closet romantic,” Scott said, and I heard a snort from Mia.
“Says the man who wrote me wedding vows–in Greek, no less–and recited them to me in bed well before I asked him to marry me. I had no idea what he was saying, but I recall being quite agreeable.”
Scott didn’t blush. He grinned and turned his head toward his wife, which was when I noticed the thin white scars on his neck and immediately I understood why his voice was so raspy: shrapnel.
A heated look passed between them and I squirmed a little uncomfortably. Maybe it was time to dismiss myself, because I wasn’t entirely certain he wasn’t going to jump up and toss her on the kitchen island.
“So, Madelyn…when can you start?”
Scott was still looking at his wife when he asked the question and my eyes went wide for a second.
“I’d like to introduce you to the team and get you settled and into routine as quickly as possible. We have a couple contracts coming up I think you might find particularly interesting, and your skills set will come in real handy.”
“Just like that?” I squeaked.
He held out one big hand and for the second time that day, I received a handshake that just about rattled my bones.
“Anything else you need to know?” he asked. “You check out; I’ve verified your security clearance and I know you’re unattached, so this should be an easy enough transition. We don’t keep your standard office, as you may have noticed.” He held out an arm and my eyes followed, taking in the glass-walled office just off the kitchen. “If we need to have in-person meetings, we usually do it here because this one cooks and all those men do is eat.” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder toward his wife. “The rest of the time we keep in touch thanks to internet-based communications: phone, teleconferencing...you know.”
Had I even asked the size of the team?
“As long as you can get to Ithaca once a quarter for one of our powwows, you don’t even need to relocate. A couple of the guys on the team live out on the West Coast. Boomer lives in Maine; Smit lives in Texas. Seems to me that you, Atholton and McEvoy have the easiest commutes. You’ll be seeing a lot of those two.”
I recognized the name Atholton for some reason, something fuzzy that I suspected was in some way linked to Adam. But…I didn’t have to relocate? I was stuck on that part.
“The compensation package was emailed to you this morning. By my estimation, it was right around the time you were hitting I-81.”
What was I supposed to say? I stood there gaping at him, my jaw flapping uselessly. “How did you know you’d hire me?”
He chuckled, a warm, gravelly sound that was thoroughly delightful. I suspected it was something that didn’t happen often.
“You had the job two weeks ago, when I had a conversation with Lieutenant Colonel McGill. I have never known that man to be complimentary of anyone, but he had some high praise for you.”
I waited, my eyes still big. He’d gotten in touch with my commanding officers before he even invited me to interview?
“Said you were capable, competent, and quick. I understand you were severely injured during a dive some months back. He mentioned you saved three men that day, and you gave them very necessary medical attention before sewing yourself up.”
I still had nightmares about that dive and how far to shit everything had gone. It was a miracle those three men were alive, and just as much a miracle that I was.
“You’ll meet McEvoy and Atholton in three weeks. You decide you want this job, I’m sending the three of you to the border. FBI’s been homing in on a sex trafficking ring with this migrant crisis we’ve got going on…they could use some help.”
I held out a hand to him and he gripped it tightly, rattling me again. “Suppose I’ll be hearing from you then?” For the first time he looked a little uncertain and I swallowed hard.
“Yes.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Take your time to look over the offer. I think you’ll find it’s generous.”
