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“You’re quitting over this?”
“Guess it’s going to be more than a twelve-cup day for you, because yeah, I sure as hell am. You have the balls to call me a hindranceto my facewhen my involvement with Eden has never caused even a moment’s problem for PSI or its members.” The memory of glancing toward where her stalker had been parked plagued me, but I did my best to shake it off. “More to the point, I haven’t done anything that other members of PSI have done in the past with various clients. But while there were no repercussions for them, you call me in here to bust my chops like I’m some rank amateur. I’m being singled out, God knows why, but I do know one thing—I don’t have to stand for this shit.”
“You’re not like any other member of the PSI team, Luke—”
“Formermember of the team. Don’t forget, I just quit.”
“—and because of that,” Cap went on in that relentlessly calm way of his, “this situation had to be addressed immediately, so here we are. Your brain has always been your greatest weapon, so having that weapon not functioning at full strength is something I can’t ignore. If you want to take that as me singling you out and quitting a job I know you love, I can’t stop you. But that would only prove my point—you’re not thinking clearly. You’re not even thinking about Eden’s welfare if you quit now, because no one else can get into the head of her stalker like you can. I mean, just ask yourself—does walking away from everything at this point make any kind of sense to you? Really?”
I ground my teeth together, hating that he had a point. “I’m walking away from PSI, not Eden. There isn’t a force on earth strong enough to keep me away from the job of keeping her safe and tracking down the shitbird making her life miserable. I’m still going to do whatever it takes to protect her.”
“Good, glad to hear it. So why the hell are you quitting?”
“You can’t be serious,” I muttered, staring at him. “You just took me off the Steadfast case after calling me a hindrance.”
“I took you off hersecurity detail,” Cap enunciated as if he thought I’d suddenly gone hard of hearing and needed to lip-read. “I still think that’s the right call, but I’m more than happy to set you on the bloodhound part of the case, because you’re right. This guy needs to be found before she goes bankrupt trying to protect herself and we know she won’t go to the police. So if anyone can run this fucker to ground, it’s you.”
I stared at him. “You’re shitting me.”
“Did I say I was relieving you of all duties when it came to the Steadfast case? No. What did I actually say? Tell me.”
“That you were taking me off her security detail.” Suddenly I wondered why I wasn’t wearing the world’s biggest clown suit. God knows it would have been appropriate. “Shit. I missed that.”
“This, from a man who prides himself in never missing anything.”
Asshole. “No need to rub it in, I get it.”
“Do you? Because I’m worried your brain isn’t getting it. At all. And that’s something I never thought I’d have to say to you, of all people.”
Shit, shit, shit… “I get it, Cap.”
“Good. Since you get it, I fully expect you to un-quit. Then I expect you to agree that having you anywhere near the protectee when she’s the worst distraction you’ve ever experienced is a bad idea of epic proportions, so you’ll steer well clear of her until she’s safe. And last but not least, I expect you to leave the actual bodyguard duties to a team of field agents who’re used to that kind of detail, and work instead on profiling every person who owns a dark pickup truck and attends the House of Enlightened Greatness.”
“I’ll agree to most of that.”
Cap scowled and crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”
“No, you’re not. You just crossed your arms, so you’ve already shut down on anything I have to say.”
“Fucking profilers.” Cap let loose an exasperated sigh and uncrossed his arms. “I’m listening, and running out of patience. Talk.”
“First, I un-quit. You’re right, I just reacted because I didn’t appreciate being called a fuckinghindrance. To prove I’m not, I’ll be more than happy to go over whatever list of suspects you send my way and give you detailed profiles on every name you give me. If our guy is somewhere on that list, I’ll find him.” And then I’d bury the motherfucker myself.
Cap nodded. “So you’ve un-quit and you’re going back to your strength as a profiler. What are you not doing?”
“Steering clear of Eden Steadfast,” I said bluntly, trying my damnedest to appear calm, but there was no way I could stop myself from sending out a warning glare that I was fucking serious. “If you want me off her security detail, then I’ll take the vacation time I’ve got saved up and spend every second of it being her second shadow, because I’m not going to leave her safety up to anyone else. If you don’t like that, then feel free to fire me.”
“First you quit, then you un-quit, then you tell me you’re going on vacation, and now you’re daring me to fire you.” Cap looked up at the ceiling as if praying for strength. “This is way too much for me to handle before my first cup of coffee.”
“I mean it, Cap.”
“Oh, I know you do. Which is why I know your brain isn’t firing on all cylinders, but whatever.” Cap’s gaze came back to me, and he didn’t bother to hide his irritation. “You know that was one helluva roller-coaster ride you just went on, yeah?”
My jaw locked, but he was my boss, my commanding officer, and I was still military enough that I had no choice but to answer. “Yes sir, I’m aware.”
“Are you aware of how emotionally compromised you appear to be?”
“Yes.” I was even more aware of how emotionally compromised I actually was, but I had no interest in sharing that part. “Tell you what, I’ll be the first to get out of the way if I feel I’ve put Eden in any sort of danger, because the last thing I want is for her to get hurt, or worse. All that matters is her safety. I’ll never lose sight of that.”
