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Of course, it made sense. She reached into her back pocket for her phone and turned it off, then replaced it. She must’ve looked as scared as she felt, because Roman reached out to squeeze her hand.
“This is going to be okay,” he said. Camila didn’t have time to askhowit could possibly end up okay, though, before a familiar voice came over the speakers.
“Roman,” Sergeant Sinclair said. “What the hell is going on?”
“That’s funny, I was going to ask you the same thing.”
Sinclair’s pause told Camila that the answer to that question was both long and involved. “First thing’s first. Is Camila with you?”
“I’m here,” she said. “I’m safe.”
“Good.” Sinclair’s relief was obvious.
Roman’s irritation? More obvious. “She’slucky,” he snapped. “One of the robbers came after her at her apartment and just shot at both of us. We lost him—either that or he got smart and stopped pursuit—but either way, you have more to worry about than two bank robberies. Camila is in danger.”
Dread made Camila’s stomach dip, and the sensation didn’t get any better when Sinclair said, “I agree. Look, this case got very complicated today, and it’s more than I can go through on this call. Our first priority is keeping you safe, Camila. Let’s get you to the precinct so we can come up with a plan to do that.”
Roman shook his head. “I don’t think so. This guy took potshots at me, too, and I kept Camila safe. I’m not just involved in this case. I’m invested. So, once and for all, can we please cut the jurisdictional crap? I want on this case.Now.”
A new voice, one Camila didn’t recognize but that commanded instant respect, came over the line. “I’m inclined to agree about jurisdiction, Sergeant. Agent Roman was in the right place at the right time tonight, and that probably saved your witness’s life. I think he’s earned his way onto this case.”
“Special Agent Calloway,” Sinclair said. “My unit is perfectly capable of working this case independently of the FBI.”
“If I had any doubt that you could, I’d have pulled rank and taken this case from you after the first robbery,” Calloway replied. “I’m not questioning your unit’s ability. What I am saying is that Agent Roman may be of particular service to you. I’m assuming you’ll be putting Ms. Garza into protective custody?”
“Protectivecustody?” Camila choked out. When had her life become a John Wick movie? “Are you serious? What about my job? My family? What am I supposed to tell them?”
Roman looked at her through the shadows in the front seat of his car. “We’ll help you take care of all of that, I promise. But protective custody is the best way to keep you safe, Camila. The robbers know where you live and they clearly want to hurt you. Going home isn’t a risk we can take right now.”
“Agreed,” Sinclair said. “At least until we can sort through the escalation at the bank and this attack.”
Wait… “What escalation at the bank?”
The beat of silence that followed weighed conservatively a metric ton. Then, Sinclair said, “There was a fatality at the robbery today. The security guard who told the robbers about you and what we know was shot and killed.”
Shock sank its teeth into her, and oh, God. Oh, God. “Hedied?”
“Yes. We’re still piecing together what happened, but it’s clear that now that the robbers know you’re a potential witness, you’re not safe until we can find them and take them down.”
“You’ve got a hell of a full plate, Sergeant,” Calloway said.
“We’re good for the work,” Sinclair said back.
But Calloway surprised Camila—and from his expression, Roman, too—by saying, “As we’ve already established, I believe that you are. But I also think you could use some help, and the FBI has a few resources that would be of particular use to you on this case.”
“Such as?” Sinclair asked.
“Witness protection capabilities. Look, you need to keep Camila safe from these assailants. She’s currently already with a trained federal agent with resources at his disposal to go way off the grid. And, frankly, at this point, we can’t even be sure that after what Roman just did to foil the attempt on Camila’s life, the robbers won’t target him along with her in an effort to finish what they started.”
Camila’s chin snapped up, a cold chill sending goose bumps over her arms. “You think they’ll try to hurtbothof us?”
“Not if they can’t find you,” Calloway said, and understanding dawned on Roman’s face.
“You want me on Camila’s protection detail while Intelligence works the case.”
“Yes and no,” Calloway said. “What I’m proposing is that Intelligence work this case jointly with the FBI. We would provide a protection detail for Camila, and yes, Agent Roman, you would be in charge of that. But if we share jurisdiction, you’d also be privy to regular case updates, and would offer insight and support, as needed.”
“And if I say no?” Sinclair asked.
