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He meanttell Ainsley what you want. She suddenly felt bad for the man. It had to be tough being the never-really-seen assistant. “I’m fine, thanks.” She included Ainsley in her smile, which she immediately concluded was a mistake since his features brightened.
He reached out and touched her foot on the bed. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
She forced a smile while she squirmed inside. “Thanks.”
This was about to get awkward fast if Ainsley kept talking. Cross seemed to sense it as well and looked like he was about to say something, but Ainsley’s cell went off.
“Sorry, have to take this,” he said and then gave her another smile before walking out of the room.
Saved by the bell.
Cross drew in a deep breath. “I have had preliminary reports from the scene. It sounds bad. I am so glad you weren’t seriously hurt. The senator was not thrilled to hear someone had tried to kill one of my agents on the heels of losing a special operations team member.”
What the hell was she supposed to say to that? It wasn’t like she planned it. The senator could just suck up his unhappiness. “Not so thrilling for me, either.”
“Do you have any ideas who might have been behind this?”
Mac hesitated. She had a good idea, but she didn’t want to say anything just yet. She didn’t have anything concrete. Cross was known for killing the messenger. If she said something, and it was wrong, he’d make her pay. “I have no clue. The only thing I’m working on is the Owens murder.”
Cross frowned. “Have you discovered anything?”
How did she answer this one? He was the big boss. Blowing him off wasn’t an option.
“We think Owens was definitely into supplying drugs.” She wasn’t going to mention that the guys thought he might have been involved in the Navy weapons thing, too. Cross would swoop in and cut her out of the loop. Hell, he’d probably try to cut Dane’s team out of the investigation, too. Yeah, she was not getting involved in that political quagmire.
“What makes you think so?”
“He had way too much money flowing in that couldn’t be accounted for. I discovered he had a secret apartment. Tom Rutledge, my partner, can supply details.” She hoped Rutledge got a chance to look at the files before Cross showed up.
Cross narrowed his eyes. “So, you think selling drugs got him killed?”
“I would say it’s a possibility. We need to do more digging.”
“Do you think maybe you were getting too close and someone decided to take you out of the equation?”
She frowned. “But I’m not close.”
Cross studied her. “But they don’t know that. I think it’s best if you sit the rest of this one out.”
“Sir, no. I want to be part of the case.”
“I understand that Mac, but obviously it’s dangerous, and you’ve gotten hurt. You are officially on leave. With Senator Weston here, I can’t be shown to be playing favorites. He’s gone Sunday night, but I know he’ll be checking, so you have to be sidelined on this one, Mac.” He offered her a smile. “Take a few days when you get discharged from here and sort out a place to stay. Call Ainsley if you need help with anything. I’m sure he can help you track down a new place, or at least get someone to help you.” He reached out and touched her arm. “We need you to be one-hundred percent. I don’t want any of my agents hurt on the job, but especially someone so new.”
Asshole!Did he just imply that it was her fault because she didn’t have much experience as a CGIS agent? “I was a cop for seven years before I moved here. I know how to handle myself. Please let me continue working the case.”
“Sorry. The decision is made.” He offered yet another quick smile and then nodded to Cass as he started out of the room. “I’ll coordinate with Tom Rutledge. You rest up, Special Agent Rankin. We’ll check in with you in a week or so.” Then he was gone.
“Sonofabitch!” she spit out.
“Mac,” Danny Collins said as he entered the room. His partner, Rick Nelson, was directly behind him. Collins had short red hair and freckles. He was stocky with brown eyes and a bit of a gut. His partner Nelson was the opposite, tall and thin with a shaved head. They looked like the odd couple.
“Hi, guys.” She had no interest in having visitors, but it was nice of them to come so she swallowed her anger at Cross and made an effort to be friendly. “How’s it going? What are you doing here on a Saturday?”
“How are you feeling?” Collins asked as he approached the side of the bed. Nelson went to the foot.
“Got a headache, but otherwise fine.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.” Nelson smiled. “Sorry about your place. We were just there. Quite a mess.”
