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“Good. Please remember that.”
“Like you remembered to tell me that Barrett Lucas was working the case with you?” I shoot back.
“He's my handler and is only back with the agency because of me. He asked me not to tell you.” I groan as my head drops down and I study my feet. “But I’m sorry you had to find out that way—about him and Harry, I mean. Barrett didn't want you to know he was involved.”
“For obvious reasons,” I say because I have no right to be angry about that.
“Well, yes and no. I was just as surprised as you were that he outed himself like that. I just wanted you to know that I never meant for you to be blindsided like that.”
“Like I was supposed to know the kidnapping was fake too, right?” My words are more bitter than my voice.
“I apologized for that.” Her tone is softer and warmer than I ever thought I'd hear again. “You don't need to keep bringing it up. That would be like me reminding you of your… failings…”
“I know, Marls,” I say, knowing that this thing will always be between us, will always stand between us. “This case is just getting to me. It was supposed to be an easy money-skimming case. Cut and dried. Then there’s the fact I’m operating like a lone wolf.”
“Aiden…” Her voice has always been able to reach deep inside me and that hasn't changed. “Whenever I've been undercover, I’ve always had someone at my back. Harry may have been more hands-off than normal, but now you've put it in my head that he could be compromised, it's almost like I'm a sitting duck.”
“It’s Barrett’s gut feeling and I’ve learned to trust his hunches. Please believe me when I say that we’re trying to look into it as quickly and as discreetly as possible.”
“Despite my issues with Barrett, his instincts are never wrong. You know that, Marls. You wouldn't have him at your back otherwise.” Maybe that's what's got me so out of sorts. I used to be the one she could trust above all others, bar none. Now she wouldn’t trust me to collect her damn mail and feed her cat.
“Has Harry been in contact at all?” she asks.
“Yeah. Just a quick email telling me that everything was fine back home. He hasn’t killed my plants yet, and he’d touch base with me after the weekend.”
She pauses, speaking to someone off the phone before returning. “Is that normal behavior for him?”
I chuckle. “Killing my plants? No, but he’s watching my place while I’m here.”
“Which makes me think he expected you to be gone for a while at least,” she says, thinking out loud.
“We didn’t give it a timeline. I think the general thought was that it would take as long as it would take,” I add.
“So nothing in that message or the way he’s been acting has raised flags for you?”
“Not really. It’s just…” I hesitate for some reason.
“Just what, Aiden? You know just as well as I do that something seemingly innocuous can be a lead to investigate.”
There's no wiping the slow-growing grin off my face. “Damn, Marls. Look at you going all detective on me.”
Her snorting laughter in my ear has my heart skipping, reminding me just how much I’ve missed having her in my life. “I’m not just Marcus’s baby sister anymore.”
“Fuck no you’re not. You haven’t been that since I was your fir—”
She starts coughing, cutting me off, which in turn just makes me laugh. “Enough of that.”
“You started it,” I shoot back.
“I think you started it, if my memory serves right. A tent at a music festival and a shared bottle of bourbon?” That brings damn good memories rushing back to me.
“Anyway, let me just check something,” she says, the sound of fingers tapping away on a keyboard catching my attention. “OK.”
“OK?”
“I wanted to check that Harry wasn’t going anywhere. I checked all airlines out of Seattle and as of right now, it doesn’t appear that he’s leaving any time soon. Wait, does Harry have the kind of money to go private?” she asks curiously. “Don't answer that. Wait there a sec…” I hear more tapping and then a huff of breath and a groaned sigh. “Yes, yes he does.”
“What?” I splutter. “Harry's not loaded. Far from it. He said before I left that he wasn't going to get rid of me because he doesn't have to worry about paying the bills now that I’m working with him. Dammit!” I thump my fist onto the counter, ignoring the pain radiating up my arm.
