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“It’s too soon to be jumping to conclusions but I sent a patrol car to go find him where he said he was staying and they haven’t seen him.”
“Since when?” A sense of dread settles inside me.
“Saturday.”
I perch my ass on the arm of the couch. “Fuck.”
“We can’t make assumptions,” she reminds me.
“C’mon, Marls. If it walks like a duck and looks like a duck…”
“Then it’s probably quacking too, yeah I know,” she replies, sounding as frustrated as I feel. “For all you know, he’s driven back to wherever the hell he’s from, Wyoming?”
“If it was your sister missing and you were so gung-ho about tracking her down that you publicly call out the most powerful man in the city and travel hundreds of miles to find her, would you just go back home?”
“Not so much,” I admit.
“Exactly. Now we most likely have two missing people, both connected to Marquis and/or Decker, and the man is acting like nothing has happened, inviting me to the club for a drink and an anticipated proposition, dressed up as a ‘business meeting.’ He’s either cold as ice or innocent.”
“If he’s innocent, then so am I,” I deadpan, and the call goes dead silent between us. “At least only one of us is a psychopath.” Thankfully, she leaves that topic alone and I breathe a silent sigh of relief. “We need to step things up. But we need to do it right.”
“Not we, Marls. Me. I'm the only one with access and opportunity at the club. While I'm getting close professionally, the only thing you need to do is keep him distracted.” There’s no way I’m letting her put herself at risk any more than she already has. Not now, not ever. Not if I have anything to do with it, anyway.
“Aiden, I'm not a rookie anymore. You do know that, right? I've even got my own badge and gun and everything,” she snaps back condescendingly, giving me a glimpse of that backbone I admire so much.
“I know. But I’ve always hated you putting yourself in harm’s way. Especially anywhere near that piece of shit.”
“Oh, is this you pulling the overprotective big brother card?” she sasses back.
“Fuck no. Your brother would kill me if anything happened to you. But all the reasons why I want you safe have nothing to do with me thinking you can’t look after yourself, and everything to do with reasons you aren’t ready to hear. Maybe some day, when we talk, I’ll tell you.”
“Good,” she say and I can hear the smile in her voice. “I was jerking you around but now I feel like I… yeah… some day.”
“You’re just lucky I’m behaving.”
“Since when do you behave? Because I remember many a time when I had to cover for you and Marcus with Mom and Dad.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about, Detective Manning. Or is it Special Agent now?”
She chuckles. “This is just a task force. So I’m still just detective. For now, anyway.”
“I bet,” I say, feeling lighter all of a sudden and knowing it's all because of her.
“So this Saturday, you up for the job of making sure Decker and maybe Justin are kept distracted by the delectable Quinn while I search the office for anything we can use?”
“I think so. I know he wants to talk about an event of some kind but that’s all he’d tell me. Originally, he wanted me to facilitate VIP and member events for Marquis. Then at the dinner I had with him, he said he wanted me to be more of a liaison with the VIPs. But whatever it takes, Aiden, we need evidence to push this case forward. Even if we find something to link Decker or Justin to Harry, that would be something. Right?”
“Whatever it takes is a pretty fucking big scope there, Marls,” I near on growl.
“You know what I mean.” I can almost hear her rolling her eyes. “But the sooner we fix The Fixer, the better off we’ll all be.”
“You’re fixing to fix The Fixer?” I can barely finish the sentence without a snort escaping my lips.
“Yep.” Marlee doesn’t hide her giggle. “OK, I’ve got to head into the office soon, but let’s talk about the cameras. What can you do with them?” she asks.
“They can always be diverted. Malfunctions do happen.” I stand and move back to the kitchen to refill my coffee cup. “When you think about it, if Decker and Justin can erase Jason ever being at the club, then I can do the same.”
“As long as I keep Decker and Justin busy and none of us raise suspicion, that’ll give you enough time to search the office?”
