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“Why don’t I believe you? You look like you’re going to your death. Or is this about those texts you’re getting?”
Busted. “Chatting with Beatrice, trying to catch up on a few things. Figured the ride over was a good time to follow up with her on our open cases.”
Her relief was evident. “I’m not exactly the best housekeeper, so don’t be shocked at the mess.”
“You, messy? I’m surprised. Your desk is immaculate and you’re always so on top of things. Hell, even your files are color-coded.”
She laughed, and the sound filled him with joy. “That’s work. This is home. I don’t need to be organized and I’m only there in the evenings. Like you, most of my time is spent at SFI.”
Nodding, he sent off another text, his mind working overtime. This one was to the detective working her case.Did you follow up on that sedan?
He and Moe had tagged three vehicles that had been on the same route as Jose’s from the moment it had left SFI headquarters and arrived at the accident’s nexus. Registration for two of them was easy to run down since the traffic cams had caught their plates. The third was a ten-year-old black sedan whose plates were unreadable. It hadn’t strictly tailed Jose, only showing up twice at different intersections, but the mere fact it was so nondescript and had no identifying marks—how often was a car that old spotless?—had raised warning flags with Rory.
“You’re really behind on work, aren’t you?” Amelia worried her fingers in her lap. “I’m taking up all your time.”
“It’s not you.” Rory waited, but the detective was silent. Either he was ignoring Rory or too busy to reply. Maybe both. “It’s the move. We’d planned to phase things from one location to the other over several days but now it looks like we need to postpone it for a few weeks.”
“You’ve been planning this for months.”
He pocketed the phone in order to give his hands something to do so he didn’t reach for her to smooth out the creases between her brows with a kiss, but…nope.Hands to yourself. Four days. He would wait that long.
When day seven hit, though?Look out. “Years, actually. Another week won’t hurt.” It kind of did. He was so ready to be in the new compound at his command center.
Traffic grew increasingly thick, the late afternoon streets filling with workers returning home after their shift and an equal number heading in. “I’m taking an alternate route,” Connor called, turning at the stoplight. “Get us out of the worst of this snarl.”
Rory’s phone vibrated against his chest and he tugged it out. Not the detective, but Beatrice.Sit rep, she demanded.Where is my car?
Sorry, boss. Needed a lift to Amelia’s place. Meeting with Shaker.
Shaker was the codename the Secret Service had christened the First Daughter.
A pause.Why?
A sprained wrist from the sounds of it. He debated reassuring her he was in bodyguard mode and Amelia was safe, but his normal knee-jerk reaction wasn’t necessary. Beatrice of all people knew it.Might be good for A to go home, even if only for a bit.
Now he sounded like Vivi, but it was true. Touching base with familiar surroundings might help Amelia’s recall.
Thankfully, Parker had cleared Hannah. The president’s daughter would be surrounded by her own top-level security guards. What could go wrong?
Hold the bus, he reminded himself before his paranoia kicked in. Even so, he followed up with:I smell anything out of place and we’re out of there.
A thumbs up was his boss’ reply. That meant the Queen B was comfortable with this. He should be, too.
Amelia brushed his arm to get his attention. “You sure you’re okay?”
He realized he was gripping his cell so tight his knuckles were white. “Absolutely.” Tucking the device away, he took her hand and tried to make general conversation, ignoring the pounding in his head. “How long have you lived there?”
He knew, of course, but needed to find a topic of conversation that didn’t agitate either one of them.
“About four years.”
“I’m sure D.C. is nothing like South Carolina.”
She snickered. “You’ve got that right. I like both, though. The city is alive with energy, and my hometown was quiet and peaceful.”
He’d always been a city guy. “I’m not sure I’d know what to do with peace and quiet,” he admitted.
“Have you ever wanted a family?” She froze for a heartbeat, her fingers fiddling nervously with her sleeve. “I mean, I was thinking about my childhood, growing up where I could play outside. And Sloane. At the compound, she’ll have a whole playground to herself. So much better than the city, in my opinion. Got me thinking about kids is all.”
