Kimberly Van Meter - The Agent's Surrender

“Such as?”

“If someone else was pulling the strings, then the real threat is still out there. And it’s our job to find it and neutralize it.”

Jane frowned. “I did my job, and now you want to come along and tear it apart just to soothe an emotional wound? I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

“What if it was one of your brothers?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It wouldn’t be. My brothers would never do anything so rogue. You and I both know that I.D. was on the fringe. Your brother was attracted to that department because of who he was. He was an adrenaline junkie who craved excitement and glory. And I.D. gave it to him. He didn’t care where it came from as long as he got his fix.”

“You didn’t know Miko, so don’t pretend you wrote the book on his character analysis. I’m telling you right now, the man you just described was not my brother. He liked to play the hero, that much is true, and he truly thought he was doing good work. He was doing the jobs that others couldn’t to keep his country safe. I’m sure he was devastated when he found out I.D. had played him false.”

“So devastated he kept putting people in his gun sights and collecting those paychecks?” she mocked. Holden understood she was not buying one red cent of his plea. “You’re spinning your wheels. Your brother screwed up and you’re screwing up by championing a lost cause.”

“A man of my brother’s character would never pull the trigger on himself unless he was forced to,” Holden stated matter-of-factly, ignoring her mockery. “He just wouldn’t. Someone forced his hand. Aren’t you the least bit curious—no, worried— about who is actually calling the shots? I owe it to my brother to figure things out, but you owe it to our country. I know that means something to you. We can’t protect our nation from outside threats if we can’t even identify what threats may reside right in our own house.”

He was reaching her—he could see it in her eyes. “I don’t like your methods,” she finally said, looking as if she’d rather eat rat guts than admit he may have a point, but she wasn’t stupid and that was a point in her favor. “You shouldn’t have lied. Good, bad or indifferent, you should’ve taken your chances with the truth.”

“Maybe. But what’s done is done and I’m not about to apologize. Are you with me or are you going to turn tail and run back to the chief to tattle on me?”

Her lips pressed together in a tight line. She didn’t like being called a tattler. “Fine,” she snapped. “You’ve got one week. If at the end of the week we don’t have anything substantial to go on, we’re closing this case and I never want to hear about it again. Am I clear?”

“Crystal.” He breathed a sigh of relief. If Jane had marched into Reed’s office and told their superior that Holden had misrepresented the facts, he could have been fired. It was a gamble he’d begrudgingly been willing to take. Having Jane on his side would make things a lot easier by half. Well, the investigating process would go more smoothly. Now he just had to find a way to stop thinking of her in terms that had nothing to do with the job. Focus, man. “Since we’ve sorted that out, I want to stop by my brother’s bar. He spent the most time there. We might find evidence.”

“We went over the place with a fine-tooth comb. There’s nothing there. Besides, everything’s been packed up and stored in evidence. The bar is nothing but an empty shell. Plus, it’s been put up for sale to satisfy debts levied against your brother’s estate.”

“I know all that. But I want to go anyway. I feel as if we missed something. If I know my brother, he left information behind.”

Jane crossed her arms. “This is a waste of time. If you’d like, we can go through the evidence collected, but I don’t relish the idea of traipsing around an empty bar, especially when there’s no heat and it’s snowing outside.”

“You can go where you choose, but I’m heading to the bar.” He scooped up his notebook and stuffed it into his satchel. It was hard to get used to—carrying the equivalent of a man purse—but it served its purpose.

She scowled. “Fine. I suppose since this whole investigation is a wild-goose chase, what’s one more stop?” She grabbed her coat and slipped it on. “Any other ridiculous stops we’ll be making along the way? Perhaps you’d like to get a latte while we’re at it?”

“A latte sounds like a great idea,” he shot back with a smirk. “I knew you were good for something.” The glare she sent his way only made him grin wider. He really shouldn’t enjoy ruffling her feathers, but when it was so easy...he couldn’t help but grab the low-hanging fruit.

As they drove to Miko’s former bar, Holden realized he needed to smooth things over if he and Jane were going to work together. Fact was, as much as he hated it, he needed her help and he wasn’t going to get it by constantly needling her. “Listen, I’m sorry about the latte joke. I have mad respect for your investigative skills. And if that didn’t come across when we first started this relationship, I apologize. Believe it or not, I was considered the smooth-talking brother.” When his joke fell flat, he sighed. “C’mon, is this what it’s going to be like for the next week? Shouldn’t we at least try to get along?”

“You’re asking me to willingly tear apart my own investigation to satisfy some gut instinct that your brother wasn’t the bad guy, and you expect me to be happy about it? You’re questioning my skills as an investigator. Sorry if that doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy.”

“I remember what made you feel warm and fuzzy,” he said, mostly to himself, but he enjoyed the sudden flush in her cheeks, which told him she remembered, too.

She cut him a dark look. “Keep the jokes to yourself, Archangelo. I’m certainly not in the mood for your bullshit.”

He chuckled. “What a ball buster. Your family must be so proud. Tell me, Fallon, when was your father aware he had three sons instead of two?”

“I hate to break it to you, but you suck at stand-up comedy. Perhaps an alternative career in sanitation would be more suited for your skill set.”

“Ouch. Sanitation...that’s brutal. Are you calling me a piece of shit or just implying I’m only good for cleaning it up?”

“Take your pick.” She shrugged.

Damn, this was gonna be one long week.

* * *

Jane was fuming. If she were a cartoon character, heat waves would’ve been steaming from the top of her head. She hated how Holden had manipulated her into opening this case, when in fact there’d been no true reason to do so. Now if she went to Reed and admitted she’d fallen for Holden’s bait, she’d end up looking like the weak-minded investigator who had no confidence in her skills. And now he was trying to joke? Even worse, bring up their sexual history? Who the hell did he think he was? She found nothing funny about the situation and she sure as hell didn’t appreciate him throwing in an inappropriate sexual reference. If she thought she could get away with it, she might’ve unloaded a clip into his numbskull. “What do you hope to find at the bar?” she asked in a clipped tone. “And if you thought there was something at the bar, why didn’t you look before now?”

“Because I wasn’t thinking clearly after I heard the news about my brother. It’s called grief.”

Oh, good gravy. She had to let that pass or else she’d end up looking like a heartless bitch. “Don’t you think if you had such a tight bond with your brother he would have told you he was in some kind of trouble?”

“Yes.” He nodded but added, “Unless he thought doing so would put me in danger. A few months before he died, he’d been acting really strange. Evasive. Twitchy, even. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve said he was doing drugs, but my brother was against illegal substances. We’d both seen too many good soldiers get messed up by meth or heroin. My brother would never touch that shit.”