Ann Peterson - Special Assignment

Mike’s adrenaline spiked.

“You remember Cassie Allen, Detective?” Evangeline said.

As if he would forget Cassie. As if he could. He forced his aching face into some semblance of a smile. Raising his hands, he formed his stiff fingers into the shapes that were still second nature to him, even after all these years. Hi, Cassie.

She returned his smile for a split second, then pressed her lips tight and studied the pattern of tile on the floor.

She didn’t look happy to be there, that was for sure. A fact that bothered him more than it should. It wasn’t as if they’d had anything beyond a working relationship on the occasions he’d dealt with Prescott Personal Securities. But still… “Evangeline and Cassie, this is Detective Tim Grady.”

“I’m sorry if we’re interrupting.” Evangeline glanced at Grady.

Grady thrust himself free of the wall. “Nah, I gotta get going. Bad guys wait for no one and all that. Nice meeting the two of you.” With a gap-toothed grin, Grady was gone.

Evangeline focused on Mike. “I don’t want to waste your time or ours, Detective, so I’ll tell you why we’re here. I want you to work for me.”

Surely the pounding in his head had interfered with his hearing. “Work for you?”

“The grapevine has it that you’re on leave from the police department.”

“Bad news sure travels fast.”

“And whenever a door closes, a window opens,” she said, matching his cliché. “I need someone who is honest. Someone I can trust.”

“For what?”

“A very sensitive case. There’s a briefing at our offices tomorrow morning. I’ll give you the details then. If you can’t make it, Cassie will fill you in. You’ll be working with her.” Evangeline watched his expression as though she knew full well how much the prospect of working with Cassie would appeal to him.

He looked past those knowing blue eyes and focused on Cassie’s warm brown ones.

Cassie shook her head with a snap of frustration. No doubt she’d read Evangeline’s lips and had her own thoughts about the assignment. Her hands flew, signing her thoughts behind her boss’s back. She wants you to be my bodyguard. The poor little deaf girl’s babysitter. A babysitter I don’t need. Feel free to turn her down. It’s not a good use of your time.

Mike frowned at Evangeline. It didn’t add up. None of it. Even if Cassie was right, and Evangeline merely wanted someone to look after her cute little computer whiz, that didn’t explain why she would pick him. “You shouldn’t believe all my recent press. I’m no hero.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t believe everything I read.”

“Then why me?” He gestured to his face. “I’m a drunk.”

“One night of drinking doesn’t a drunk make. I know more about you than you think, Detective Lawson.”

“Then you know that half the police department hates me. You know I’m suspended for losing my gun. Surely you can come up with a better bodyguard prospect at PPS.”

“I’m sure I can. But not for this case. I trust you. You’re honest and I know you’ll remain honest…even when it’s inconvenient.”

Inconvenient? If only that was all betraying fellow cops was, an inconvenience.

“But that’s only part of it.”

He waited for her to go on.

“You’ve worked with Cassie before. You’re able to communicate.”

You can talk to the poor little deaf girl. Cassie’s fingers stabbed the air. Really, I don’t need you. I can handle this myself.

“I know some sign language and I can imagine the rest.” Evangeline glanced at Cassie. One side of her lips tilted up in a knowing smile. She turned her focus back to Mike. “What Cassie doesn’t realize is that I would provide a bodyguard for any technician I had working on this particular case. Hearing or not. It just works well that the two of you can communicate. And that you worked well together in the past.”

Working with Cassie wasn’t his concern. That part sounded great. Too good to be true. And that’s what worried him. “I come with a lot of baggage.”

“We can work around that.”

“I don’t think you quite get the picture. The Denver Post might think I’m a hero, but half the police department would like to see me fall on my face.”

Evangeline waved away his protest with a manicured hand. “I know you’re no longer in a position to be my go-between with the Denver PD. That’s not what I’m hiring you to do.”

“You don’t get it. Some are so eager to see me fall, they’re waiting in line to give me a shove.”

“Then you’ll have to keep your balance. I’ll add that to your job duties.”

It was impossible to argue with this woman. But then she and her late husband, Robert Prescott, hadn’t gotten where they were by taking no for an answer. It seemed there was a lot of that going around. “What are my duties? If I were to accept, that is.”

“Cassie will be working on deciphering an encrypted disk. It’s very important. Very sensitive. I want you to provide security while she does the work.”

See? Babysitter, Cassie signed. Tell her to forget it.

He tried to keep his expression neutral. He had a bad feeling about this. He hadn’t exaggerated when he’d said a good portion of the Denver PD would like to make him pay for blowing the whistle on the Dirty Three’s racket of stealing profits from drug dealers. Not to mention the Dirty Three themselves. He doubted they would be satisfied with one friendly little beating. They’d find any way they could to make his life as miserable as he’d made theirs. And he sure as hell didn’t want Cassie to get caught in the crossfire. “I still don’t understand why you don’t deal with this in-house. Why hire freelance bodyguards?”

“Not bodyguards. Just you. Just this case.”

Cassie shook her head. There’s going to be nothing for you to do but sit and stare at me while I work.

He stifled a smile. The only way that argument would succeed was if she was trying to talk him into taking the job.

Tell her no, Cassie signed.

“I can arrange for someone to fill in if you need a day or two to clear your schedule,” Evangeline said.

His schedule? What a laugh. Though he supposed he could fill a lot of hours drinking and feeling sorry for himself. “It’s not that.”

“I’m prepared to beat your salary at the Denver PD.”

“It’s not money, either.”

Evangeline stepped forward so Cassie was fully behind her. “We need you, Detective. Cassie needs you. If I can’t rely on you to protect her, I’m going to have to find someone else to decode that disk.”

“If the damn thing is so dangerous, that might not be a bad idea.”

“Okay. You tell her.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can tell Cassie she’s off the case. You can tell her her inability to hear makes it too dangerous for her to do this job without someone to watch her back. You tell her.”

A lump the size of a fist tightened in his gut. During the past cases he’d worked with Cassie, he’d come to understand how important her work was to her. How vital it was that she was treated like everyone else. How much she deplored being singled out or coddled for her disability. And how much the news that she was being taken off this obviously important case would kill her.

But being killed figuratively was better than being killed for real.

He eyed Cassie and formed the words with his hands. If this case is so dangerous, maybe you shouldn’t take it on.

She shook her head. I’m decrypting the disk. I’m the best at PPS when it comes to decryption. I’ll be careful. I’m not stupid.

No, she was definitely not stupid. He gave her a smile.

“Take the job, Detective,” Evangeline prodded. “We’ll work around the problems with those few officers at the Denver PD. Cassie needs you.”