my toe in the water. Let me go up, make sure Bonnie is taken care of, and let me just lend my mind to this thing, just a little. Callie will still run things. I won’t be armed, and I promise, if I think it’s too much, I’m out.”
He puts his hands in his coat pockets and gives me a long, fierce look. He’s studying me, hard. Weighing all the possibilities, every risk. When he looks away and sighs, I know I have convinced him.
“I just know I’m going to regret this, but fine. Here’s the deal. You go, you get the kid, you look around. You can put in your two cents with the team. But you are not running the show. And the moment you feel even a little wobbly, you pull yourself the fuck out. I mean it, Smoky. I need you back, don’t misunderstand me. But I need you back whole, and that means I don’t necessarily need you back now. You understand?”
I bob my head like a child or a new army recruit, yes sir, yes sir, yes sir. I’m going, and I feel that this is an important thing. A victory. He raises a hand, waving Callie over. When she arrives, he tells her what he told me.
“You got it?” he asks, stern.
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
He shoots me one last glance. “You guys have a plane to catch. Get out of here.”
I walk away with Callie before he can change his mind.
“I’d love to know how you pulled that one off, honey-love,” she murmurs to me. “Just know that as far as I’m concerned, it’s your show until you tell me otherwise.”
I don’t reply. I’m too busy wondering if I’ve made a terrible mistake by getting back on the team.
9
S INCE WHEN DID we rate a private jet?” I ask.
“Remember I told you that we’d had two child abductions and recovered one alive?” Callie asks. I nod.
“Don Plummer was the father of the little girl we got back alive. He owns a small flight company. They sell planes, have a flying school, things like that. He offered to give the Bureau a jet pro bono, which of course we had to turn down. But—with no prompting from us—he wrote the Director and worked out giving us access when needed for a low price.” She shrugs and gestures at our surroundings. “So when we need to get somewhere fast . . .”
There’s an addition to the team on this flight. Some young-looking kid who seems to barely fit into his FBI persona. He looks like he should have an earring in one ear and gum in his mouth. I squint and see a hole for a piercing in his left lobe. Jeez. Maybe he does wear one when he’s not on duty. He’d been introduced to me as a loaner from Computer Crimes. He sits a little off from everyone else, looking rumpled and half awake. An outsider. I look around. “Where’s Alan?” I ask.
A response comes from the front of the plane. More of a growl. “I’m up here.” And that’s all he says.
52
C O D Y M C F A D Y E N
I look at Callie, eyebrows raised. She shrugs.
“Something’s bugging him. He looked pretty pissed when we got here.” She gazes toward him for a moment, then shakes her head. “I’d leave it alone for now, honey-love.”
I look toward the shadows that Alan is sitting in, wanting to do something. But Callie is right. And I need to be brought up to speed.
“Fill me in,” I say, accepting this. “What do we have?”
I turn to James as I say this. He stares back at me, and I can see the hostility flaring up in his eyes. He radiates disapproval.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says.
I fold my arms and look at him. “Yeah, well, I am.”
“It violates procedure. You’ll be a liability to this investigation.” He shakes his head. “You probably don’t even have psych clearance yet, do you?”
Callie remains silent, and I’m thankful. This is a key moment, something I need to resolve myself.
“AD Jones cleared me.” I frown at him. “Jesus, James. Annie King was a friend of mine.”
He stabs a finger toward me. “All the more reason you shouldn’t be here. You’re too close to the investigation, and
He puts his hands in his coat pockets and gives me a long, fierce look. He’s studying me, hard. Weighing all the possibilities, every risk. When he looks away and sighs, I know I have convinced him.
“I just know I’m going to regret this, but fine. Here’s the deal. You go, you get the kid, you look around. You can put in your two cents with the team. But you are not running the show. And the moment you feel even a little wobbly, you pull yourself the fuck out. I mean it, Smoky. I need you back, don’t misunderstand me. But I need you back whole, and that means I don’t necessarily need you back now. You understand?”
I bob my head like a child or a new army recruit, yes sir, yes sir, yes sir. I’m going, and I feel that this is an important thing. A victory. He raises a hand, waving Callie over. When she arrives, he tells her what he told me.
“You got it?” he asks, stern.
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
He shoots me one last glance. “You guys have a plane to catch. Get out of here.”
I walk away with Callie before he can change his mind.
“I’d love to know how you pulled that one off, honey-love,” she murmurs to me. “Just know that as far as I’m concerned, it’s your show until you tell me otherwise.”
I don’t reply. I’m too busy wondering if I’ve made a terrible mistake by getting back on the team.
9
S INCE WHEN DID we rate a private jet?” I ask.
“Remember I told you that we’d had two child abductions and recovered one alive?” Callie asks. I nod.
“Don Plummer was the father of the little girl we got back alive. He owns a small flight company. They sell planes, have a flying school, things like that. He offered to give the Bureau a jet pro bono, which of course we had to turn down. But—with no prompting from us—he wrote the Director and worked out giving us access when needed for a low price.” She shrugs and gestures at our surroundings. “So when we need to get somewhere fast . . .”
There’s an addition to the team on this flight. Some young-looking kid who seems to barely fit into his FBI persona. He looks like he should have an earring in one ear and gum in his mouth. I squint and see a hole for a piercing in his left lobe. Jeez. Maybe he does wear one when he’s not on duty. He’d been introduced to me as a loaner from Computer Crimes. He sits a little off from everyone else, looking rumpled and half awake. An outsider. I look around. “Where’s Alan?” I ask.
A response comes from the front of the plane. More of a growl. “I’m up here.” And that’s all he says.
52
C O D Y M C F A D Y E N
I look at Callie, eyebrows raised. She shrugs.
“Something’s bugging him. He looked pretty pissed when we got here.” She gazes toward him for a moment, then shakes her head. “I’d leave it alone for now, honey-love.”
I look toward the shadows that Alan is sitting in, wanting to do something. But Callie is right. And I need to be brought up to speed.
“Fill me in,” I say, accepting this. “What do we have?”
I turn to James as I say this. He stares back at me, and I can see the hostility flaring up in his eyes. He radiates disapproval.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says.
I fold my arms and look at him. “Yeah, well, I am.”
“It violates procedure. You’ll be a liability to this investigation.” He shakes his head. “You probably don’t even have psych clearance yet, do you?”
Callie remains silent, and I’m thankful. This is a key moment, something I need to resolve myself.
“AD Jones cleared me.” I frown at him. “Jesus, James. Annie King was a friend of mine.”
He stabs a finger toward me. “All the more reason you shouldn’t be here. You’re too close to the investigation, and
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