“I see.” He huffs softly and stares around the office again. “So, what’s your plan?”
Tapping my fingers on my desk, I sit forward; keeping my voice low, knowing there’s a huge possibility Dresden or someone else is standing outside my office door. “Agent Krezner is helping me. The team will be kept occupied while I leave for the mission. I’ll handle Jax and come back. If the Intel is correct, this is the kill Interpol needs for the Taurus to fall.”
He nods his head in agreement. “Yes. I believe it is.” He stands and holds his hand out toward me. “I’ll keep you in my thoughts, Agent. You’ve never done anything without knowing what you were getting into, so this time, I’ll trust your judgment.”
Shaking his hand and moving around the desk, I stop next to him. “Thank you, sir.”
We walk toward the door and Bates stops with his hand on the knob. “Once the Taurus is broken, what do you want to do after that, Lily?”
“I want to retire, sir. I’ve been with Interpol for 11 years, and I’ve suffered enough because of this job. I’d like a chance at a normal life.”
“I think that can be arranged. When you come back, if all goes well, we’ll get the paperwork started. Everything you’ve done for Interpol, there’s no reason you can’t retire with full benefits and pension.”
My mouth drops open slightly. I wasn’t expecting that. “Thank you, sir. That’s generous of you.”
He opens the door and I’m not blind to the stares as we walk to the front door. We say our goodbyes and I take my seat back at the kitchen island, picking up my file again. I can feel the stares at my back, but I’m ignoring them entirely.
So, what if the head of our division came to talk to me. That’s not entirely unheard of.
Is it?
†††
~Dresden~
If that bitch really thinks I’m not going to say anything about Bates showing up here, she’s got another thing coming. She went the whole day and didn’t mutter so much as a word about it. Not through lunch or dinner— nothing.
“Baby, will you stop pacing. You’re getting angry for nothing,” Shannon says as she rubs her ever-growing baby bump.
She’s never been so beautiful to me.
“I’m not angry for nothing. You realize Bates is the top. He’s Hyde’s boss. There’s no reason he should be showing up here unless something is going on. I tried to tell Blake she was up to something. Did that fucker listen to me though? No.”
“Hey,” she snaps. “That fucker is my brother, so watch it. And Blake knows she’s up to something. He also knows pushing her won’t do shit. You know that too. So, don’t get pissed at him for easing up and trying to just enjoy whatever time he has with her before she goes and does whatever dumbass thing she’s going to do this time.”
“Yeah, well, the last dumbass thing her and Jax did got her lost for three months.”
“Yeah, and it also brought me home.”
I stop in my tracks and stare at Shannon, the realization of my words hitting me like a million tons of cement. She’s right. Jax almost got Lily killed, but in that, Lily brought Shannon home after her being captive for five years.
I walk over and lean down to kiss her. “I’m sorry, mein schatz. I know, but she’s not saving anything this time. She’s just being stupid.”
Shannon reaches up and runs her fingers through my beard. “I know. But you need to try talking to her instead of just flipping out like you always do. You get more bees with honey than vinegar, Dres.”
I laugh as I stand straight again. “Fine. I’ll go and try to talk to her. Not that communication of the normal variety has ever been our strong point.”
Turning to head out of the bedroom, Shannon laughs for a moment before I close the door behind me, muffling the sound. Talk to Lily, huh? Well, this should be interesting.
It’s late and the house is quiet as I move through the living room. Intending to head for Lily and Blake’s bedroom, voices from Sammi’s office caught my attention. I sneak over to the doorway and hide in the shadows just next to the frame. The door is cracked and soft light from Sammi’s table lamp filters through the crack.
“Tell me about your daughter, Sammi?” Lily says followed by the rustling of paper.
I lean closer to the door, not wanting to miss Sammi’s reply, in case she’s too soft-spoken. Sammi’s kid is the elephant in the room we haven’t spoken about since we found out about her betrayal.
“Sammi?” Lily’s voice is softer. It’s unexpected given the circumstances.
The tapping of shoes echoes off the floor, followed by the whine of a leather cushion. “Jennifer. Her name is Jennifer. She was fourteen when she disappeared.”