“On the other hand, you have to realize that this is not a glory job.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that this is not the job for an adrenaline junkie. This is a small office in the corner of the monolith, and when you’re outside with your badge, no one really looks at it. They’re much more interested in the lanyard around your neck. You still carry a gun, but in all my years on the job, I only drew mine twice.”
“That’s good. I’d prefer never to have to pull my weapon,” I answered woodenly, saying what I thought I should at the moment instead of screaming.
She spoke like I was done in the field doing what I knew best and backing up Ian. It sounded so normal coming from her, like this was of course my new path and not at all the life-and-death decision it actually was. I couldn’t imagine not being a member of Sam Kage’s team, not being Ian’s backup, not doing what I had been for the past five years. The idea of something new, of change, was terrifying, but instead of arguing, I shoved down the fear because, at the very same time, there were aspects of the job I was doing now that I was better at and a huge piece of what she was talking about. Maybe the nurturing side of me, the part that wanted to help and not punish, was something Sam Kage could actually see.
“Jones?”
“I’m listening,” I advised her because I was just processing at the same time.
She nodded. “Once you take this job, Jones, your power isn’t about heroic feats anymore. There won’t be any news articles or photos ops, instead simply quiet moments where kids thank you before they go off to college.”
I crossed my arms as I looked at her. “There’s nobility in that.”
She scrutinized me. “But you don’t care about that.”
She said it like she knew already, and I shrugged.
“You’re not a glory hound, are you, Jones?”
“No, ma’am,” I replied, now taking the time to study her face, liking her dimples, her kind smile, her deep brown eyes, dark sepia skin with the gold undertones, and the intricate braids swept up carelessly into a bun that looked heavier than her hair fork could actually hold in place.
“I’ve read your file.”
“Mine?” I was surprised.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She stared at me until I got it. “He had you check me out.”
“He did.”
“But that makes no sense.”
“Like I told you, he’s always prepared.”
“But he just told Cullen he had no idea who—oh,” I said, jolting with the realization of what I knew, for certain, about my boss, that being caught off guard was not an option for him. “If Mills hadn’t filled the position, he wanted to be ready.”
“Yes.”
“So I was on the back burner this whole time?”
She nodded.
“That’s kinda scary, right?”
“It’s something, yes.”
I took a breath. “Well, give it to me. What did you tell him?”
“I said that you seem to have a natural drive to create a family.”
“Explain it to the whole class, willya?”
She raised her thick eyebrows. “Cabot Jenner and Drake Ford?” I opened my mouth to correct her because those weren’t their last names anymore. “Yes, yes,” she hushed me. “I know, you put them into protective custody and changed their lives.”
“I guided them a bit.”
“And Josue Hess?”
“He’s only been with me for a little while.”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “With you. I heard that.”
“I just want to make sure that you’re not mixing up regular—”
“Where are Wen and Han Li now?”
“They’re at the hospital in protective custody, waiting for their… stepaunt, I guess is what you’d call her, to collect them.”
“Why weren’t they placed with this aunt to begin with?”
“They’re not really related to her.”
“Explain.”
“I got permission to contact their mother’s stepsister, who lives in San Antonio. She’s going to graduate school there, and she’s agreed to take the girls.”
“And how are you keeping them safe?”
“Well, the sister, Rowan is her name, she’s related to Mrs. Li through her father’s second marriage. Rowan was his second wife’s kid when Mr. Wu, Mrs. Li’s dad, married her.”
“So Mr. Wu, Mrs. Li’s dad, was Rowan’s stepfather.”
“Yes.”
She smiled kindly, tipping her head for me to go on.
“So Mrs. Li and this Rowan are stepsisters and—”
“I got that, but how does that keep the girls safe? I mean, if you found out, don’t you think other people will be able to?”
“It’s a stretch. I only know because the girls told me. Mrs. Li and Rowan were friendly, but they had a big gap in their ages. They only met after Mrs. Li’s father, Gene, passed away.”
She nodded. “I like the sound of this, of them having family, but you still haven’t convinced me of the long-term viability of your plan.”
“They’ll have exactly what they would have had if their parents had lived. They live on their own with federal marshals checking in on them, plus I put them on SRT status until they’re both eighteen and—”