Twisted and Tied (Marshals 4)

“Who was that?” I asked as I got into the passenger-side seat.

“Ian. He’s got to meet with the Feds about some operation for Monday that Adair put him in charge of that Kage just signed off on.”

“Adair put him in charge?”

Eli shrugged as he started the SUV. “Apparently watching Ian all day made him think he could handle it.”

“How big an operation?”

“Six-agency big.”

“Gang task force?”

“It sounds like a Homeland thing. They’re looking for guns and explosives. ATF is in there as well.”

“And Ian’s spearheading the whole thing?” That was a lot to take the lead on for a guy brand-new in his position.

“Sounds like it.”

Impressive after one day, but it made sense since it was Ian, after all. People looked at him and simply knew he could handle whatever was put on his plate.

“Maybe that’s what Kage was doing, huh?”

“What do you mean?” I asked as he drove us out of the parking lot and out onto the street.

“Maybe Kage wants Ian to discover that diplomacy can be just as life-and-death as breaching a building with an automatic rifle in your hand.”

I turned to look at him.

“What?”

“And me?”

“And you what?”

“What does Kage want me to learn?”

He shook his head. “It’s not about you learning anything. It’s about you finally using your skills where they’ll do the most good.”

“Explain.”

“It’s the kids, Miro,” he said softly, kindly, smiling at me. “You’re so good with them, and you care so much.”

“What’re you—”

“We all tease you about Cabot and Drake and that new kid, uhm….”

“Josue.”

“Yeah, him. We all tease you, but that’s who you are. You care. You go outta your way to make sure that kids are safe, and even their pets.”

“I—”

“Remember that family that got moved last year, but their cat was at the vet, and they couldn’t wait?”

The Parkinsons. Of course I remembered.

“So once the cat was cleared to travel by the vet, you flew the cat out to Palm Springs and delivered it to their door because it wasn’t fair that they had to leave a member of their family.”

“Yeah. So?”

“It was a cat, Miro.”

I glared at him. “Clearly you’ve never had a pet.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “You’re a fuckin’ bleeding heart, and how no one checked that on your way to becoming a marshal, I have no idea, but I seriously can’t think of anyone better than you to take care of all the kids in Custodial.”

“So you think Kage—”

“Picked the best guy for the job,” he assured me with a smack on the arm. “Yeah, I do.”

“Thanks, Eli,” I said, choking up a bit because so far it had been a hell of a day.

“You’re gonna do great.”

I sighed. “I wish Ian felt the same. I think he’s worried I’m gonna get hurt.”

“Oh well, yeah, you’re gonna get hurt,” Eli said, shooting me a look like of course. “You’re in the most heartbreaking job we got at the marshals service. There’s no way you’re not getting your heart diced up regularly from now on, but—that’s only one side of it, right? You can’t just dwell on the bad part. Who does that?”

Ian, apparently. “Right,” I sighed, really loving him at that moment. “You have to think about the whole picture, and if you do that, I’m gonna be all right.”

“Without a doubt,” he agreed. “I mean, have you ever known Kage to be wrong?”

And I thought about that for the first time that day, just about him, about my boss and how his mind worked.

“Sometimes instead of being all twisted up about something, you just gotta have a little faith.”

“Tell Ian, will ya?”

“I’ll put it on my list.”

IT WAS after nine by the time we made it back to the Greystone in Lincoln Park, and everyone was home, of course, so we ended up having to park a block away. We had assigned parking, but Ian had parked the truck in our spot earlier.

“I am suddenly dead-ass tired,” I said.

“It’s been a weird day,” Eli agreed.

“Did your cousin go home?”

“You just thought about him now?”

“Yeah,” I told him, not sorry even a bit.

“Yes, he went home. I took him before work. That’s why I was a few minutes late.”

I smiled.

“What?”

“Everybody left me and Kelson alone. What do you think Kage did to those guys for that?”

“Something horribly painful,” he said, cackling.

“Asset forfeiture,” I said and then I grinned as I saw a werewolf headed down the street toward me. “Oh no, I’m gonna die.”

Chickie gave me a sort of yodeling howl and was on me in seconds. He was so big, part malamute, maybe some husky thrown in there, Caucasian ovcharka for sure, and probably, though no one could say conclusively, some wolf. He was huge. On his back legs, his front paws went easily on my shoulders, and I was five eleven. People saw him coming and ran, except when Sajani held his leash while they walked around together. Then there was only “oohing” and “ahhhing” and “ohmygod, they’re freakin’ adorable together” from anyone who saw them. Babies and dogs weren’t a thing on the internet for nothing.