Chapter 51
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Jane enjoyed her Viking cup more than she’d thought she would. It was like a cinnamon roll but had an open middle filled with cream cheese frosting. Between the yeasty dough, the delightful cream cheese, and the gooey cinnamon, she loved everything about it.
Raine devoured two and a donut shaped like a man, glazed with maple frosting. The rest of the guys continued to give them a hard time about their poor diets.
Raine answered by flipping them off while Jane challenged them all to keep up with her on a cross country run just as soon as her head stopped throbbing so much.
That shut them all up, except for Shawn, who told her to bring it on.
She accepted her uncle’s company when she went to the Seattle field office Thursday afternoon. He needed to talk to some people there, and she let him do the driving, content to relax on her way to work.
Work. Her real job.
She hadn’t been by to see the Code Blue crew and she needed to. But she didn’t want to say goodbye yet, and she didn’t know why. She didn’t get overly emotional about departures, as change and moving on was a way of life.
But she’d miss Rapp, Gina, and Diego. And that’s okay.
Jane found it difficult to allow herself feelings sometimes. But she already felt vulnerable due to her concussion. So she cut herself some slack.
Before they entered the lobby, she pulled her uncle aside. “You tell no one we’re family.” Too many higherups had heard about the legendary Chris North. She didn’t want his infamy affecting her relationships at her job.
Bad enough Matthew Stone knew about it. Jon Haversham too. But she didn’t think they’d say anything. It wasn’t like Jane worked in covert operations or undercover.
“I swear. Nag, nag, nag.” He grinned, his eyes crinkling. “Go be a boss and text me when you’re done.” He slid away like a shadow. Quiet and unassuming.
She took the stairs, needing to get back into fighting shape a little at a time. She wore jeans and a plain navy tee since nothing else would fit over her bulky cast. She’d been secretly amused, and even touched, to see everyone’s comments. Some more than others.
Gina’s Air Force #1 still made her chuckle.
When she entered the office, her squad looked delighted to see her. Everyone crowded her and laughed at her pink cast, especially when she told them her cousin had a sick sense of humor. Catching up felt good, like coming home. And she appreciated how much she’d missed this.
Matthew Scott stepped out of his office and gifted Jane with a genuine smile that made him look almost human, less model-FBI man.
“Jane. Welcome back.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Everyone already knows, but you’re officially back to work, completely reinstated, just as soon as you’re medically sound. OPR cleared you of everything.”
The room erupted in cheers.
“Please, come into my office.”
She promised the gang she wouldn’t leave right away after her meeting with the boss and sat across from him at his desk.
“First, I’m sincerely sorry for how this all happened. Your suspension, Dan Simmons, and Rob and Jenn.” He rubbed his eyes, and she was taken back to the image of him in his house, rubbing his face in exhaustion, disheartened at the thought of any of his people being suspect.
“I understand.”
“Do you? When Jon and I talked about it, our actions made sense. We really did have an email with those odd messages from Dan Simmons implicating you. We’ve since learned Rob Williams planted it. You were getting too close to his business with the Mazzucas.”
She’d wondered about that. “What else has Williams shared? Did he kill Dan?”
“Yes. Shot him at the warehouse the night Dan went missing. He never liked Dan to begin with, and when he learned about Dan’s undercover role in undermining the Mazzucas, he alerted the organization.
They disappeared when Rob took over the surveillance unit, yet he made it so we couldn’t be sure what happened.
Arranged it to seem like we’d had a technical issue with files missing and a lack of reporting. It’s still a huge mess.”
“You look tired.” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but she felt a little bad for him.
He gave a surprised laugh. “You know, I think I’ve missed you, Jane. You’re always honest. Sometimes to a fault.”
She flushed.
He smiled kindly. “You look much better. Does your arm still hurt?”
“Not so much. I should be fully healed in another month and a half. It was a slight radial fracture. My head is the problem, but I should be fine soon. I’d like to come back next week and start catching up on my caseload.”
“A good idea. As long as medical okays it.”
She nodded. “What happens to Williams now?” He’d never, ever, be “Rob” to her.
“He’s in custody. I don’t think he’ll tell us much we don’t already know. His loyalty to the Mazzucas remains firm. I think we’ll have a tough time turning him.”
She agreed.
“On a good note, Jenn Sullivan is doing better. It’ll be a while before she’s back, but she sounds as eager as you do to return to work.”
“She’s a great agent. She was pretty strong against Williams.”
Scott nodded. “I’ve read the report you gave. Would you mind going through it again with me?”
She explained all that had happened, including her cousin’s part in being there as back up. Fortunately, Junior really had been killed by his companion. Jane had no need to hide any bodies or lie about Raine’s involvement.
“This all wraps up then.” Scott folded his hands atop his desk. Graceful yet masculine. She wasn’t sure if she’d liked him better when he was a total tool or now. “I appreciate your candor. I’m glad to have you back.”
“Thanks. I’m glad to be back.” She paused.
“Yes?”
She stared into his blue eyes, reminded of the hassle he’d been before she’d left. “If you want the office to function like a team, stop making us hate you.”
He blinked. “Come again?”
“I don’t mean we hate you. But we hate all the micromanaging.
You either trust us or you don’t. The mole is gone now.
Williams is toast. But the rest of us take pride in our jobs and want to protect our citizens and our country.
Trust us to do that without a bazillion meetings every day. It gets in the way of our work.”
Perhaps Jane shouldn’t have said all that. But it had needed to be said.
He nodded, solemn but also possibly amused. “Again, I appreciate your honesty.”
“Yeah, well.” She stood and held out her good hand. “No hard feelings.”
He stood to shake her hand, the contact affirming. His smile faded. “I won’t take all your hard work for granted, Agent Cannon.”
The scent of his cologne wrapped around her fuzzy head. She gently tugged her hand back. “I guess I’ll head out. But I’ll be back next week. Tuesday morning okay?” She had some medical appointments Monday.
“Perfect.”
She was at the door when he added, “One more thing.”
“Sir?” Jane turned around to see him holding a marker.
“Don’t I get to sign the cast?”