Chapter 40
I keep one eye on the satellite phone laying on the console of the truck. I can’t believe I haven’t gotten a call back from PCI after leaving two voicemails. One on the emergency line and one for my handler… the CEO.
I don’t have much time.
Lucas and Evan are talking to the bus driver and the mechanic. But that will only go on for so long. I need to get that call before he gets back in the truck.
I tear off another fingernail. My head is throbbing. And I’ve run out of names to call myself. Given myself a headache, and called myself every name in the book.
Yes, I’m the idiot.
I slept with Lucas. I did it. I’m the one who put all my hard work in the trash can.
Yep. Me. Myself. And I.
God. I’m so pissed at myself I don’t even know what to do. I was hoping that I’d have some space in Carollia to figure out an angle to fix this. But then the whole MI6-style extraction thing happened…
There goes another nail. I’m running out of fingers.
Lucas is furious. He has every right to be. It wasn’t exactly my fault, but the poor man has been dragged into the middle of so much of my crap, I can’t even keep up now.
Beep! Beep! I jolt. My body goes electric.
The phone!Oh my god!
With my heart in my throat and my hands turning to ice, I grab the thing off of the console.
“Hello.”
There’s a horrid pause. Then a voice that makes my skin shrink comes over the airwaves. “Calypso. We received your distress call.”
The air won’t move in my lungs.
Why does the CEO of PCI have such a sickening effect on me? It’s not like he can kill me through the phone…
I think.
But he is an enigma. A black-ops legend, they say. The kind of man you don’t want to piss off.
Which is why I’m about to keel over right now.
It feels like I’m standing on a bed of electric nails.
My palm is drenched when I wipe it on my thigh. “Yes, sir. I have a problem.”
“You better tell me it’s already resolved.”
Uh.
Every bit of water in my body must be pouring out of my palms because my throat is as dry as sawdust.
“I’m working on that…”
Except Ralph isn’t returning my calls either. But I don’t reveal that little fact.
“Sir.” I swallow hard. “I got fired from the job with FamFind.”
I brace when Nighthawk inhales swiftly.
“You what?” It’s half sputtered, half yelled.
“They let me go.”
My eardrum is pierced by his next outburst. “What the fuck, Calypso? You better be feeding me a line of bullshit!”
“I’m doing everything I can…”
He’s yelling a string of expletives that I didn’t even know existed. Something slams down. Probably his fist onto a desk, from the way it sounds. “Do you have any idea how much money I’m being paid to get to the bottom of the suspected financial crimes that are happening in that company?”
“No, sir.” I slump back into the seat of the Agile Security truck.
“Fucking hell!”
My entire body flinches.
The line crackles with his anger.
I can just imagine his head glowing red, even though I’ve never met the man, it’s not hard to picture.
“What did you do?”
Gulp. “I’m not exactly sure. I haven’t been told.”
This is the complete truth. No one has told me.
He seethes through the phone. “How did you fuck this up? They had to have a reason.”
My brain throbs. This is awful. If I was really fired because of Lucas, I’m never going to forgive myself. “I’ll find out.”
“You’ve got one hour.”
I blink. “One hour, sir? What if they don’t call me back?”
“You’ve got one hour. That’s sixty minutes. If you really are fired, get your ass on a plane back to D.C. for a debrief.”
I have no idea what to say. And it doesn’t matter anyway because he hangs up.
I drop the phone on my lap with my heart lurching. This is it. The last nail in the coffin of everything I’ve worked for.
It’s a fine time for my father’s words to bubble up and join the party of self-recrimination.
You’re nothing but a useless whore. Get used to being dirt because you’re no better than your mama.
White-hot anger surges inside my gut, making my face blaze with heat.
I can’t give up. I bolt upright and dial Ralph’s number again.
Come on, Ralph, answer!
Every ring is agonizing. I count to six. Why isn’t his voicemail…
“Who the hell is this?”
I grab the center console. “Ralph, it’s Camile.”
“You! Why are you calling me from this number?”
“It’s a long story. Ralph, I have to talk to you. I can’t lose this job.”
He has no idea why. But it doesn’t matter. I can’t just walk away.
“You already did. Should have thought about that before you dropped your panties for some POS, dick-swinger.”
God. Belle was right.
And did he say dick-swinger?
Maybe Ralph really was cock-blocked. “It’s not what you think.”
“Oh really. Care to elaborate about what you and soldier boy were up to that had you moaning like a porn star?”
Ick.
I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with my boss, a supposed professional. “Ralph. My personal life is not your business.”
“Camile,” he bellows. “You’re on a mission. When you’re on my dime, you have NO personal life! Now I’ve got to go. And one more thing. Don’t ever call me again.”
Oh no!
“Ralph, please?—”
He cuts me off, yelling in my ear, “Good fucking bye.”
He’s gone. I close my eyes and breathe through the painful twisting inside my stomach.
Think, Camy. You’ve got to get your shit together and figure a way out of this.
I rub my forehead and slide from the truck.
When I look toward the bus, Lucas is striding my way. He’s still just as angry. And I’m more confused than ever.