Chapter 12
Cruz slams her fist into the dummy”s nose and then sends a jab into the stomach. “I don’t trust her.”
“Who?”
“Amelia.”
I stare over the dummy”s head at her. “You’re the one who recruited her help on behalf of the U.S. government.”
I was against the whole idea. But as much as I hate to admit it, it”s a good opportunity to get closer to Liam and possibly figure out why he’s here. We’ve been watching him for ten days and there’s no pattern to his movements. Sometimes he stays in his hotel all day. Other times he wanders around downtown, chatting with old people and being a decent human being. But he never talks to the same person more than once. Except for Amelia. Either he knows he’s being watched, or he’s as innocent as Amelia believes. I refuse to accept that answer.
We’ve connected him to a few known criminals in the U.S., but none are here in Phoenix. Is he gathering a crew for a job here? Or is he here reporting to his boss? But as far as we can tell, he’s always worked alone. What’s his play?
Cruz grabs the dummy’s head and drives her knee into the rubber crotch.
Ouch.
“I asked her to help because I don’t trust her,” she grunts.
Sometimes she makes no sense. “Why? Two days ago you said she could be in danger.”
“And then she opened her mouth.” Cruz kicks the dummy so hard I lose my grip on it.
I narrow my eyes and step out of the danger zone. “Because she can’t shut up you think she’s in on it?” I give her a bewildered look. I know we are taught to be suspicious of everyone, but Amelia? She’s too beautiful, too smart, too funny—okay I realize these aren’t the best reasons why she couldn’t be a criminal. But still.
“No.” Cruz glowers at the dummy like she won’t stop until it’s on the ground. “Probably not. But I get the vibe that she’s up to something.”
“Like?”
“I don’t know, okay? Guilty until proven innocent.”
“You mean innocent until proven guilty.”
“That’s what I said.” She pulls her head to the side, stretching her neck. “Just be careful, Harris.”
“Me? We both agreed to work with her.”
She looks at me. “Yeah, but you’re the one at risk of falling for her.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Really?” She levels me with a glare. “You’re like a dog panting and breathing hard every time she comes near.”
“I am not.”
A slow grin grows on her face. “Those comms pick up more than you think.”
Well, that insight is…unsettling. Can she hear my thoughts too? I roll out my shoulder and turn away from her. It’s my turn to hit something.
“I know you’re inexperienced around women but—”
“Inexperienced?” My fist glances off the dummy’s face and I glare at her. “I have dated plenty of women. And they all find me very charming, thank you very much.”
Her face scrunches, her gaze dropping down my body like she’s looking for something but comes up short. “Nah, your macho man image does nothing for me.”
“Good. We’re partners. You falling in love with me would be incredibly awkward since you’re not my type.” I kick the dummy, my foot missing Cruz’s face by two inches.
She crosses her arms. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’d be the one letting you down gently, like a tiny puppy.”
Did she call me short? Because I’m one inch shorter than her impressive six-foot-one-inch height?
I glance over her shoulder and then smile. “Hey, boss.”
Cruz snorts. “Good try. I know he’s not there or you would have stopped being such an a—”
“Good afternoon, Special Agent Cruz.”
The horrified look on her face makes all her previous ribbing worth it.
“Special Ag— I mean Supervisor Ford,” she chokes out, her face turning three different shades of red.
“Discussing a case?” he asks, wrapping tape around his wrist.
“Yeah, yup.” Cruz gulps.
“That’s what I thought,” he says.
“Going to go catch a criminal now,” she mumbles before hurrying off the mats.
I’m sick of my desk.
I lean back in my chair and scrub a hand down my face as confused as when I sat down two hours ago. We’ve been looking into Liam”s traceable financial records, but there’s nothing suspicious. Not that I thought there would be. Criminals are good at being, well, criminal.
I know what I signed up for when I joined the FBI. A life of unresolved cases and disappointments, but I’m having a hard time accepting that I can’t magically find the clues to put away every criminal on a whim. My mom would be disappointed. She loved those crime-solving shows. NCIS, CSI, Hawaii Five-O. You name it, my mom watched it. And I watched every show right alongside her. Through the good times, and the really, really bad. She would laugh and pretend to solve fictional cases while ignoring the fact she was dying. The vivid memories of her colorless, sunken face as cancer slowly robbed her of life still plague me. Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I turn on one of her favorite shows to feel close to her again. But those shows are too simple, as if the missing piece of the puzzle falls into place right when the character needs it the most. It’s not that easy in real life.
I refresh my browser and look into the dating app where Amelia claims she met “Chad.” He used the name Chad Smith. His page is as private as possible, and we can’t see other people he’s connected with. We’ve got someone trying to hack his account, but he hasn’t come through yet.
What am I missing?
My phone rings and I answer it without looking at the number.
“Hello.”
“Hey!” I recognize my friend Maddie’s voice immediately. “Lyndi told me you were back, but I didn’t believe her. I guess you were avoiding me.”
Crap. I forgot Lyndi and Maddie were best friends and probably talk to each other every day. I rub my temples. “I wasn’t avoiding anyone, I promise. I’m busy with a case.”
“Relax. I believe you. And I’m not mad.”
I don’t respond and she reads into it. “Going that well, huh?”
She knows I can’t answer anything.
“How are you?” I ask her instead. When in doubt, focus the conversation on the other person.
“You’ll never believe it. I’m teaching high school debate and coaching the volleyball team.”
“What?” I”m completely dumbfounded by her revelation. ”Maddie the lawyer is now Maddie the teacher?”
She laughs. Another odd Maddie occurrence. “It’s quite the story. But honestly, I’ve never been happier. I’ll tell you all about it over dinner next Saturday.”
I should have known that’s where this was going. “Sounds great.” I surrender to the inevitable. At least my friends won’t let me be forgotten. Maybe I should call Ward sometime and set up that drink he mentioned.
“And wear something nice.”
I groan. “Maddie, please don’t tell me you’ve set me up on a blind date.”
“Of course not. She can see just fine.”
Wow, she really is a different Maddie.
“Haha.”
“She will only happen to be in attendance as well as you.”
“Okay, I’ll be there.”
Our call ends a few moments later and I look over to see Cruz putting on…lipstick?
“What are you doing?”
She drops the little tube like it’s on fire. “My sister gave it to me for Christmas. I promised to try it out.”
“It’s almost July.”
“Better late than never.”
I look at her lips, trying to figure out the best way to tell her the purple junk she slathered on her lips looks less appealing and more like she’s suffering from hypothermia.
“Harris, Cruz.” Supervisor Ford steps up next to our adjoined cubicles. Serena jumps out of her seat and rams into her desk. The movement jolts the container of pens she has sitting on the corner and the whole thing clatters to the floor.
Ford picks it up and Cruz rushes around the desk to help.
His hand brushes hers, and she all but faints. I could be a decent guy and look away, but I simply can’t tear my eyes away from the trainwreck happening before me. I feel like I’m watching a middle school love story unfold.
They stand up and Cruz tucks her hair behind her ear, blushing furiously. The woman could intimidate the head of a cartel with her wicked glares and killer fight instincts, but her whole facade comes crumbling down around this man. And he’s utterly oblivious.
Ford tilts his head to the side and studies Cruz. “What happened to your lips?”
Cruz gapes, her hand flying to the lipstick there.
Crash and burn.
“Allergic reaction,” she says and sprints away.
Ford shakes his head and looks at me. “Have you got anything on Hawthorne yet?”
“No sir.” I let out a breath, relieved at not having to explain Cruz’s ‘allergic reaction.”
“Boss wants you to nail him down before the Winthrops find out he’s back in the States. They’re known to stick their heads where they don’t belong and if they do, Hawthorne will walk. We don’t want them interfering. Got it?” He then spins on his heel and stalks back toward his office. “Work harder,” he calls over his shoulder.
I slump into my chair. Sure. Easy, work harder. Everything happens with a little more elbow grease, a little more care and devotion. If that had been true, my mom would have lived forever.