34. Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter thirty-four
N ick walked into the new FBI offices upstairs and across from the Blackrock Falls PD. Of course, there was no sign announcing it as the FBI offices. They had four thousand square feet of space. One large conference room, two small ones, two interrogation rooms, four cubicles, and six offices. There were two bathrooms, one for men, one for women, with multiple stalls in each. The galley-style kitchen boasted a large double-door fridge/freezer combo, two microwaves, a toaster oven, and two coffee pots, plus an electric kettle. He’d seen the specs and layout his boss sent him last week. Whoever set up the offices did a good job of getting them the equipment and furniture they needed, along with the necessities for working long hours.
He wondered how long this had been in the works.
“What are you doing here?” Agent Monroe asked, coming out of his office holding a folder and a mug.
“I left Aria with extra protection and thought I’d come in and check out the space. See what I need for my office before I’m back on duty.” Nick hid his black mood behind professionalism in front of his subordinate.
Monroe held up his mug. “Can I get you a cup?” Monroe was new to being under Nick’s command, but they’d met on multiple occasions in the past. This transition should be a smooth one.
“No thanks.” Nick held up the note he’d found on his window. He’d put it in a plastic bag. “Mind putting this into evidence on the Javier Lopez case? That fucker left it at my house this morning.” Nick seethed. “He’s also been watching me.”
Monroe’s eyes went wide. “No shit. Fuck. Did you see him there?”
“No. I called him on the burner phone he left outside the glass door.” Nick pulled it out of his pocket. It hadn’t rung again since he called Lopez and they had their little pissing match. It would come in handy when he was ready to face off with Lopez.
Agent Monroe eyed the phone. “Damn. What did he want?”
“To let me know he’s coming for my brother and girlfriend. Retribution for his sister.”
“So he’s here. In town. Maybe close by.” Agent Monroe turned thoughtful. “He’s keeping tabs on you, your bother, and your girlfriend. She lives at the bar, right?”
“Not anymore. She moved in with me yesterday. There’s no way I can get her to stay away from the bar, so she’ll spend most of her time there.”
He nodded. “We’ve got agents watching her.”
Nick wanted to believe that would keep her safe. He knew better. All Lopez needed was a moment’s distraction to take her. It soured his gut and made his blood run cold. “Lopez is gunning for her.”
“Does she know that?”
“She knows he’s a threat to me and everyone close to me. She was still asleep when I left. But I texted her about the note. She’ll see it when she wakes. And the agents guarding the house.” As much as he’d like to keep her locked up at the house, he knew that wasn’t any safer than her being at the bar, surrounded by agents and patrons, along with everyone she worked with who knew to watch out for Javier Lopez. “Where’s Agent Bateman?”
“Running down a lead on a banking case. Something about wire transfers, Medicare, and defrauding the government.”
“Great. More corruption in the system meant to help those in need.” Nick rolled his eyes. “And Mason?”
“He got a call about that doctor in your case. Pike, I think he said. Dude’s attorney wanted to meet to discuss what his client has to offer. Apparently, Lopez has the guy take care of lots of his victims. Doc is ready to give specifics for immunity.”
“Why didn’t Mason fill me in on that? I would have gone to the meeting.”
Agent Monroe gave him a pointed look. “Because you’re on medical leave and haven’t been cleared by IA.”
He hated being sidelined. “Yeah, well, you all should continue to keep me informed, so I can hit the ground running when I’m cleared to return to work.”
“Don’t you have the final interview about the shooting today?”
Another pain in his ass. “Yes. I’ll do it from home.” That way he didn’t have to relive it in front of everyone in the office. While the shooting was righteous, it still left a stain on him. One he’d never lose.
Julia had done some terrible things, but that didn’t mean she deserved to die. She’d given him no choice. Though he’d rather have locked her in a cell the rest of her life. Punishment enough. Time to reflect on her bad deeds and how she made others suffer. Time to think about how life went on for others while hers shrank to a cell and just surviving, instead of really living.
Agent Monroe sipped his coffee. “How’s the new place? You like it here?”
“Perfect, because she’s here.”
Agent Monroe smirked, a twinkle in his eyes. “So it’s like that.”
“It’s more than that. I’m going to marry her.”
“Does she know that?”
He nodded, knowing exactly what kind of ring he wanted to get her. “She knows, I just haven’t popped the question yet.” Soon. He didn’t want to wait much longer, but he needed to get Lopez locked up so they could move on with their lives without looking over their shoulders.
“What are you waiting for?”
“Nothing now, except Lopez’s arrest. We’re finally in the same place, with the same roof over our heads.”
“Well, then, congrats, even if it is premature.” Agent Monroe held up the letter. “I’ll put this into evidence and add a copy to the file. Anything else?”
“Where’s my office?”
“Mason said to give you the one with the best view because you spend too much time indoors. So it’s the first one on the right. Overlooks a park and a bunch of trees. You can see part of the street, too. Shops and restaurants around here are good. There’s a place a block up that has really good coffee, bagels, baked goods, and donuts. None of the places are open past ten, so if you’re working late, you’re shit out of luck. We’ve been taking turns stocking the fridge and cupboards with some snacks and staples.”
Nick liked that the guys were working well together and turning this small office into a place where they could collaborate on cases, hang out, and decompress. This job took a lot out of you. It was good to have people around who knew what you were going through. And he was glad Mason was getting to know the other two agents. He was too used to being undercover and on his own for the most part.
This would be a good change for him.
As for Nick, he only had three guys right now to oversee, plus their cases. That was a cakewalk compared to the twelve agents he supervised back in Montana.
They’d be backing up the Blackrock Falls PD on any cases that overlapped their jurisdiction and working wider in the state, but this would be home base. Here. With Aria. With their extended family.
He and Aria would find a routine that worked for them.
Nick walked into the office Monroe pointed him to and immediately hated the way the desk had been positioned facing the door, his back to the windows. That wouldn’t do.
So he rearranged the credenza on the right-side wall, shifted the desk in front of it, then put the two chairs in front of his desk. It left quite a bit of space on the other side of the room, but at least now he had the wall of windows on his right, the office to his left, and plenty of room to add a table or cabinet, something where they could spread out documents or maps or whatever to go over when needed. Maybe a magnetic whiteboard where they could put up pictures and notes about a case on the wall.
Yeah, this was going to work out well.
He sat behind the desk, checking out his new chair. Comfortable. That was good, because he’d be here a lot.
He picked up the phone and called Aria at home.
“Hey there. You left before I got up. Should I be worried?”
“Why?”
“Because the guy who doesn’t have time to date, let alone ever live with someone, left me sleeping alone when he didn’t have to go to work. So either there was an emergency, or you’re already regretting asking me to move in.”
Fuck me. I suck at this.
“No. That’s not it at all. In fact, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. I wanted to wake you up this morning. I almost did. In the good kind of way. But you looked so peaceful sleeping there. In our bed.”
“Tell me the truth. Were you watching me sleep?” Her teasing tone let him know she’d let go of her upset.
“Maybe. But not in a creepy way. More like in a, I can’t believe she’s here and mine kind of way.”
“Okay. But if you’re having second thoughts…”
“I’m not. Put that out of your mind.” In fact, he’d like to fast-track a few things. “With our schedules kind of opposite, we’ll have to get used to missing each other sometimes so the other can sleep.”
“True. I just didn’t expect you to be gone this morning after you were so excited to have me in your bed.”
“ Our bed. Our house. Our life together.”
“I like the sound of all that.” It wasn’t hard at all to hear the smile in her voice.
“Good. Me, too. And, hey, I’m at the new office. Save this number, so you can call me here, too.”
“Okay. So how is it? Do you like it?”
“It’s nice. I was just thinking this is going to be a good change of pace. Less people to manage, more time to be with you.” It would be an adjustment. And he’d need to let go of some of his control over everything he was leaving behind at his old job. But he’d do it. He was ready for it. Plus he’d have more time to settle in with Aria and find a new routine, which he hoped included more family time with his brother and the Wilde family, too. He didn’t want to keep missing out on events and celebrations.
“Hey, I just saw your text about the threat from Javier Lopez. Do you want to tell me more about it?”
He hated the anger and worry in her voice. “You don’t need to know the details.” He didn’t want to scare her more by telling her Javier had been at the house. Or that there were double the agents there protecting her. “Just be careful. Keep the agent assigned to you close.” There would be others she didn’t see.
“Two are walking the perimeter of the house as we speak.”
The other two were probably doing a wider sweep. “Good. How’d you sleep?” Having her in bed with him made his night.
“Better than I have in ages.”
That’s what he liked to hear. “Then you’ll be well rested for what I have in store for you later.”
“I can’t wait. Um…”
He didn’t like her hesitant tone. “What is it?” He wanted her to know she could tell him anything.
“If I send you a pic of the grocery list, could you do the shopping while you’re in town and save me a trip? I need a few things.”
He grinned and got a light feeling in his stomach. “Sure. I’d love to do the grocery shopping for us.”
“You would?” She sounded surprised and dubious.
“This is the first time you’ve asked me to do something like I’m your boyfriend. Like we live together. It just makes this all finally seem real.”
She chuckled. “My stuff all over the bathroom counter wasn’t real enough for you?”
“I like seeing your stuff mixed with my stuff.”
“I’m glad, because I worried that you’d never lived with a woman so it might be off-putting to have me invade your space.”
“That’s just it, sweetheart. It’s our space. We moved into a new place so we could make it ours.”
“Does that mean I can start decorating? Because the walls are bare and so are most of the rooms. And while I love the hardwood floors, some big rugs would add color, texture, and warmth to the spaces.”
“Let’s plan to do it together over the next couple of weeks I’m off.”
“Sounds good.”
His phone dinged with the incoming text Aria sent of the grocery list followed by a heart emoji.
“I’m headed out now. Be home before you leave for work, so I can kiss you goodbye and you’ll remember it. Unlike when you were asleep and I kissed you before coming here.”
“Lucky me.”
“No. I’m the lucky one to have someone like you.”
“Let’s call and check on Stacy when you get home so she can see us together, here.”
“Great idea. She’ll love that.” It was all coming together. Finally.