CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I should be regretful. I should feel like we did something wrong. I should say it was a mistake and that we’d never do it again.
What I shouldn’t feel was the pull she still had on me, and that something good was starting. It wasn’t supposed to feel right. Yet, I couldn’t call it any other way.
I was still mad at her for being so reckless. I couldn’t help admiring her bravery, though.
After our…surprising interaction, we got up in silence, to ok a quick shower—separately—and headed to the DEA for Tequila ’s interrogation. The drive was silent but comfortable, as if we had reached an understanding. I wasn’t averse to reaching an understanding with her again.
Once we arrived, we walked into the building through the back and strode to the private interrogation room. The one we knew Tequila was in since it was one of the only ones without a recording camera inside. I followed through the corridors as if we’d done that together many times before.
We reached the common area before the private rooms, and Edward was already waiting for us. Actually, for Mia.
He beamed at her. “Of course, you would jump through the window right into a shooting.” He fake-punched her stomach before pulling her against his side.
She grinned back. “Is there any better way to do so?”
It seemed so long before that she’d jumped right into hell to save my ass. Just a few hours earlier I almost died with my team. We came very close to succumbing, and we would have if it weren’t for Mia, Danny, and Ben.
What did I do to thank her? I threatened to shoot her, got mad at her unorthodox way of dealing with things, and then slept with her. One would normally think their mother would be disappointed. My first thought went to my grandpa. He’d be very vocally displeased at my behavior. I couldn’t imagine him being privy to what had happened, but I still felt ashamed of what he’d think of me.
The problem was I was navigating unknown waters. I had no idea what to make of Mia. But I was starting to realize that maybe having her around wasn’t the worst thing.
Edna sprinted closer, her little legs working fast across the big room. “Good to see you’re both alive. I’d hate to be forced to come up with two new nerds to deal with this mess. By the way,” she glanced back, then leaned closer to whisper, “ Robby isn’t very pleased with the little show you two performed.”
Edward scoffed. “When is he ever pleased? That man needs to retire soon.” He tightened his arm around Mia’s shoulders. “I heard you accomplished a lot today.”
Before I could say anything, Mia beat me to it. “It was a team effort.”
He nodded in respect. “You’re still avoiding coffee? After the day you had, how about one of my famous cups of hot chocolate? For old-time sake?”
Mia gazed at me. “Is that okay with you? I won’t be long; we can start the interrogation soon.”
“Sure, go ahead. I’ll look for Aaron and the others.”
Still hugging her shoulders, Edward guided them toward his room as they chatted.
I watched her go until I noticed Edna’s shrewd eyes were aimed at me. “Is everything okay, Cross? ”
“Yes, madam.”
“You and Scott had a close call today.” I didn’t know what she expected me to say, so I stayed quiet. “After all you’ve been through, I figured you’d be exhausted. Yet, you seemed somewhat…relaxed. Almost reinvigorated. I wonder why.”
She turned on her tiny heels to the next room, and I tried to control my guilty expression before going after Aaron, Danny, and Ben.
They were already in one of the rooms, looking over some files and watching Tequila through the one-way mirror.
I waved at Danny and Ben. “I didn’t have the time to thank you before. I still don’t understand how you managed to get there right on time, but I appreciate you doing so.”
Danny slapped my shoulder. “That’s what friends are for.”
Ben nodded in agreement. “And thank Mia for it. She was the one who found out about the ambush and set fire to the rain so we could get more men.”
On instinct, I looked outside, waiting for her to be close again.
Not ready to analyze why I wanted her around, I looked at Aaron. His left arm was in a sling, and he looked exhausted, albeit mad. Other than that, he seemed fine.
I slapped his good shoulder. “Glad to see you’re alive. ”
“You just want someone to share the buttload of work we have left.”
“I have enough reports to write, I’m not in the mood to deal with yours too.”
He chuckled, then scowled. “Today was…close.”
Ben and Danny were lost in their conversation.
I took a deep breath and looked around, making sure it was just us. “That wasn’t a mission gone wrong. It was a straight-up ambush. Someone tattled on us.”
Aaron nodded slightly. “That was another reason why I wanted Mia’s company involved. We need people we can trust by our side, and we don’t have many of those. Thank God they arrived in time.”
I leaned closer and said quietly, “Someone instructed a sniper to shoot at her and the victim.”
Aaron glanced behind us and discreetly tipped his chin. “I heard through our radio. I knew we were dealing with someone dirty inside, but that was a new low. Bold and despicable.”
“We need to find out who the sniper is. He almost killed her. We can’t let him get away with it.”
Aaron pursed his lips. “He won’t.”
“How do you know?”
He gazed around the room before staring ahead and admitting, so quietly that I almost couldn’t hear him, “He turned up dead.”
I controlled my voice as best as I could, but there was no keeping the surprise out of my face. “ What ?”
“He’s been dealt with. But this isn’t the place to discuss this.”
I frowned but let it go.
Trying to keep my mind off the new development, I looked at Tequila . Someone had put a bandage over his ear. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but it was deeply satisfying to watch him hurt. “I still can’t believe she tried to shoot him in the head. Imagine the trouble we’d be in if she’d done it.”
One side of Aaron’s lips tipped up as he side-eyed me. “Do you really think she missed the shot? If she wanted him dead, he wouldn’t be pissing his pants in the other room. Believe me. I only met one other person who could shoot as precisely as her. Her brother. And he taught her.”
One more thing on the ‘ Mia impressed me’ column. “What she and the guys did today was… skillful, to say the least. But she seems to deliberately put herself in danger. Is she always this reckless?”
We stood in silence as he seemed to consider my question. “When she first started working under me at the DEA, I was sure she’d be the death of me. And of her. And of our team. I even planned to get rid of her. For a rule follower like me—like you—it was my personal nightmare. But time and time again, she brought the biggest results with the least losses. I started to realize she wasn’t impulsive or irresponsible. She was sharp. Fast. With the kind of integrity and dedication I wouldn’t find anywhere else. And as loyal as one can be.” He sipped the cup he was holding. “Yes, she turned my hair gray. But then she also kept me from dying, so I can’t complain. Much.”
I slipped my hands into my pockets. “I think I’m starting to understand what you mean. I just can’t help thinking that maybe she’s just too…fearless. I mean, I still don’t know what happened, but isn’t that why her brother died?”
Right at that moment, Mia walked into the room with two cups. The pain in her eyes was proof enough that she’d heard me. I could feel an anvil being dropped in my stomach.
Like a moron, I opened and closed my mouth, but no apologies came out. To make matters worse, she raised one of the cups and placed it on the table against the wall. “I brought you something to drink, Ethan.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
After she left, I walked to the table, picked up the cup, and noticed a little note attached to it.
“Phoenixes are red.
Balls can be blue.
I can’t believe you have a piercing .
So, maybe I don’t hate you.
Best.
The wrongfully arrested .”
Chuckling—and feeling even worse for what she heard—I slipped the note into my pocket and sipped my coffee.
She walked to Aaron and pushed him lightly with her shoulder. “How are you holding up, Scottie? I heard you almost saw the light.”
“It was a hoot. I love getting shot and feeling stupid.”
“You know, a friend of mine is a doctor. A female friend. A female doctor.” His cheeks turned red, yet his face was austere. She wasn’t deterred. “Her name is Ariel. Such a wonderful lady. If I’m not mistaken, you two have already met.”
He shifted his weight from one leg to another but squinted. “Are you done? Let me rephrase that. You’re done!”
Mia just giggled, unaffected by his stern demeanor. But her eyes still seemed pained, and I hated to think it was because of me.
Before I could make it right, Mr. Dawson stormed into the room. “Unbelievable. You seem unable to follow the simplest of rules. You were told not to engage.”
Not missing a beat, she turned to him. “I’m so sorry, sir. The next time your teams are under attack, I’ll just let your men get killed for your pleasure.”
The man turned beet red. Edward and Mrs. McAdam walked in as well and seemed ready to intervene.
“I think the words you’re looking for are ‘thank you,’” Edward said.
“I’m not in the mood for your input, Edward. Where were you during the whole debacle?”
“I was with Edna making sure Mia and her company had whatever they needed to conclude an operation that had already had enough losses. And that could’ve had more had they not intervened in time.”
Mr. Dawson fumed. “So, you were the ones who sent the other team?”
“And we’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Edna added.
Ben grinned. “If you think about it, ‘twas impressive.”
The man squinted his eyes. “Do you think the use of ‘ twas ’ speaks well of your company? I feel even worse for having to deal with you.”
Mia put a hand on her chest. “Please, forgive him…‘ Twasn’t his intention.”
The skinny jerk rubbed his mouth, struggling to contain his anger. “Let’s start this interrogation soon before I learn the lady broke another rule. ”
“Aww, do you mean it?” Mia’s voice was sweet, but her sarcasm was unmistakable. He certainly didn’t miss it, judging by the tick in his jaw.
Aaron touched her arm in a silent warning. “Mia and Ethan are about to start.”
“Is this some sort of bad joke, Scott?”
“It most certainly isn’t, sir. They’re the two people who know the cartel the most. They also were the ones who interacted with the unsub right before his arrest, so they already have rapport. Cross and Bryant are the most qualified for it, that’s why I assigned them to conduct the interrogation.”
“You’re walking on very dangerous ground, Scott.”
“Don’t worry, sir. If I’m ever in a dire situation and the agency fails me, I know these two will be there to save me. Again.”
Edward intervened. “What do we know about that man?”
“His name is Manuel Suárez,” Aaron answered. “But he’s known as Tequila . He’s been taking over Matias’s place for the last few months.”
“He has a considerable position in the cartel and is on the rise, but he isn’t related to the dome,” Mia chimed in.
“Since he’s doing Matias’s jobs, we believe he might know where Pablo Salazar is, or at least how to get in touch with him,” I added .
Edward clapped his hands together. “Okay, let’s get this party started.”
“Before we go in,” Mia turned to Aaron, “I want carte blanche.”
“This is unbelievable,” Mr. Dawson snapped. “To do what?”
“To do my job.”
“So, you want free rein to do whatever your emotional brain wants.”
“I want freedom to get the results I assume everyone here wants.”
He pinched his thumb and index fingers really close together. “You’re this close to getting kicked out of here.”
“Good, so I still have some wiggle room. Aaron?”
He nodded. “You have it. Go make him talk. If we need something official, Ethan will handle it with you.”
As Robby was going ballistic on Aaron again, Mia and I snatched the files we brought and sped up to the door before the man could stop us.
She grabbed the handle and took a deep breath. “Did you have a chance to drink your coffee?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Good…Feeling funny yet?”
“Why would I feel fun—oh my God. Did you poison my coffee? ”
She frowned. “Focus, Phoenix! We have something important to do…but if your stomach revolts, there’s a trash can in the corner.” She took a deep breath, ignoring my turmoil. “Tomorrow, we rest.”
She walked into the interrogation room, and I followed her. Praying I didn’t have to use the trash can.