Lima
B ecca turned the speed on the machine up a couple of notches and settled into a comfortable yet challenging rhythm, running on the treadmill.
Beside her, Briana ran at full speed on the one she used.
After Carter and Jackson returned from the dealership, Carter helped her go through the contents of the boxes, most of it taken from the office at her sister’s house.
The time she spent with him was always easy.
She appreciated how laid back he was.
Unfortunately, the attraction she felt for him only increased as she spent more time with him.
She knew that the last thing that should be on her mind right now was a man, a man who does a dangerous job.
They scrutinized every item, every document, every scrap of paper, and nothing.
Nothing that looked suspicious, certainly nothing that anyone would kill an entire family over.
Becca was starting to think that Nick and/or Nicole left no clues behind.
Whoever searched for it had to be under the mistaken belief that they had.
Tessman told her about the visit to Well-Life.
She couldn’t believe that the woman from HR had said Nick didn’t get her mother’s vacated position because he was abrasive.
No, that was categorically a lie!
The supervisor was the one telling the truth between the two of them.
Then Carter was called into a meeting in Colonel Shepherd’s office, and she was left with nothing more to go through.
That was when Briana came into the rec room, asking Becca if she wanted to go to the gym to work out with her.
The gym was in the basement of the building.
Becca immediately took her up on it.
Becca had some clothes that would work to exercise in.
Briana went to the apartment on the ninth floor with her and waited while she changed.
Then they took the elevator to the second sub-basement level and Briana showed her the well-appointed private gym for agency personnel and the amazing woman’s locker room, complete with all the toiletries she’d need.
When Becca saw the hot tub, she wished she would have brought a bathing suit.
“Shepherd provides only the best for his people,” Briana had said.
That was when Becca learned how Briana had been offered a position at the agency only four months earlier.
While they warmed up on the treadmills, Briana had also told her about her boyfriend, Sebastian, who worked for the agency, and how he’d been part of a team who was investigating Briana’s brother when they met.
Her brother was cleared of any wrongdoing and he too worked for the agency now as a member of the Digital Team.
Becca was happy she’d signed the NDA.
Otherwise, she’d not be privy to any of this information, and would probably not have had any contact with any other members of the agency.
She was happy she’d met both Michaela and Briana and got to know them.
And Angel, even though she’d met her when she came in for her appointment, she was glad she’d gotten to get to know Angel better.
She was a total sweetheart who had to be one of the most genuine people Becca had ever met.
An evening of wine and conversation with her sounded delightful.
Running felt great. Becca hadn’t exercised at all since this horrible nightmare began.
She hadn’t done anything she normally would.
And for just a little while as she ran, she didn’t think about it, which felt wonderful, until she realized that she had momentarily forgotten, or more accurately, she had just focused on running.
Her feet pounding beneath her and the deep draws of breath she pulled into her lungs relaxed her.
But with this realization that she hadn’t thought about it, she felt terrible.
Her sister and her family deserved to dominate her thoughts until whoever did this was found and paid for it.
“You’ll have those divorce papers ready by tomorrow morning, won’t you?” Briana asked.
“As long as you’ve obtained any other terms the client wants added to them from her tonight. I have the framework built, but plan on working on them after I have dinner,” Becca answered.
She guessed she’d hit up the leftovers in the kitchen refrigerator for dinner.
“That’s good. Shepherd has hired a licensed private process server to serve them when and where we tell him to. He’s on standby for tomorrow. Normally, the county sheriff would serve them for a nominal fee, a lot less than it’s going to cost us, but we can’t control the timing of it if we go that route.”
“Is all this being charged to the client? Did you already go over these costs with her?” Becca asked, beginning to get winded from her workout.
“Yes and no,” Briana answered.
She wasn’t winded in the least. “This client has funds that she can access once she no longer fears her husband, which may be after he’s been served with divorce papers and an order of protection. There are household accounts she is on with some money she has access to. I’ve already advised her to open an account in her name alone to be ready to transfer all the funds from the joint household account into, preferably at the same bank, so she can do it online through the banking portal. Getting access to the majority of the money will have to wait until the divorce decree orders it, and-or alimony and child support payments kick in if he’s not in jail. So yes, she is prepared to pay for our services and an attorney’s services, though it may be awhile before she can pay her bill in full. I’ve always accepted payments from my clients over time and those who couldn’t afford to pay, I asked them to promise to provide me favors in the future for the services I provide them today.”
“What kind of favors?”
“Usually, to give other women fleeing their abusive husbands a place to stay and to possibly hide them until they’re safe.”
“It sounds like you have a whole network set up,” Becca said.
“You could say that,” Briana admitted.
“The bottom line is that my clients expect to have to pay the going rate for services, but I’m flexible in the payment of that debt. The important thing is getting them out of the really bad situation they’re living in first.”
“I can afford to provide the service as a divorce attorney and get paid in installments, if need be,” Becca said.
“I’m sure Shepherd will pay you by knocking the amount off your bill with us,” Briana said.
“It makes no sense for you to pay us and then for Shepherd to turn around and pay you.”
“Yes, that does seem stupid.”
“What do you think? Would you like this gig long-term? I could talk with Shepherd about it. I’d love to have you on full-time representing my clients as their attorney,” Briana suggested.
“I’m flattered you ask,” Becca said.
“Let’s see how this first one goes.” She was panting from her run, breathless and winded.
But she wouldn’t slow down.
It felt so good.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carter and another younger man enter the gym, both dressed in workout clothing.
Carter came up to her treadmill.
“Oh, so this is where you went. I checked the rec room and the apartment on nine and didn’t find you. Angel told me you were with Briana, but didn’t say you were here. I assumed you were in her office working on the domestic abuse case.”
Becca slowed her machine to a fast walk.
“No, nothing more to do on it until after she talks to her client tonight.”
“Shepherd filled us in on the plan.” He pointed to the man Becca had not seen before who had entered the gym with him and was now by the free weights.
“That’s Smith. He and Jackson will go in and install the cameras and mics. I’ll be out front to provide backup to Briana in case this guy gets physical.”
“Great, thanks, Tessman,” Briana said, only now beginning to get winded.
“I’m going to go,” Tessman pointed over his shoulder, towards the free weight area.
“After we’re both cleaned up, let’s talk about dinner, if you have no plans.”
“Yeah, no plans,” Becca confirmed with a grin.
She hadn’t realized her lips were still upturned after he walked away.
“A dinner date, huh?” Briana whispered.
Becca was shaken out of her own thoughts on the subject.
“No, not a date, just dinner, probably to discuss my case,” she whispered back.
Briana let it go.
They finished their cardio and then moved over to the weighted machines.
From there, Becca got a front seat view to the free weight workouts that the two men engaged in, though her gaze was magnetically drawn to Carter.
He held large hand-weights.
She had no clue how many pounds each was.
She’d never used weights that large.
He wore a tight-fitting tank style shirt that clung to his chest and abs, displaying each muscle that she hadn’t known was as spectacularly developed as the shirt showed.
“You may want to close your mouth and stop yourself from drooling over those men,” Briana whispered with a laugh as she crossed in front of Becca.
Briana had finished her reps on the machine, unlike Becca, who’d gone still as she watched the men work out.
Briana adjusted the seat and weights on the next machine she’d use on the other side of Becca.
“Just taking a break for a moment,” Becca argued.
“Yeah, that’s what we’ll call it,” Briana teased with a smile.
“Don’t worry. They’re so focused on their own workouts, I’m sure neither noticed you were staring and drooling.”
“I wasn’t drooling,” Becca argued.
Briana laughed. Becca didn’t argued that she was staring.
“You have it bad for that boy,” she said in a barely audible whisper.
Becca chose to pretend she didn’t hear her, and she got back to her reps, forcing herself to pull her eyes from Carter.
Yeah, she kind of did have a crush on Carter, but she wouldn’t admit that to Briana or anyone else.
And watching him lift weights was quite a sight.
The more she saw him and learned about him, the more attracted to him she became.
That, she would admit to herself.
After the two women finished their workouts, they showered and cleaned up in the lady’s locker room.
When they exited back into the gym area, Tessman waited nearby for Becca.
He, too, had cleaned up.
He was freshly showered and re-dressed.
“Becca, let’s head back up to the rec room. There was one more thing I wanted to look at in your bins,” he said to the two ladies.
Briana murmured something suggestive in Becca’s ear and flashed her a grin.
“I’m heading home. I’ll be in touch with you both after the client contacts me after eight. See you both tomorrow.”
They both bid her goodbye.
Becca trying not to blush at Briana’s interpretation of Carter’s statement.
She hoped Carter didn’t hear Briana.
They rode the elevator back to the fifth floor.
“That’s a great gym,” Becca said.
“Did you enjoy the show?” he asked with a coy grin.
Becca detected flirting in his tone.
She thought for a second about how to respond to that.
She could play dumb and ask what he meant.
Or she could deny it and insist that she wasn’t watching him.
Instead, she decided to encourage him.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did.” She chuckled.
“I guess I’m busted. But you’re probably used to it.”
He didn’t like her calling him out on that.
Yes, he was used to female interest, and he rarely struck out when trying to get female companionship.
But he didn’t want her to think badly of him, which he was sure she would.
He shrugged. “Naw, not used to it. Not that I’ve noticed, unlike your staring,” he teased.
Becca immediately picked up on his joking tone as well as his dodging of her statement.
Carter Tessman was attractive and there was no doubt in Becca’s mind that women always paid attention to him, and he noticed it alright.
“As I said, busted.”
The elevator door slid open, and they exited.
Angel was just leaving Shepherd’s office.
“Good timing,” she said.
“Shepherd needed to see you for a second, Becca. He’s free, go on in.”
Her nervous gaze went momentarily to Carter before she stepped to Shepherd’s open door.
Shepherd stood at his desk.
He glanced up. “Come,” he said, waving her in.
She walked up to his desk.
“Angel said you needed to see me?”
“Yes, since you’ll be working for the agency, even in a limited capacity, I have a shortened employment contract for you to sign.” He lifted a folder from his desk and handed it to her.
“Could you please read it and sign it now? You can use my conference table. That way, if you have any questions, we can get them out of the way now. You’ll be provided with a copy for your records. I’ll have Angel email it to you.”
Becca flipped open the file folder.
It was a short, one-page document.
She almost asked if it was necessary, but she’d already learned that Colonel Sam Shepherd was a stickler for details and order, a military man to his core.
She nodded and took a seat at the table.
She read every word of the agreement, just as she had the NDA.
There was only one section that she found odd.
And that was their medical and psychological oversight regulations.
Apparently, there was a team mental health professional and regular visits with him were mandatory, beginning with the inception of the employment relationship.
This man, Dr. Joe Lassiter, could bar her from working if he didn’t find her mentally fit just as one of their team medics could deem a team member medically unfit for duty.
Her work for the agency would be limited, this one client, so she decided to just go ahead and sign it.
Then she replaced it in the folder and handed it back to Colonel Shepherd.
“There you go,” she said.
Shepherd flipped the folder open and viewed the signature.
“Thank you. Joe is actually free right now to see you. Have Tessman escort you to his office. I understand you will confer with Woods this evening after she talks with the client so that you can draw up the divorce papers with any special terms she wants.”
Becca was taken aback.
She’d go see this psychologist right now?
“Um, yes. I have the framework already created. It won’t take too long to add what she may need to it.”
Shepherd took hold of one of his business cards from the holder on his desk.
“When it’s done, please email it to me.”
She took the card and saw his email address on the card with what she recognized as the main phone number to the agency.
“I will, thank you, Colonel Shepherd.”
“Becca, just Shepherd is fine,” he said.
“And please close the door on your way out.”
She smiled a forced grin, nodded, and then left the office.
Carter waited nearby.
She was happy she wouldn’t have to go looking for him.
“Colonel Shepherd just had me sign a shortened version of an employment contract,” she said quietly, pointing back over her shoulder.
“I’m not surprised,” he said.
“And I’m supposed to have you escort me to see Dr. Joe. I don’t recall his last name.”
“Lassiter. I was wondering if he was going to enforce that protocol. Yeah, we all see Joe on occasion, sooner if a mission goes sideways.”
“Sideways, like last night?” she asked.
Tessman snickered. “We’ll go through the public access.” He led her back down the hall.
“No, that was business as usual. Sideways would be if one of the team got injured or killed, or if anything horrendous happened. I’m sure when this case is over, Joe will talk with both Jackson and me. The emotional toll of investigating the senseless murders of two innocent kids gets to everyone, even if you don’t realize it. Joe’s a good guy and anything we tell him stays in confidence. He doesn’t even tell Shepherd the details.”
They exited through the public entrance to the Shepherd Security suite of offices.
There they took the public stairs down one flight.
Becca was still processing what Carter had just said when they stepped into the hallway.
He ushered her up to the black door with the gold lettering that said J.
Lassiter. Before she could protest or say another word, he opened the door and motioned her in.
“Just a heads up so you’re not surprised. Joe has some severe scars on his face and neck. He was in the army, served in the Middle East, where he was injured.”
Her gaze swept the office.
It looked normal enough.
Then the door to the interior office opened and a man with severe scars on his face and neck, just as Carter had said, greeted them with a smile.
“Hello, you must be Becca Elliot. I’m Joe Lassiter.” He outstretched his right hand to her.
“Hello, nice to meet you,” she said politely.
“I’ll have her for about an hour, Tessman. Come back then unless I reach out to you,” he said.
“Okay. I’ll be back.” Without waiting for a reply from her, Tessman left the office.
A smile formed on his face as he jogged back up the stairs.