Behind the Mask
Page 23
“Mind if I steal the groom for a moment?” she asked as the newlyweds stopped off at a nearby champagne bar.
Ramon’s shoulders hitched briefly when he saw Jill standing before him, and it wasn’t until Jorge squeezed his hand that they finally relaxed. Still, Ramon managed a soft smile and a brief nod, watching Jorge saunter off to go find his mother. For better or worse, Jorge had made up Ramon’s mind for him. But this was Jill, so maybe Ramon shouldn’t have been so surprised.
“You came,” he said around a sip.
“I told you there was no way I’d ever miss your wedding day.” Jill smiled despite the nerves churning inside her, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“So, uh...” Ramon cleared his throat and downed half of what was still in his glass. “How are things now that you’re no longer on the run?”
“Better.” Jill’s face brightened. “Which is... sort of why I’m here.”
Ramon frowned, setting his glass aside even though it still had champagne in it. “You’re not gonna ask for your job back, I hope.” He shook his head. “I know the order Saunders handed down, but I’m convinced the Bishop still has it out for you, and I can tell they’re trying to run Cap out of town.”
Jill shook her head. “No. I have a job already lined up.”
“That’s good!” Ramon smiled and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Where at?”
Jill glanced over both of her shoulders, content that no one was paying her or Ramon any mind before producing a white envelope from her back pocket and handing it to her former partner.
Ramon’s eyes widened when he saw the address on the envelope. “The FBI?!” He laughed and shook his head. “Leave it to you to go from cop to fugitive to federal agent in the span of a couple weeks.”
Chewing on her bottom lip, and practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, Jill’s eyes kept scanning the room. “Open it,” she said with a nod toward the envelope.
Ramon did as asked, pursing his lips when he scanned over the cover letter. The crease in his brow lessened as he took in more of the letter, and by the time he got to the end, his eyes were wide and his mouth agape. Tearing his eyes from the page, Ramon looked at Jill and cocked his head to the side.
“A job offer.” He smiled. “The FBI wants me?”
“I want you to work for the FBI,” Jill clarified. This was, after all, one of her demands to Agent McDermott. “This task force I’m gonna be a part of is important, and I want you in on it. I want us to be partners again.”
“I...” Ramon shut his mouth and studied the letter again with a shake of his head. “Why?”
“I miss working with you,” Jill admitted. “Besides, as smart and capable as you are, you deserve to be doing some real good out there, not just cleaning up the mess after someone’s life has been torn all to hell.”
Ramon arched a brow, his eyes once again dropping down to the letter in his hand to scan each word. Surreal didn’t even begin to describe this. “And... just what does this task force do?”
In that moment, Jorge rejoined the pair, giving Ramon a kiss to the temple before resting his free hand on his husband’s shoulder. “What’s this?”
The smile on Jill’s face grew. “Consider it a wedding gift.”
COMING SOON:
BETRAYED
Acknowledgments
Believe it or not, Behind the Mask wound up being the most difficult novel I’ve written to date. That’s because when I wrapped up Behind the Badge, I didn’t know what the next step was. Jill had thrown me for a loop with what she did, and no matter what I came up with, the series was going to undergo a massive, fundamental shift after just three books. This book, in a way, signified a new beginning for Jill Andersen—and that was both exhilarating and terrifying, all at once. Even worse was the fact that I couldn’t really talk to anyone about it before Behind the Badge came out, because then I’d be spoiling my own book.
I’ve lost count of how many times I had to re-write this book. Between the re-writes, and the other manuscripts I have, and my editing gigs, and transitioning into a new full-time job, that’s why this book took so much longer than the first three. I apologize for that, and I hope the wait was worth it; I firmly believe that waiting so much longer than normal resulted in a better story and a clear direction for the series going forward, but you will probably be a better judge of that than me.
Also, I want to assure everyone that the political nature of the last book will not be the standard going forward; Behind the Badge was written the way it was, in large part, because I felt like it was important to see how Jill would respond—as a cop and as a person—to such a case given the current climate, but I tend to not make it a point for my fiction to have political overtones. There may be the occasional political in-joke here or there—like, say, David Gregor having no respect for a certain other billionaire—but expect the political commentary to be the exception rather than the norm.
As always, my first thanks goes to Anton Kromoff, whose advice and collaboration back while we were in high school shaped many of the characters in this series and the world they inhabit. His input has survived two decades and several personal reboots, and Bounty might not exist today were it not for his help.
My sister Kat continues to provide emotional and creative support in her own unique way. I’ve gone into such great detail about her in the acknowledgements in each of the first three books, but I would be remiss if another book went to print without me once again thanking her for her love and support over the years. She makes me feel like a superhero, even when I’m clearly not.
Two of the more surprising fans of these books wound up being my mother and my grandmother. I say surprising not because they don’t support me—they do, probably more than I can articulate. But I never expected stories about a cybernetic cop who plays superhero to be the sort of thing they’d enjoy. Yet they’ve read all three books to this point and occasionally ask what’s coming next.
Well... this.
To my fellow writers in the Hampton Roads, Virginia chapter of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month): interacting with all of you at various write-ins and other functions (when my day job allowed) helped make the words flow more freely and has made these books easier to write. Bounty was my 2014 NaNo project, and I wrote Behind the Badge for NaNo in 2015, so I think it’s safe to say this series probably wouldn’t exist without NaNo. Robin, Monica, Mary, Kara, Carson, Jordan (and others whose names escape me)... this book is for you as much as anyone else (also, thanks to you guys for giving these books their biggest sales boost to-date).
Also, Monica (under the pseudonym Cait Ashwood) wrote and recently self-published three fantastic books called The Seekers, Order of the Lily, and Children of the Lily. You should definitely check them out.
While I’m at it, I want to give a shoutout to some of my other favorite indie authors. Writers like R.R. Virdi, E.A. Copen, Madeline Dyer, S.E. Anderson, Alex P. Berg, Mary Head... not only are they all insanely talented writers who tell amazing stories, but they’re also quality people who are just as eager to hear about the success of authors like me as they are for their own successes. The indie author community is a tight-knit group, one in which you can find amazing books and amazing friends.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this story and I hope you’ll be back for the next installment, Betrayed. It will pick up almost immediately after the events of Behind the Mask, and the surprises I have in store are sure to be as entertaining for you as they will be trying for Jill and the others. I can’t wait to see where things go from here.
I’ll also have a couple other projects on the horizon, and I hope you’ll join me for those as well. Happy reading.
-JD
2017
Also available from J.D. Cunegan
Bounty (Bounty novel #1)
Blood Ties (Bounty novel #2)
Behind the Badge (Bounty novel #3)
The Bounty Trilogy
Notna
Coming Soon from J.D. Cunegan
Betrayed (Bounty novel #5, coming mid-2018)
The Pen is Mighty (coming late 2018)
The Agency (coming early 2019)
Unless otherwise noted, all books are available in paperback and e-book.
Follow J.D. Cunegan on Twitter @JD_Cunegan.
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