The Agent's Surrender

by Kimberly Van Meter

  He also hogged the office exercise equipment. Of course, he would be the only other person who arose at a ridiculously early hour to get in a good workout before the day started. It was hard enough to forget his near-perfect body without having to exercise beside him each morning, but she was not about to purchase a gym membership when she had a free gym readily available to her.

  And now she was supposed to work with him like they were buddies in a Sandra Bullock film? No way. Again, she’d rather eat nails. Rusty ones, at that.

  She returned to her desk and glowered at her screensaver—flying blue stars streaking in wild patterns across her monitor. The pattern bothered her and she jiggled her mouse to make it stop.

  “Why don’t you just change your screensaver?”

  Jane swiveled to stare at her officemate, Special Skills Officer Ursula Benza. “Because sometimes you have to assert your dominance over your OCD tendencies,” she quipped before exhaling a short breath of annoyance at her situation. She frowned. “What do you know about Holden finding new evidence regarding his brother?” Ursula’s blank look answered Jane’s question. “Okay, so he didn’t share,” she surmised, not surprised. Holden was a locked box when he chose to be. “No idea what it could be?”

  “Does anyone know what goes through that handsome head of his?” Ursula asked, smiling when Jane grimaced. “You’re the only woman within a ten-mile radius who seems to be immune to his freakishly hot body, which begs the question about a certain lady’s sexual orientation.”

  Jane shot Ursula a dark look. “Don’t even go there. Maybe the reason I don’t find him attractive is because he has the personality of a wet shoe.” When it was obvious personality didn’t matter to Ursula when presented with a hot male body, she added, “It would be inappropriate and weird to date a coworker.” It was a good thing she wasn’t overtly religious because the lie that just tripped from her mouth was entirely too convincing. Holden was her Achilles’ heel and she was determined to root out that weakness.

  “Hmm...who said anything about dating?”

  Jane wrinkled her nose and Ursula grinned. Ugh. Knowing that her colleague harbored less than office-friendly fantasies about Holden made Jane twitch with discomfort. Okay, so it was complicated.

  “So.” Ursula tapped a finger on her desk. “What’s this about more evidence about his brother’s case?”

  “I don’t know. Holden wouldn’t share, but Chief Harris put us both on the case just to be sure every stone has been checked and double-checked.”

  “Ouch. That’s not going to go over very well with Daddy, is it?” Ursula guessed accurately, but Jane didn’t want to think about it.

  “My dad will understand this is just a formality. Nothing is going to change. Miko was guilty and that’s what Holden will have to come to realize. Brother or not, Miko killed several people in cold blood and then offed himself. Sad but true.”

  “Brutal. Kind of makes you wonder why, though, right?”

  “No.” Jane disagreed sharply. “It’s not my job to wonder about the motivations of criminals, and if this was anyone but Holden’s twin brother, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Once again, his personal feelings are getting in the way.”

  “Can you blame the guy? I mean...family, you know? What if it was one of your brothers?”

  “My brothers wouldn’t shame their family by doing something like Miko did, so I can’t imagine how I would feel. In my family, there are no shades of gray.”

  “Girl, you have a heart of stone.” Ursula tsked with an arched brow. “Someday that quality is going to bite you in the ass.”

  “Not likely. However, I can definitely see Holden reaping terrible consequences if he keeps poking at the hornet’s nest.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  The only thing she could do. “Put an end to this waste of time and prove once and for all that Miko Archangelo was a traitor to his country so we can all move on.”

  Case closed. Again.

  Chapter 2

  Holden was nursing a beer when he heard a knock at his front door. It was nearing eight o’clock in the evening. He grabbed his cell and checked his security camera feed, surprised and irritated when he saw Jane standing outside. “What the hell does she want? To gloat?” he muttered, pocketing his cell and going to the door, beer still in hand. He cracked the door and fixed her with a baleful stare that he hoped sent home the message she was the last person he wanted darkening his doorstep. “What do you want?” he asked, moving straight past the pleasantries to the point.

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” she asked. When he shook his head, her mouth firmed, but she didn’t press the issue. Instead, she said, “Reed has agreed to reopen the case.”

  He straightened, surprised and immediately suspicious. “Why?”

  She shrugged. “What does it matter? The case has been briefly reopened, and in the meantime, all disciplinary actions are pending the conclusion. However, there’s a catch.”

  “Isn’t there always?” he countered with a narrowed stare. “What is it?”

  “Reed put me and you both on the case.”

  “Screw that.”

  “Exactly how I felt, but he’s not going to change his mind.”

  “He will once he realizes that you and me working together is the worst idea since hydroponics.”

  “Hydroponics? You mean the world’s first successful attempt at creating a sustainable way to grow food in a world with diminishing land resources? That hydroponics?”

  “Yeah, exactly. Anything grown without dirt isn’t natural. It’s Frankenfood. So yeah, bad idea.”

  “Weird analogy aside, Reed has made up his mind, so we’re working together on your fool’s errand. Don’t think for a second I believe you’re operating on anything other than emotions and ignoring the facts—as usual. Frankly, I find your behavior an embarrassment to the department.”

  “Don’t hold back. Let it all out, Agent Fallon,” he said wryly, tipping his beer back and swallowing. “And since we’re sharing, I should go on record as saying I think you’re operating from a place of ego and fear because you’re afraid you truly did miss something and you can’t bear the thought of looking sloppy.”

  She lifted her chin with a cold grin. “Holden always has all the answers, doesn’t he?”

  “Most times. Particularly when the question isn’t all that hard to figure out. Face it, Fallon. I’ve had you figured out from the day we met, and if you weren’t so afraid of Daddy’s disapproval, we could’ve been a helluva team.”

  “You’re the one suffering from an inflated ego,” she said, eyes flashing. “And I would appreciate it if you would stick to the case. Leave the personal crap out of this—that is, if you can manage.”

  “Cold as ice, as usual.” His gaze darkened as he tipped his beer back again. “Tell me, Fallon, were you born this cold or did you work at it?”

  She smiled. “I guess that’s none of your business as it doesn’t relate to the case. If you can’t handle being a professional, I’ll just let the chief know your interest in the case has died and we’ll all happily close the book on this wild-goose chase.”

  He straightened, shaking his head. “You’re a piece of work.”

  “As much as I would love to continue this conversation, I have a life and need to get back to it. I just came by to let you know you got your wish.”

  “Well, thank you for your consideration,” he said with open sarcasm; he knew the real reason she’d dropped by was to get the slip of evidence he held to his chest. Good luck with that—he’d made it up. “Have a good evening, Agent Fallon.”

  She glared, standing rigid, looking as if she’d just sucked a lemon, but she forced a smile. “See you tomorrow. Be prepared to work. I want to get this over with. Some of us have real work to do and don’t have time to chase fairy tales.”

  He chuckled. “Nice try, but I don’t bait that easily. Good night, Fallon.” He shut the door before she could retor
t. Work with Fallon? Nope. That woman was the original ice queen. And to think at one time he’d thought he was falling in love with her. What a joke. Besides, he worked alone. Fallon could do whatever she pleased as long as she stayed out of his way.

  * * *

  That’d gone about as well as she’d expected. But a girl could hope, right? Of course, she hadn’t expected him to welcome her into his home with open arms and offer her a beer, but she hadn’t quite expected him to be so rude. Well, yes she had. They weren’t buddies, and she preferred it that way.

  She walked with strong, purposeful strides to her car, suppressing a shiver at the bitter cold of a Washington, D.C., winter, and pushed the reality of working with Holden as far from her mind as possible. She was a strong investigator. Holden couldn’t have anything in his hot little hand that would change the outcome of her investigation. And that was exactly what she’d tell her father in about fifteen minutes, when she was expected for dinner with her brothers.

  There was a chance her father, retired Major General Gregory Fallon, hadn’t heard of this recent development, but then her father still had scarily deep connections, and a reverberation of this sort was bound to ripple some water under the boats. However, if he didn’t mention it, she’d keep the information to herself.

  She walked into her father’s house and followed the sound of voices to the living room, where her father and two brothers, Ian and Walker, sat enjoying a beer and talking shop. For a brief moment, a familiar envy arced across her heart for their easily defined relationships. Simply put, The Major was openly proud of his marine sons for their varied accomplishments, but when it came to his marine daughter, he always found cause to criticize. What would it be like to sit and enjoy a beer with her dad like her brothers did? The Major frowned upon women drinking—he said they lacked the constitution to handle their liquor. Yeah, her dad was unapologetically sexist and there was nothing she could do about it, least of all change him. Time to run the gauntlet. “Hey, Dad,” she said, announcing herself as she entered the room.

  “There she is, only a little bit late this time,” The Major said with a wink at Ian, who laughed at her expense.

  “Work kept me late,” she said, hating the defensiveness of her tone. “Reed threw me a big case,” she added, though she immediately wished she hadn’t.

  “Oh?” her older brother, Walker, said, intrigued. “Anything as good as that Archangelo case?”

  Her dad grunted. “Those Archangelo boys, waste of good military training... Twisted branches never grow into strong oaks,” he said, repeating the same bit of advice he’d shoved down her throat when he’d found out about her and Holden.

  “Yes, Dad, I’m well aware of your feelings about Holden,” she said, mildly irritated that she found herself defending the man. “But Holden is nothing like his brother—he’s a good investigator with a solid record.”

  The Major shook his head. “The man has no respect for authority, which points to a weak character. Add in the fact that Miko was Holden’s twin...mark my words, he’ll show his true colors sooner or later.”

  Why was she wasting time defending Holden when she knew there was no winning this argument with her father? Total waste of energy. She’d long ago learned to pick her battles, and this situation was no different.

  “So what’s the big case?” Walker asked.

  “I don’t have details yet,” she hedged. “I will know more in a few days.” Her father narrowed a speculative gaze at her, as if he were reading her mind and discovering her secrets, and she suffered an uncomfortable moment. “When I can divulge details I will,” she clarified. Anytime she tried to act as their equal, they managed to shoot her down with the equivalent of an indulgent pat on the head. Well, that was how her brothers handled it. Her father? He just got that look on his face that said, “Girl, you’ll never be as good as your brothers because you’re a woman and incapable of critical thinking” and she ended up doing and saying something that invariably started an argument. So tonight, she was determined to steer clear of any potential land mines. Yet...she’d just lobbed a big one in her own path. Self-destructive much? “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  The Major grunted and returned to his sons. “Walker, tell us about the latest detail in Afghanistan.”

  “Dad, you know I’m not supposed to talk about that—it’s classified,” he said, winking at their father. The Major laughed as if they were sharing a big private joke, and Jane hated she couldn’t just enjoy an evening with her family like normal folks. Her thoughts wandered to Holden, and she pushed them back. She didn’t want to think of him. Not now. She was already surrounded by big, tall, muscular numbskulls with too much testosterone. She certainly didn’t need to muddy her brain with one more.

  “Dad, how was the summit?” she asked, trying to steer the conversation. “Anything worth reporting?”

  “Bunch of politicians jockeying to be top dog,” he said. “Nothing new. Food was adequate for the situation, but I was more than happy to be home where a man can get a decent steak.”

  Adequate. Top chefs catered the military summit each year. It was mildly gratifying to know her father was difficult to please on all fronts. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t be eating so much steak at your age,” she countered. “Your cholesterol is probably through the roof.”

  “My cholesterol is fine,” her dad said. Then his brow arched in a knowing fashion, and Jane’s stomach flopped. He knew and he’d simply been waiting for a convenient segue. Damn the man’s connections. He probably had a line to God so he knew when to pack an umbrella. “Let’s get back on topic. Jane, an interesting conversation floated my way concerning the investigation you closed on that Archangelo man.”

  “Yes? Such as?” she asked, feigning polite interest when she really wanted to forgo eating and split this dinner invitation. She grabbed a handful of pretzels and tossed one back. “Anything good?”

  “Talk is that his brother is asking questions.”

  “Well, that’s not surprising. It was his brother after all,” she answered, trying not to choke on the pretzel. “What’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal is the whole I.D. debacle was an embarrassment to this country and everyone is ready to put it to bed. You did a decent job closing that investigation to everyone’s satisfaction. Perhaps you could persuade your peer to let sleeping dogs lie,” The Major suggested, but his tone told her it was anything but. She hated when her dad pulled rank. “I.D. was a toxic extension of the government that ended up with gangrene. Many good people went down on that ship. No one wants to dredge it up again.”

  “I told him that,” she said, biting her tongue too late. She looked to her brothers for help, but they were watching her as keenly as their father was. Damn boys. They stuck together, no matter what. Well, cat’s out of the bag. No sense dancing around. She tossed back the last pretzel and said, “He’s never going to stop asking questions. He doesn’t believe Miko was guilty.”

  “The guy was caught red-handed,” Ian said with a snort. “He couldn’t have been more guilty than if he’d filmed himself doing it and mailed the evidence to the authorities.”

  “It’s an open-and-shut case,” Walker agreed. “I wish all my cases were that easy.”

  She bristled. “It wasn’t that easy. The I.D. corruption went deep. There’s always the potential we didn’t root out all of the rot. I assure you, it wasn’t an easy investigation by any means.”

  “Of course, Janey,” Walker soothed in a patronizing way that made her want to sucker punch him in the kidneys. “It was a nice feather in your cap, for sure.”

  “Thanks, Walker,” she gritted, her temperature rising. “Listen, I don’t know if Holden has anything of value, but he says he has some new evidence.”

  Ian raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted, hating that she’d blabbed at all. But no sense in hanging on to a half story. “Reed has temporarily reopened the case with Holden an
d me investigating.”

  Her dad scowled. “That’s some special kind of bullshit. What possible evidence could this Holden character have that would warrant reopening the case?”

  “I don’t know, Dad,” she answered truthfully. If only Holden hadn’t been such a jerk and shared what he knew, she could’ve had solid answers, but now it seemed as if she were on the outside looking in on her own case. “I’m sure it’s nothing truly substantial, but Reed thinks this will give Holden closure.”

  “Whole lot of hand-holding if you ask me.” Her dad groused and her brothers nodded. “If I was in charge, none of that would be going on.”

  “Yes, Dad,” she said dutifully, though she wanted to roll her eyes. Her dad had little faith that anyone could do their jobs as well as he could. Well, you didn’t rise up the marine ranks by sitting back and letting the tide carry you. Her dad had the chops to back up his claims, but he wasn’t the least bit gracious about it, which put him on the outs with almost everyone beneath him. “Anyway, I’m starved. When’s dinner? I have an early day tomorrow and I still need to go over the case files.”

  “It should be ready now.” Her dad motioned for everyone to follow him to the dining room. He nodded with brisk approval at Claudine, the live-in maid and cook, and then seated himself at the head of the table like a king surveying his subjects, which Jane thought was an apt analogy.

  “Smells great, Claudine,” she murmured, ready to dig in and get the hell out.

  “How are you, Miss Jane?” Claudine asked, placing the gravy boat nearest to her father because he practically drank the stuff with a straw. Her father was waging a war against time, determined to prove he was damn near invincible, no matter that he was nearing seventy.