AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nah. They’ve all been prettied up already by Fee, they know the deal.” I sighed, not wanting to leave my house, even though I loved my job—Mia and Ben bickering and all. “Speaking of them, I have to go.”
She nodded, and if I wasn’t mistaken, looked sad at my departure.
When Fee came back from her room with more toys than she could carry—leaving a trail of stranded dolls and stuffed animals in her wake—I kneeled in front of her and told her I needed to get to work.
Her despondent look always got to me, but she was soon distracted by the fact that she had a whole day of playing with Lisa. Being jealous of my baby was so wrong.
I squeezed her into my arms, and she hugged me tightly, with all the strength her little arms could muster. “Love you forever,Papi.”
“Love you beyond.” I kissed her cheek, stood up, and in a slip typical of me, leaned down and kissed Lisa’s as well. Having both realized what I’d done, we gazed at Fee, who was thankfully distracted by her toys.
“If you need anything, just call me.”
Lisa smiled. “I just need you to be safe and come back in one piece. The rest, I can handle.”
“What if I need to know more about you?”
“That can be arranged.” I glanced at Fee, who was still busy arranging her fantasy world, and stole one last peck from Lisa before heading out.
I was still walking on cloud nine when I arrived at the company. The place was locked, but I didn’t mind being the first one to arrive. We all made our own schedules. Our day-to-day was based on our current assignments, so our hours were flexible. At least they used to be before we started investigating theAlacráns.
It felt weird being the first one, though. I was used to arriving and finding Haley and Mia around, either working or chatting. Since they lived together, if Mia wasn’t working outside of town, they always came together. Seeing Mia wasn’t assigned any job away, even though I didn’t mind, it was odd that she wasn’t around already.
I opened every office and turned on all the computers, then headed to my space to begin my day. I was reading one of the files Mia had put together from what we stole at the cartel base when Ben arrived.
He strode into my office and sat down on the chair before my desk. “Nice nails.”
I wiggled my fingers, making him chuckle. “Thank you. I had a special treat this morning.”
He looked back at the dark corridor. “Why are we the first ones here? Are we becoming nerds?” he whispered dramatically.
I nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid so. I don’t even remember a time when Mia wasn’t already here, pestering us with new cases and ideas as soon as we got in.”
He chuckled, then turned serious in contemplation. “A lot has changed.”
“That’s the circle of life, I guess. It sucks, it takes us all by surprise, and sometimes it changes us forever. What happened was bound to do that.”
Ben rubbed his hands over his face. “It could be different.”
“No, it couldn’t. It was an excruciating fatality, and none of us are to blame. I don’t see what any of us could’ve done differently.”
“It could be different,” he insisted before whispering to himself, “it still can.”
Again with his riddles. “Is there anything you know that I don’t? What happened back there that you haven’t told me?”
Ben hesitated, and I couldn’t even recognize the turmoil in his eyes. “It’s killing me.”
“Then talk to me.”
Before he could say anything else, his phone rang, startling us both. He checked the caller and answered, putting the call on speaker. “Ethan Cross! It’s been a while.”
“Hey, Ben. How’s it hanging?”
“It could’ve been better. Hey, Danny’s here with me.”
“Danny? Danny Delgado? It’s been such a long time! How are you, man?”
“Ethan! I’m freer than you, and I bet much happier. Missing me already?”
