Page 19 of Defender
Her father set his tea down. “There’s more to life than making everything a party and spectacle. You had stability and good benefi?—”
“And I was miserable.” It came out louder than she’d expected.
The room went silent. Even Archer stopped crying. No one had ever talked to Alton Kim like this. Dani had never talked like this. Honestly.
She lowered her voice but kept eye contact. “There has to be more to life than making rich people richer. I thought you wanted me to do something that mattered.”
“So”—Dani’s mother cut in before her father could continue his usual spiel—“what’s the new job? I’m so glad it’s brought you back to Colorado.”
The knot in Dani’s gut twisted. Better spit it out and get it over with.
She added a little pep to her smile. The more confident she sounded, the better this would go.
Right?
“Well, this career has decent benefits too. And I can travel more. It’s federal work, so there’s job security. And most importantly, I can really make a difference in the world.”
“It sounds perfect.” Her mother smiled.
Her father, though, simply raised his eyebrows, clearly waiting for her to elaborate.
Dani cleared her throat. “You happen to be looking at Special Agent Dani Kim with the FBI.”
Everyone stopped and stared at Dani. Silence had never felt so loud.
“The FBI? As in the Federal Bureau of Investigation?” Josh asked.
Lily slipped over to her husband and took Archer. “I think I’m going to put this little one down. Simon, why don’t you come with me and we’ll brush your teeth.” She quickly left the room with the kids in tow.
As soon as they were gone, Dani’s mother spoke up. “Why would you want to work as a federal agent? It’s so dangerous. There’s more violent crime than ever. Even here in Renegade.”
“You just said it was the perfect jo?—”
“But that’s before I knew what you were doing!” Her mother stood and started pacing.
“Are you really qualified for something like that?” Josh looked more confused than anything. But how could he understand? He had everything he wanted in life. A stable job, a wife, kids…
“Of course I’m qualified. I went through training at Quantico. Believe me, if the US government thought I couldn’t do the job, they wouldn’t have passed me. But I did. And you know what? I’ve never been so excited to work. It’s like I’ve finally found what I was meant to do.”
Mom continued to wring her hands.
Her father stood. “Look at what you’ve done, Danielle. You’re worrying your mother. Not that we should be surprised at this level of selfishness?—”
“How am I being selfish? I’m serving my country!” Dani hated the shrillness that escaped, but gone was the need to keep the peace. This was the time to stand her ground.
Josh stepped between Dani and their father. “Okay, let’s calm down. We can talk this over?—”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Josh. I’m a federal agent. And I’m just starting my career, but this is what I’m doing. It’s not a family decision. It’s done. So you can be happy for me and that I have this time at the Renegade office or not, but I won’t be quitting or getting a different job. This is what I want to do.”
A beat of silence reigned for a moment. Then her father wrapped an arm around her mother. “I think that’s enough for one night. I need to get your mother home.”
Before Dani could come up with any sort of response, they were gone.
She turned to her brother. “That’s it? They just…leave?” The tightness in her throat choked off any other words.
Josh let loose a long sigh. “You know they’ve never been good with surprises. I’m sorry.”
He moved to the other side of the peninsula and pulled out a mug and cocoa powder. “How about a big-brother special and you tell me more about this job, huh? I thought the nearest FBI office was in Denver.”
