Page 18 of Dichotomy

“Mmm, I guess not,” I said.

His arms were warm around me, and I relished the feeling of safety that sank into my bones. It was like all of my worries melted away. Okay, maybe not melted away completely, but they felt much less pressing.

“Marcus told me about Luke Jones,” Alexander said softly, like he was unwilling to break the peace we had found. “We’ll find him.”

I sighed. “I know. It’s just frustrating. That was our best lead on the Kingfisher organization. I don’t know where to go from here.”

“We can start by tracking his movements prior to the gala. Then see if we can find him after he left the police station.”

I nodded. That was a good plan. “Okay.”

A gold-embossed envelope caught my eye. I frowned. I didn’t remember sorting that envelope in the mail.

“What is that?” I pointed at it.

Alexander reached out and flipped it over for me to see.

“It’s an invitation to a groundbreaking event hosted by Nathaniel Drake, that new real estate developer who won the bid to revitalize the railroad tracks and the south district.”

Nathaniel Drake was new to the city but was already becoming well known for his philanthropic efforts. His revitalization plan had won the bid because he had also included a large park in his plans to preserve some of the natural landscape. I didn’t realize they were already starting to breakground, but it made sense. It was a large project, so it would take a while to complete.

“Want to go with me to it?” Alexander asked.

“Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Stone?”

He laughed and nuzzled my neck. I tilted my head to give him better access, shuddering when he placed a soft kiss against the sensitive skin there. “And if I am?” he teased.

“Is there going to be food involved?”

He laughed. “I’m sure we can negotiate something.”

I glanced down at the invitation. The groundbreaking was set for 3 p.m. on Saturday. “Dinner after?”

“Deal,” Alexander promised. He dipped his head until our lips were only a breath apart. “Seal it with a kiss?”

“Sounds like a binding contract to me,” I murmured, then pressed my lips to his.

He took control of the kiss quickly, deepening it until my head spun. After what felt like an eternity, his phone rang, and he pulled back, leaving me breathless.

“Well, Miss Harper, it seems like work is calling.”

I groaned but stood, righting my clothes as I did. His phone kept ringing as he watched me. I leaned down and kissed him softly.

“Can’t wait till Saturday,” I murmured, then walked away. I could get used to taking breaks like this.

CHAPTER 10

DOMINIC

Stakeouts were my least favorite part of my job. Even with the windows cracked on the SUV, the air inside the car was stale, smelling of old fast food and sweat. Most of the stench was coming from my partner’s side of the car. Mike shifted in his seat again, sending a wave of body odor to wash over me as the headphones hung loosely around his neck. He wasn’t even trying to make the appearance he was listening in on the parabolic microphone we had pointed at the building. Not that I really thought we were going to hear anything from anyone entering or exiting the lobby, but it was something. And more cases than I could remember had been blown open by a seemingly innocuous piece of evidence.

Not that this case was anything like the normal cases I had worked. First of all, the case was opened via a memo and not because any evidence had actually been submitted. A memo that seemed to come straight from the director’s offices, although it lacked his signature or anyone’s signature, for that matter. It was one part of a string of strange occurrences in the FIA over the last few years that had set off my radar.

It started with a case like this one, where evidence fell into our lap about a nationwide trafficking ring. The ring hadn’t evenbeen on our radar when a pile of evidence showed up on the FIA’s servers. I had been assigned to the case and had been told the work was collected by a field agent, but I never found the agent’s identity. Undercover agents weren’t uncommon, but they were usually at least logged in our system under a pseudonym. The director had been heavily involved in that case, like he had been at the start of this one. The whole thing reeked of something fishy, which is why I had volunteered for this case after it was opened from just a memo. Something was going on in the FIA, but I couldn’t tell what. Was it corruption? An informant? I wasn’t sure, but I had a list of people I suspected. Including my new partner.

I had been assigned to Agent Mike Holden after Mike’s former partner had died in the field. He had been gunned down by a drug cartel. But when I discreetly dug into it, I found that they hadn’t even been working a case with the cartel. Mike and his old partner investigated white-collar crimes, so how had they been wrapped up in a cartel? Either way, the FIA closed the case citing “insufficient evidence.” That was the cherry on top for me.

Now, I was trying to figure out if there was a pattern to these strange occurrences, and I wanted to uncover who was involved. I got into this work to make a difference and put criminals away, not to work with them. I had to tread carefully, though. I didn’t know who was involved. I didn’t want to suspect the director, but there were too many coincidences. Hopefully, this case would give me more information.