Page 33 of Go Under

“And if you do, you will defer to Agents Reid and Okoye. That’s an order, and I’m not interested in hearing your side.”

Kate’s lips thinned, but it didn’t get much clearer than that. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good luck, agent. Put Reid on the phone.”

Kate’s lips tightened further, but she handed the phone to Marcus. He took it and turned away so Kate couldn’t read his lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

She couldn’t hear most of the conversation after that. Marcus walked to the other end of the room and kept his head down and his voice low. Darnell raised his eyebrows and looked at Kate. She sipped her coffee and refused to meet his eyes.

Darnell slid closer, leaned toward her, and said, “Do you have a history with Elijah Cox?”

His bluntness would have endeared him to Winters. She met his eyes, and to her own surprise, replied, “He seems to think so. I’m trying to find out for sure.”

Darnell regarded her for a moment. His expression remained stoic, but there was real sympathy in his voice when he said, “I’m sorry.”

Some of the tension in Kate’s jaw eased. “Yeah. Me, too.”

Marcus’s voice floated over from the other side of the room. He had turned around and was walking back to them. “All right, ma’am. I’ll keep you posted.”

He hung up and handed the phone back to Kate. Kate accepted it and demanded, “What did she say about me?”

Marcus glanced at Darnell. Darnell got to his feet and said, “I’ll get to work. Good luck you two, and possibly good night. Hopefully when we meet again, we’ll have progress to report.”

He left the conference room. Kate kept her eyes on Marcus the whole time. When the door closed behind Darnell, she said, “Well?”

Marcus sighed. “She wanted you on this case because you’ve consistently refused protective custody. She thought that if Cox was out and about again, you’d be safer out here looking for him with me by your side and an entire field office to protect you, along with quick access to police.”

Kate’s lips pressed together again. “So, I’m not here for my investigative skills. I’m here because Winters doesn’t think I’m safe in my own apartment.”

“I mean, she’s got good reason, Kate. She saw the bruises around your neck.”

Kate shivered and resisted the urge to lift a hand to her neck. The bruises had faded, but she could still feel the way Cox’s thumbs sank into her throat.

“And you really should have taken the protective custody,” Marcus said, sounding miffed. “What could it hurt?”

“If I say yes, then I’ll never leave custody. I’ll lose this case. I can’t do that.”

“Why not? I mean, yeah, you’ve been an unbeatable asset, but does it really have to be you? Protocol would suggest that if a serial killer is fixated on an agent, they stay away from the case.”

“It has to be me,” Kate said. “No one else is a cryptography expert the way I am.”

“Then sit at the office and look at ciphers,” Marcus said. “Then if he’s still obsessed with you, he has a field office full of agents to get through.”

“I’d still be going home at the end of my shifts.”

“But you’d have no reason to say no to protective custody.”

“Sure, I would,” Kate insisted. “I don’t want to be babysat.”

Marcus stared at her. “Kate… Please. Don’t lie to me.”

She looked away, lips trembling. Damn it, why did he always push her on this?

“I need to know, Marcus,” she finally said. “I need to know why.”

Marcus watched her for a long moment. She kept her eyes averted, pressing her lower lip hard into the upper lip to keep it from pushing out in a pout.

Finally, Marcus sighed. Somewhat dejected, he said, “I’m with you, Kate. To the end. No matter what. I hope you know that.”