Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
“Hey,” he greeted me, taking hold of my shoulder. “Thanks for being nice to my partner earlier. I know he can be a lot sometimes, but all that anxiety comes from a good place.”
“He told you about that?”
“He tells me about everything, and I do the same. That’s how it works, right?”
With partners he meant. “It does,” I agreed. “And Lang was nice too, so ya know.”
“And I appreciate him as well.”
I nodded. “We’ve all got things. We can only do the best we can.”
His smile was warm.
Back outside, I took a seat on the last step, drinking my water, thinking I should go back inside where it was cool, but I needed the people to thin out. I was getting hungry, though.
“Hey.”
And there was Lang.
“Don’t come out here. It’s hot.”
“But you’re out here,” he said, coming down to where I was, stopping one step above me. “And I have to be with my boy.”
I was going to get on him about the “boy” comment, but he put his hands in my hair and tipped my head back to kiss me. I didn’t care after that.
“I saw Talia. She looked happy to see Celso.”
“She was. Very. She’ll probably start looking for you soon.”
“No, Sharpe will need to introduce her around.”
He grunted.
“Hey, do you think we need to tell Kage that we’re more than work partners, or is that none of his business?”
“It’s none of his business,” Kohn said from above us, and when we looked up at him, he was pacing the tiny porch, texting on his phone.
“You all right?”
“Yes,” he said quickly, which meant he didn’t want to say. “But truly, our boss has no interest in your relationship status. He only needs to know if it becomes an issue on the job.”
“Thank you for clearing that up,” Lang said, smiling. “We both appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” Kohn said, not looking at us, still pacing.
After watching him for a moment, I realized I had to know. “Can you say what’s wrong, or no?”
He looked up then and I noted how tense he appeared. “Nothing is—I have to make a comment on the apprehension of Tobias Mosbach and the fact that he is now cooperating with the FBI and is currently answering questions. I also have to comment about the gang members who were wounded during their arrest in the raid in the Loop early this morning, and, of course, on the derogatory comments some members of the marshals service made about the DEA to a documentary film crew.”
This was new. “There was a film crew there?” Lang asked.
“Apparently so. The DEA didn’t read us in on that, which they didn’t have to, but I’m always upfront when we have civilians along.”
“So what happened?”
Long-suffering sigh. “It’s par for the course with this group, and honestly, I’ve been guilty of being less than complimentary of the DEA in the past myself. And between us, within the confines of our office, that’s fine. The trouble comes because we get used to saying things, because let’s face it, if the ball is dropped, it’s usually them, they’re cowboys who do whatever the hell they want, but when we share our opinions loosely in public, that’s when we have to pay the piper.”
“So someone mouthed off about the DEA last night durin’ that sweep of the apartment house and the film crew got it on tape,” I summed up.
“Exactly.”
“Yeah, but was whoever said it wrong?”
“The problem is, they weren’t talking about a specific incident but generally.”
“Like they’re cowboys who play loose and fast with the rules,” I said, chuckling.
He nodded.
“And now you have to smooth it over.”
“It’s my job to try, so I need to be ready with an answer when I’m asked about the documentary film crew and their sound bite, which I will be.”
Lang cleared his throat. “Is Kage going to get heat for that? For what whoever said?”
“Yes,” Kohn answered honestly. “And I’m sure the mayor will want to have some meetings to determine how to resolve this constant tension.”
I was worried. “They won’t use this to remove Kage, will they?”
Kohn smiled. “Our boss has the best working relationship with the mayor’s office of all the law enforcement agencies here in Chicago. Don’t worry about him.”
“That’s good.”
He took a breath then, reading something on his phone, then placed it in his back pocket. “Okay, I’m going in. You guys should too, or you’ll melt out here.”
“We will,” Lang told him. “Hey, do you need us to stand with you at the press conference? Maybe divert attention from the stupid sound bite by answering questions?”
“No, no. That’s tomorrow. Miro and Ian will both be there with me. But it’s kind of you to offer. And I’m sorry I can’t mention either of you by name in relation to Mosbach’s capture. That’s not how the marshals service works.”