Page 54 of Crazy in Love

“That’s why I’m calling actually. They have to go back in and fish some bone debris out of my leg. Surgery’s tomorrow. I should heal faster this time, but I’m still weeks away from returning to work.”

“No hurry. We got you covered,” his boss said. “I’ve reassigned all your cases.”

“Sounds like you don’t miss me at all.”

“You know how it is.” The SAC sighed. “We’re all expendable.”

“That’s harsh,” Nick said, trying to hide his irritation. “It’s barely been a month since we buried Andy, and you’re ready to move on?”

“No. You’re right. I’m sorry. Sometimes I don’t realize how apathetic I’ve become.”

Nick understood. Being an agent meant always looking for the bad in people. Always wondering what they were hiding or lying about. Always searching for—and usually finding—the seedy underbelly of society. The cynicism kept you alive, and it was tough to be good at your job without it.

“I get it,” Nick said. “Anyway, just wanted to keep you in the loop.”

“There’s something else I’ve been meaning to call you about.”

Nick tensed, pretty sure he knew where this was heading.

“Someone from INTERPOL called and said you ran a check on a guy on their watchlist. What’s that about?”

When Faith’s dad popped up as “wanted,” Nick knew he’d set off some internal alarms. He was surprised they hadn’t called sooner. This was just his luck. He finally breaks the rules, runs someone he shouldn’t have, and gets caught straightaway.

“A friend of mine is trying to locate her biological father. Unfortunately, I found him in the system. Am I gonna get jammed up over it?”

“Well, if I assign you his case, that would make it legitimate. You can work it remotely. You track him down, and we’ll pick him up. Otherwise, yeah, I’d have to write you up for misusing agency resources.”

Nick groaned. Talk about good news, bad news. He finally gets a nugget of work, but if he does the job properly, his new friend’s new dad goes to jail. That summed up his job perfectly. It was rarely ever a win-win.

“I’ll start next week.”

After the call, he broke down and took a pain pill. His leg wasn’t just not healing, it seemed to be getting worse. He prayed tomorrow’s surgery would fix that.

To kill time before his date with Faith later, he settled in on the couch with his latest book. Tess must have turned down the thermostat, because the room was freezing.

Too lazy to unpack a sweatshirt, he slipped his feet into a pair of pink, unicorn-covered slippers he found lying under the coffee table and wrapped himself in an equally ugly fleece blanket. Helooked ridiculous, but didn’t care. Tess was up in the mountains somewhere and wouldn’t be home until late tonight.

He woke to a snicker. Cracking open an eye, he caught Faith lowering her phone as if she’d just taken a picture.

“What are you doing here?”

“I lost a contact lens, and all my spares are here. Those look great on you,” she teased, pursing her lips at his feet.

“The Vicodin told me they were a good idea.” He hastily kicked off the garish slippers. “Did you take a picture of me?”

“You never know when a photo like this might come in handy. I bet Tess would pay good money for it.”

“Not nice to kick a man while he’s down. It’s my last day before surgery, and I can’t even leave the house.” He got up off the couch, dropping the blanket. “You guys keep it arctic in here. I’m trying not to freeze to death.”

They stood, staring at each other. And just like every other time they locked eyes, something jolted through him. There was no more denying it. He liked Faith. What he initially saw as quirky, borderline crazy, had grown on him, and now he craved it.

In his half-dozed, half-drugged state, what happened next was inevitable. He took a step toward her, and she met him halfway. They latched together like magnets and stumbled to her room. To her bed. His leg was sore but not enough to stop him from getting down to—and taking care of—business.

A while later, dressed and back in the living room, awkwardness set in.

“So, you replaced your contact lens?” he asked, mentally slapping his forehead. What a dumb thing to say.

“Tess is going to kill us,” she said. He should have known Faith wouldn’t beat around the bush with meaningless small talk.

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