Page 56 of Marked

“Quiet night?” Koen asked, sitting across from Lanie. Her cheeks flushed cherry-red, probably recalling hownot quietit was after round two in the middle of the night when she screamed my name. He noticed it too. “For fuck’s sake, it was an innocent question. I don’t even want to know the answer anymore.”

“Any ideas why Waverly wanted to meet with me?” She changed the subject, avoiding further ridicule.

Leaving the way we had meant returning to a lot of unfinished business. My best guess was she wanted to discuss the undercover case Lanie worked with the DEA. The case was cold, nearly six months without any movement or word about the missing cases of C-4. I’m sure our counterparts were getting antsy for answers.

“Looks like you’re about to find out.” Keaton nodded toward the hallway.

“Agent Biggs.” Our RAC looked at her watch. “It’s nine-oh-one.”

Lanie’s chair scraped against the floor as she stood. “What is it with her and time?”

“Nine-oh-two.”

“Shit.”

12UNCLE

Lanie

“Cozumel or Curaçao?”

“Huh?”

“Close my door and go with your gut, Lanie. Cozumel or Curaçao?”

This was the weirdest way to start a conversation with my boss, but if choosing a vacation destination was what she wanted to discuss, I was fully on board.

“Curaçao.”

“Why?”

I shrugged, settling onto the wingback chair across from her large wooden desk. “I’ve been to Cozumel, but I heard there’s nothing better than snorkeling around the islands.”

“You’ve snorkeled?” She raised a brow.

“And scuba dived.”

“Damn. That settles it. I’m taking time off.”

“Great. So can we get to the real reason I’m here?”

Waverly steepled her hands in front of her, staring at a place on the wall over my right shoulder. It wasn’t often she was at a loss for words, which didn’t bode well for me.

“Officially, I need to remind you that a romantic relationship between agents working in the same office––while not forbidden––is frowned upon.”

Breathing became impossible. Surely she wasn’t considering transferring one of us. It wasn’t long ago when she was telling me to wait for him. What the hell had happened to change her tune? My mind whirled with every possible argument I could think of as to why it would be a bad idea to break up our team. We weren’t actually partners anyway. Dammit. Where was Noah when I needed him? His big brain would know how to get us out of this.

“Unofficially, it’s about damn time the two of you got your shit together.”Thank God.Slumping in the chair, I deflated like a week-old balloon. Unfortunately, she wasn’t done. “However, if at any time this relationship interferes with your ability to perform your job, I won’t hesitate to step in. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Now tell me how you’re really doing.” I opened my mouth, but she held up her hands mid-air, stopping me before any words came out. “If you say you’re fine, your ass will be on desk duty for the next month. Give me the truth, not the bullshit you’d feed your mother.”

Waverly was one of the finest agents I’d ever met. She climbed the ladder quickly, not because she knew how to kiss ass, but because she knew how to kick it. I admired the hell out of her and considered her a close friend, which was why I felt comfortable telling her what I hadn’t even told Noah. He had enough on his plate to deal with.

“I’ve been on emotion overload since Dave’s confession. What I’m feeling changes by the minute, sometimes the second.”

“Do you need to talk to someone?”

---