Page 243 of Come Back to Me

Annoyed at the interruption when she makes some salient points about biowarfare, I scan the caller ID and heave a sigh.

“I have to take this. I’m sorry, Tee.”

“Don’t be. If Zee, Parker, or Callan called, I’d answer.”

“Callan?” I glance at her as I hit connect and direct at the phone, “Wait a second, Bree.”

“Like the cheese?” Tee asks.

“No. Like Bryony,” I answer her in an aside. “You’ve gotten close with Callan?”

“Sure. Baby Cowboy’s pretty neat. Plus, I’m going to help him lose his virginity if it’s the last thing we both do?—”

“You’re not offering yourself as a sacrifice, are you?”

“Ew. Who’s Bree?”

“Head of the security firm I just hired for the ranch.”

“What was wrong with the old one?”

“Nothing. But I served with Bree and her company’s new?—”

She clicks her fingers. “And loyalty matters to you.”

“Precisely.”

“Though I’m sure Brogan doesn’t agree when you abandoned him at the ranch.”

“He can survive a day without me.” To Bree, I ask, “What’s going on?”

“We have someone with a fake ID trying to apply for a ranch hand job.”

“Then tell him to move on. Fuck’s sake, Bree, you shouldn’t need to check in with me about this.”

“I know. Jesus. It’s a good fake, Cody. One of the best I’ve ever seen.”

The severity of her tone has me pausing, inadvertently tugging Tee to a halt as she stares at me in concern.

“What’s so special about it?”

“It’s high quality. Expensive.”

“You run his previous?”

“I emailed it to Marty. The guy’s got a clean record on his original ID.”

“Which means he didn’t spend that much to run away from previous crimes.” I frown. “What are you thinking? Someone sent them?”

“Yes. I can go the less-than-legal route and look into his bank account so we can see who we’re dealing with?”

I sigh. “You do know that I’m a marshal, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“No, the opposite in fact. If he’s a professional, then it won’t be in his regular bank account, Bree.”

“No, but I wasn’t suggesting I investigate his current account, Cody. I was thinking offshore.”

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