Page 52 of Operation: Sharp Angel

Oscar

At exactly eight twenty-five, Becca received a text from Briana.

Check your agency email. I just sent the particulars for the divorce papers.

Great, thanks. I’ll get the paperwork completed and email it to both you and Colonel Shepherd.

She thanks you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

She’s welcome. Good night.

Becca woke her laptop and brought the Summons Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/Civil Union document up. Then she accessed her new Shepherd Security agency email account to view the one new email there. As expected, it was from Briana. Becca worked on it for about twenty minutes, filling in the newinformation Briana had obtained from the client. Then she sent it attached to an email to Briana and Shepherd as she had been asked to.

After knowing she had to face her current employment situation, she logged into her work email, which she had been avoiding all day. There was an email from one of the partners, replying to her earlier message. Not knowing what she really wanted the reply to be, she opened the message. It was one sentence.

Bradley and I will discuss this email and get back to you soon.

That was it, which left her feeling unsettled. Did she want them to say no problem, take as long as you need? Or did she want them to accept her resignation? She already knew she didn’t want to return to the office every day. And deep inside, she knew she didn’t want to practice estate law any longer. She could afford to take some time away from working. Maybe that would be the best thing right now; resign and spend a month or so figuring out what she really wanted to do.

She didn’t reply to Carl’s email. After she scanned the remainder of new emails in the account, she closed it down, done with work for the evening. Not knowing if Carter would be back, or when, she washed her face, brushed her teeth and put her pajamas on. She had already shut off the television. Then she settled into bed and turned the bedside light off, doubting sleep would come easily.

She hadn’t been in bed long and was not asleep yet when her text message chime sounded through the otherwise quiet room. Grabbing her phone from the nightstand, she saw the message from Carter.

Are you still awake and if so, may I come by?

She sat up in bed and tapped out a quick reply.

Sure.

She turned the bedside light back on at the same time there was a knock on the door. She figured he must have been standing on the other side of the door when he sent the text. She jumped up and went to the door, opening it, uncaring that she was wearing her mid-thigh-length night shirt. She embraced him, relieved that he was back. “Carter, is everything okay?” she asked. Then she stepped back, releasing him, and she looked him over for any sign of injury.

He grinned, pleased by her concern and her brief hug. “Yeah, can I come in?”

“Sure,” she said, stepping back so he could enter. “Can you tell me what happened?”

He closed the door behind himself. “Yeah, it’s fine. It really wasn’t a big deal. The fiancé of one of my teammates hit the panic code on the alarm system, which notifies our Operations Center to send help. That was the alert I got to go assist. It was the same type of code I had Ops send out after I got your text last night that you were in danger. It turned out to be some unknown dude, high as shit, pounding on her door.”

“Did you take him on alone?” she asked.

“No, Madison, not sure you’ve met her yet, and Robinson also responded. He was the older black guy that came to your sister’s place the other night. Jackson was en route when we got it resolved, so we had Ops send him home. Robinson tased him to stop him as he wasn’t listening to reason. He was so high. We cuffed him for the local cops to arrest. Dahlia, Michael’s fiancé, was fine, just a bit shaken up. Michael is out of town for work.”

Becca stared at him, dumbfounded that for him it had not been a big deal. “Did she overreact?”

“No, not at all. She did the right thing, hitting the panic code. This guy was huge, nearly seven feet tall. He was screaming andswearing, pounding on her door violently. He wouldn’t listen to reason, not sure what he was on, but he came after us and had Robinson not tased him, I’m sure we would have had to either pummel him into unconsciousness or shoot him to stop him.”

“Shit, that’s scary,” Becca said. “That woman in the house had to be scared.”

“Yeah, she was shaken. Madison stayed with her while they tried to get a hold of Michael and will probably convince her to go home with her tonight. Michael is Madison’s brother-in-law, and I know she already considers Dahlia her sister-in-law even though they aren’t married yet. But Madison would do it for any of the wives or girlfriends of the team. You met Madison’s husband, Cooper, when you came in for your first appointment with us to consider if we’d take the case.”

“Yes, the blond guy? I remember him,” Becca said.

“Yeah. I’m glad Madison was home. She’s on the same team with Cooper and normally deploys with the team, but is assigned to HQ for the next month as a training officer.”

“She was in the military?” Becca asked.

“Yeah, a captain in the army.”

“Wow. That’s something. Briana told me she’d been an MP in the army, too. She told me how she came to be on this team recently.”

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