Page 29 of Special Agent Joseph

“Nothing.” He moved away.

She followed. “You looked funny.”

“You mean appreciative. You’re beautiful. But then you know that.”

“I do? I mean… yes. I do. Thanks. Now will you quit messing around and tell me what your snitch said.”

Joe’s quirky half smile caught her eyes, forcing her to turn. Goddamn that man was handsome. He’d dressed differently today, his outfit of black slacks clinging in all the right places topped with a black cashmere sweater highlighting his muscularframe, reminded her more of what he used to look like. Before, when she’d see him from a distance at the Bureau.

Whenever they’d been in headquarters at the same time, he’d stand out. Sure, she’d heard the appreciative comments from the other female agents and periodically found her gaze following him. But she’d never given much thought of having anything to do with Special Agent Joseph Marcus.

Considering him above her station in the FBI hierarchy, she’d ignored the strutting fool. And recently hearing the rumors about his dishonesty had only added to her discomfort whenever he’d been nearby.

Now, here he stood in all his glory, waiting there like a prince as if he had no shame in any of his deceptions. How could she forget about that part? They had proof the man was bad to his core. And she’d slept with the son of a bitch. And… wanted to again.Jesus!“Quit watching me.” Her tone equalled her bad mood.

“You were staring at me.” Joe obviously tried to sound logical but came off as a petulant child instead. Seemingly to realize it, he turned away, his manner weirdly uncomfortable. “Okay, let’s go. Geoff said he’d meet us at our regular place.” He actually stomped toward the door.

She finished her coffee, slammed the mug down on purpose, and caught up with him. “First to my place so I can change, then we’ll meet your guy. Where at?”

“Hell if I know.”

“Give me a break. You don’t remember.”

“Shit, no. I’ll have to call him back and tell him somewhere else. You know the city. What’s a good place that someone like him would be okay with?”

Megan stopped walking toward the Lexus and stared at Joe. “You’re serious. You don’t remember.”

“Lady, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Look, everything about my life seems foreign.” He pointed to the huge dog that followed them outside. “Take Jack for instance. Maria said I’d kick and beat the dog so badly that he wanted to eat me… like, hated my guts. But I know inside myself that I couldn’t hurt any animal… not that way. Funny thing, he seems to like me now. Look, he’s ready to jump in the car with us. Go figure, he wants to stay with me.”

“Hell, maybe it’s me he wants to stay with. Ever think of that?”

Joe made a funny sound between a groan and a grunt. “Okay. Granted. But what about my clothes. They aren’t me. It takes me forever to find something in the goddamn closet I wanna wear and let me tell you, Joseph has the clothes. It’s like a Brooks Brothers outlet in that place. Christ, he has more ties than any one man could ever wear and don’t get me started on the shoe racks.”

Megan laughed, couldn’t help herself. “You finished?”

“Sorry. It’s just so blasted confusing.”

“I get that, but you have to know… it’s like you’re talking about someone else when actually, you’re talking about yourself.”

Joe’s deep sigh of frustration resonated. “See, I know that you’re right, but it all just seems so wrong.” He chuckled a sigh and added, “Moving on… about that place.”

***

An hour later they were behind a sleazy bar on Freemont Street with a youngish, stringy-haired skinny guy who’s online gambling addiction yielded only to his need for cocaine. Thankfully, he’d recognized Joe and approached them. At first, he kept his head lowered, but when he finally looked up from under his hoody, his bloodshot eyes appeared pinpointed and weirdly out-of-focus. Their puffiness and the rest of his pale skinalong with his stick-like shape made him appear as if one of the walking dead tentatively approached.

“Hey man, you okay?” Joe reached out his hand to guide the poor guy in the right direction. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll get you a coffee.”

Shocked at the invitation, Geoff pulled away and almost fell. Antsy, he muttered, “Who’s this with you? We always meet alone, and you’ve never wanted to be seen with me before.”

Self disgust caught Joe unexpectedly, making him sound harsher than he meant to. “Things change, bud. And Meggie’s my new assistant. We’ll be working together from now on. She’s cool.”

Joe ignored the glare Megan shot his way and continued to sweet talk Geoff into the bar where he led them to a booth and ordered them all coffees and a muffin for the undernourished man. “You got something for me.”

Geoff sat as far from Megan as he could, his fingers continually fiddling and scratching at each other, and his right leg in constant motion. Whining, his voice low, Geoff muttered, “I’m real sick, Joseph. You need to help me.”

“I will. After you help me first. Lucia Farina. What have you got?”

Geoff’s head swung this way and that as if he had to keep it in motion to get the words out of his mouth. “She’s pretty.”

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