Page 42 of The Agent
Jennifer rattled off another series of questions, just short of asking Marley for the name of the boy she’d lost her virginity to. And then chirped, “Let’s take a look-see, shall we?”
Marley was beginning to seriously despise Jennifer.
“All right, I’m seeing a one-hundred-thousand-dollar wire transfer from a European cash office. Other than that, it’s anonymous.”
A rush of fury flooded her belly, causing her to tighten her fingers around the phone. Patrick was responsible for this. She knew it. He just couldn’t stop messing around with her life, could he? He’d lied to her, disappeared on her and now he was throwing suspicion right back on her by moving money into an account that had her name on it. Hernandez would only see this as another sign of her guilt.
She wished Patrick were here, standing right in front of her, so she could strangle him with her bare hands.
“Is there anything else I can do for you today, Ms. Kincaid?” Jennifer chirped.
“No, you’ve done quite enough,” Marley muttered. “Thanks.”
She disconnected the call and resisted the urge to whip the phone across the kitchen. Okay. She had to calm down. And she had to call the police again. They’d obviously misled her by saying the account was inactive, and were probably sitting around at the station, taking bets on whether she would call it in when she discovered the deposit.
Hernandez would no doubt bet against her.
Good thing she wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction.
* * *
“YOU SLEPT WITH HER. You damn idiot.”
AJ’s harsh voice was not one Caleb wanted greeting him so early in the morning, but at least Marley wasn’t in the room to hear the angry words hissing out of the phone. He slid up in bed and leaned against the headboard, wiping the sleep from his eyes. The bathroom door was open, the light off, so he knew Marley must be downstairs, probably making breakfast.
Caleb opted for the avoidance route. “You’re okay there by yourself, right? Getting enough sleep?”
His partner sounded incredulous. “Yes, Agent Ford, I’m sleeping just fine. I’m getting in twenty-minute cat-naps, and watching the monitors, one of which started shrieking last night when a stray dog walked past the porch motion sensor. I’m also eating my veggies and saying my prayers and all that fun stuff.” AJ let out a loud curse. “Now how about we talk about you again. You know, about the fact that yousleptwith her.”
Caleb drew in a breath. “I got caught up in…in the moment.”
“Caught up in the moment?” Disbelief dripped from AJ’s voice. “Look, I know you’re having a ton of fun spending time with Nurse Hottie, but don’t you ever forget why we’re here, Caleb. This stakeout is about catching Grier, it’s about Russ, not your goddamn libido.”
Caleb closed his eyes. “I know.”
There was a long silence on the other end.
“What?” Caleb asked. “Say whatever you’re thinking.”
“You don’t want to hear it.”
“Say it, AJ.”
“Fine.” His partner released a heavy breath. “I don’t think you got caught up in the moment, man. I think you got caught up inher.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’ve fallen in love with her, you moron.”
The phone shook in his hand. Love? That was ridiculous.
Panic clutched at his chest like icy-cold fingers. No, he couldn’t have fallen for her. So what if he liked being with her and making her laugh and seeing her bright smile when he woke up in the morning? So what if she made his body burn and amazed him with her constant optimism? So what?
It didn’t mean he loved her, did it?
“You still there?”
AJ’s tone was oddly gentle. It made Caleb’s jaw tense. “Yeah, I’m here.”
