Page 73 of Off the Grid
“Do you think we’re looking in the wrong place?” Nate asked, tone shifting. “What if everything that happened to her is unrelated to our investigation? It’s not likely, but it’s possible. Worse coincidences have happened.”
“But if it’s not the Russians, who else would it be?”
They both paused to sigh.
“I might have an idea.” Jo slipped softly back into the conversation.
Leo couldn’t help but snicker. He dropped his head into his hand, trying to muffle his laughter. Of course she hadn’t hung up.
“Jo!” Nate snapped.
“What?” She didn’t sound the least bit apologetic.
“How do you even know about this? It’s confidential government information.”
“I thought you wanted me to see,” she retorted, sounding shocked. “You left the document wide open on your laptop, which you left sitting out on the kitchen counter, in the middle of my domain. I mean, I only have so much self-control, especially when it concerns my friends.”
“Good to know you take FBI security precautions to heart, Parker,” Leo interjected. He could perfectly envision his buttoned-up partner pinching the bridge of his nose with an exasperated expression written across his face. But Jo was Jo, reformed criminal or not. Hacking was in her blood.You can take the girl out of the life, but you can’t take the life out of the girl.Leo, for one, wasn’t complaining. “What’d you find, Jo?”
“Don’t encourage her, Leo.”
“I found a name. Not sure who he is, you called before I could dig any deeper.”
“What is it?”
“Henry Waineright.”
Leo hastily jotted it down and double-checked the spelling.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that,” Nate murmured as soon as Jo was done rattling off letters. “Jo, please get off the phone—for real this time.”
“Okay, I will.”
“We’re going to have a conversation about professional boundaries later.”
“Can’t wait,” she murmured wryly.
“Do I need to remind you of the terms of your plea deal?”
“No…” She sighed. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
The phoneclicked.
Leo tried to wipe the silly grin from his face, then remembered that Nate couldn’t see it, and left it alone. “That was adorable, Parker.”
“Shut it, Leo.”
“No, I mean it. I get all warm and fuzzy thinking about you two crazy kids.”
“Would you like me to call McKenzie and tell her you’ve been moping around for two days like a preteen with a crush, agonizing about whether or not to call her?”
Leo sighed.Leave it to Nate to suck the fun out of things.“Point taken.”
“Good. Now, is there something else you want to talk to me about?”
“Actually, yes.” Leo took a deep breath, licking his lip as his stomach made a little leap up into his throat. He’d been delaying the conversation for two days, but this morning, he’d woken up on the floor of his hotel room with the sheets twisted like a snake around his limbs, and he’d decided he’d finally had enough. If his time with McKenzie had taught him anything, it was that maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world to ask for help. “I know you’re on medical leave right now, or well, you’re supposed to be, but did you mean it when you said you wanted to take a step back for a few months? Take a desk job? Focus on paperwork?”
