Page 69 of The Bodyguard

“Look, Jonah, we really don’t know anything for sure, but, we want you to stay here for a little while longer. Just to be on the safe side.”

I let out a heavy, frustration-laden sigh and stand up, taking my coffee with me.

“We may not be concerned about what Novak and Nielsen do to each other or what happens with the whole paternity issue, that’s really nothing to do with us. Not anymore. But what we are concerned about is the welfare and safety of one of our own.” Flick’s giving me another look, one that tells me she knows I brought a lot of this on myself. I crossed a line. Broke a rule. Rules. More than one. “You didn’t help the situation, Jonah.”

“I cared about her.”

“I know you did.”

“And after what happened with Kate…”

“It wasn’t the same situation. It wasn’t. You should’ve left it alone.”

“She didn’t deserve to be lied to…”

“It wasn’t your place to sort out the mess that was her family.”

I stare at Flick, a mixture of anger and frustration bubbling away in the pit of my stomach.

“We wasted a lot of time on them.”

“Maybe we did. But it was better to be safe than sorry.”

“We should’ve pulled out earlier, in hindsight.”

I sit back down. “I just feel useless.”

“You’re lucky to still have a job. Marianne could’ve fired you for what you did.”

“Yeah, well, to be honest, Flick, I’ve been thinking a lot about what happens next.”

Flick frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I think it’s time I moved on.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Why?”

“There’s nothing left for me here. In reality, I should’ve left after Kate died, I should’ve listened to that voice inside me telling me I was nothing without her.”

“You were one of our best agents, Jonah.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Were?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Flick sighs, but I think she does, in a way. Subconsciously, maybe.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore, Flick.”

Flick throws me an almost pitiful look. “You need to think about this. Don’t do anything rash.”

“It was acting rash that got me in this mess in the first place, why change the habit of a lifetime?”

Flick comes over to me, and rests a friendly hand on my arm. “Just think about it, Jonah. Please. I know Marianne was angry, but she doesn’t want to lose you.”

“I’m tired, Flick. Tired of all of this. All the secrecy, all the not being able to have a proper relationship, I mean, if Kate had lived who’s to say we would’ve survived, as a couple? This job can be brutal, and I’m just not sure this is the life I want anymore.”

---