Page 62 of Out of Control

“No shit.”

“What if I just laid down in bed?”

“That’s a good idea.”

“And then you sat on my face?”

She barked out a laugh.

“What, you have a complaint?”

“Not really, but I think that defeats the purpose of bed rest.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but my phone rang. Athena quickly sat up and retrieved it from the coffee table, the display telling me the local office was calling.

“Special Agent Lucas Blake,” I said.

“Agent Blake, this is Stephanie from the Human Resources department with the San Francisco FBI field office.”

“Hi Stephanie,” I said. A vague memory of who this person was flickered through my mind. The brunette with the glasses, maybe?

“Can I have a moment of your time? I’ve been made aware of your off duty status, but I’m also aware that you were involved in the witness placement of Claire Reynolds and William Bracco.”

I sat up straighter.

“I was. What’s happening there?”

“Apparently there was a bit of confusion and their US Marshal handler is out of commission. Are you able to communicate with local authorities in Portland via teleconference to help sort things out?”

“One moment please, Stephanie,” I told her, then pressed the mute button on my phone. I raised an eyebrow to Athena.

“You need to work some, don’t you?” her sigh was exasperated, but her eyes amused.

“I do,” I admitted. “These witnesses are part of our case, and—”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” she waved it off. “I get it. I love how important your job is to you. That’s good because I like to keep busy, too. And if it came down to it I know what your number one priority is.”

“I’ll always put you first if I have to choose.” I already put my job at risk lying about how Leo Lombardi died, and I’d do it all over again.

“Damn right. But you’re injured. And I doubt you want to just hop on a zoom call to sort things out.”

Busted.

“Let’s try something new here,” she continued. “How about a compromise?”

“Oh?”

“How about we fly up to the PNW together so I can make sure you don’t work too hard. After you sort things out in Portland, we can continue up to Seattle and hire some movers to pack up the rest of my crap so you can stop worrying if I’d choose you right back.”

“I’m not worried. I’m…content.”

“So take Stephanie off mute, tell her the news, and let’s go get some witness statements to close this damn case and get you your promotion, baby.”

She leaned back into my side as I finalized details with Stephanie, placing a kiss over my heart. And life was perfect.

Epilogue

Athena

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