Page 107 of State of Retribution

“I do what I can for my people.”

Sam sputtered with laughter.“That saying istrademarkedand can’t be used without written permission.”

He laughed and then winced.“The ribs and the lung don’t approve of laughter.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No worries.”

“Are they treating you well in here?”

“I was just telling Liz I need to get shot more often, because I’ve never felt more like a celebrity in my life.Needless to say, she didn’t agree.”

“Too soon for jokes, James,” Liz said from the other side of the bed, where she held his hand.

“I’m so, so appreciative and grateful, Jimmy.I’ll never have the words.”

“Just doing my job, but I’ve been thinking about something I wanted to share with you.”

“What’s that?”

“Whoever did this meant to hit me and not you.I think it was intended to be a warning shot.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you were standing to my left, and I was hit on the right side.If they were gunning for you, they missed by a lot.”

“That’s true, and I hadn’t thought of it that way before.I’ll mention that to our team and the others investigating the shooting.”

“Maybe you could not mention that it came from me.I’ve already said the same thing to my own chain of command, and whatever happens next should come from them.”

“Understood.It’s a good thought, though.I don’t want to tire you out.I just needed to come by to see you, to thank you…”

“I’m glad you came.I hope to be back in the most interesting SUV in town before too long.”

“We’ll be looking forward to having you back.It’s no fun picking on my grasshopper without Vernon’s grasshopper there, too.”

Jimmy chuckled.“Detective Cruz needs me to help fight back.”

“Yes, he does.We’re going to see what we can do to ruin Agent Q while you’re out.”

“Go with God, Q,” Jimmy said, making Quigley laugh.

Sam gave Jimmy another hug and then hugged Liz, too.“Let us know if either of you needs anything.”

“Thanks for coming,” Liz said.“It means a lot to us.”

“Your husband means a lot to me.”At some point in the last few months, Jimmy and Vernon had begun to feel like family to her.“I’ll check on you later this week.”

“Talk to you then,” Jimmy said, smiling as he waved to them.

“I’ll be back tonight,” Vernon said.“You want another milkshake?”

“I’d never say no to that, boss man.”

“You got it.”

Chapter Twenty-One

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