Page 7 of While You Were Spying
“Was the mission a success?” I ask. “I mean, other than the part where Jayden was shot.”
“Pretty much. The rest of it is up to the Feds now.”
I flip on the left-turn indicator and switch lanes. “That’s good. Sooo…it sounds like you’ll be short one operative while Jayden’s recovering—”
“The answer is no, Isabelle.”
“I didn’t ask a question.”
“The answer is still no. Look, I know you want to get out in the field, do what the guys do. But it’s just not feasible.”
I stick my tongue out at the phone. Not exactly mature, but I can’t help it. It’s that or cuss at Liam for being unreasonable. “Why not? I know you want to hire at least one woman to work with you guys in the field. I’m that woman—and deep down, you know it.”
“You don’t have the level of training the guys and I have. While you were earning your degree, the five of us were overseas, trying not to be killed by stray bullets.”
“And clearly that experience worked out great for Jayden.” I smirk even though Liam can’t see that either, but I’m sure he doesn’t miss it in my tone.
“All the more reason for you not to be in the field.”
“I could be a major asset.”
“You’re already a major asset, Isabelle. You keep everyone organized and knowing which way is up. Without you, everything would be a disaster in the office.”
He has a point there. Those guys would be like blindfolded chickens if it weren’t for me.
And what happens when a blindfolded chicken tries to cross the road?
Splat.
“I’ve gotta go. The doctor wants to talk to me. We’ll see you soon.” He hangs up before I can say anything else.
“What do you bet there was no doctor?” I ask Mojo.
He woofs.
I arrive a short time later at the building where Quade Security and Investigations is located. After grabbing a coffee from The Coffee Nut, Mojo and I head upstairs. I unlock the door and turn off the alarm.
Mojo makes himself comfortable on the dog bed in the corner of the reception area, where he can easily see who’s coming and going.
I turn on my computer and check the phone messages, then conduct a preliminary search on Granny’s mysterious ex-boyfriend. The more information I know about him and his resort before I contact him, the better.
Even though he doesn’t want to talk on the phone about what sensitive information might’ve been stolen, he’s willing to talk to me so that we can make arrangements for my stay at the resort.
But before Liam or any of the guys can accept a case, they always make sure the person hiring them isn’t hiding anything that will later bite one of them on the ass.
Except, now that Jayden’s on medical leave, that’s going to put a giant wrench in our ability to accept the mission.
I might have to come up with Plan B: ask one of the other men to pretend to be my husband while I’m at the resort. Because at the end of the day, the important thing isn’t who joins me there, it’s that we get the job done.
And it might be enough to prove to Liam and Jayden that I’m capable of doing the job. That Liam doesn’t have to hire someone else to fill the role of the female operative—I’m the perfect candidate for the position.
That’s not to say I haven’t been involved in the field, but the one time Liam let me do something beyond office work involved crashing someone’s date. Wes Chiasson, a friend of ours, was in love with his roommate, Hannah, and didn’t like the idea of her going out on a date with another man.
So Jayden and I showed up on Hannah’s date and did some spying for Wes.
That was the first and last time I was in the field. Eighteen months ago.
And the only reason Liam even went along with it was because he figured it would keep me off his back for a while when it came to my requests to work in the field.
