Page 64 of Fatal Vision
Not asked. Demanded.
Colton’s hackles bristled.
Shelby’s eyes snapped up to lock on Ingram. “A photo.” Her voice was as hard and unforgiving as the metal cabinet Colton was leaning on.
Boy, he’d heardthattone a few times in his life. The dragon inside him chuckled. If Ingram knew what was good for him, he’d hightail it out of her vicinity.
“A photo?” Ingram echoed.
Stupid man.
“Yes. If you must know, it was a picture of Colton and myself.” Her voice wavered ever so slightly. She twisted her braid. “Happier times, you know?”
Ah, yes. His beauty queen was also a spot-on actress.
Ingram’s forceful gaze swung to Colton, back to Shelby. “Maybe you got rid of it.”
For good reason.
The unsaid words hung in the air between the three of them.
Colton straightened, a sour laugh escaping his lips. What he wouldn’t give to punch the man in the face, but this was an FBI office and Ingram was Shelby’s boss. He needed to be an adult here. Get that USB and Shelby out of here without causing her any further duress.
What would Beatrice do?
The Queen B probably wouldn’t find herself in this type of situation. Still, he had a pretty good imagination and Beatrice’s voice was clear in his mind.
He cleared his throat, drawing Ingram’s attention. “Can I speak to you outside for a moment?” Then he flashed Shelby an encouraging smile. “You go ahead, honey, and finish up there. If you can’t find the picture, we’ll ask your mom to make a copy of hers, okay?”
As he spoke, he purposely positioned himself in front of Ingram, practically forcing the man to back out the door.
For half a second, it was nothing but a tense, nonverbal pissing match as Ingram eyed him up and down. He caved after another glance at Shelby and moved into the hallway.
“What?” he hissed under his breath once they were outside the office.
Colton motioned him farther away from the door, acting like he was afraid Shelby might overhear. “Look, I know this is weird, but because of her brain injury, she has some little OCD quirks. You saw it—fiddling with her hair all the time? She also taps her foot before she stands up. Arranges the food on her plate just so before she’ll eat it.” God, he was so good at lying, sometimes it scared him. “The doctor says it’s normal after the brain injury and coma, and in time, she’ll probably stop doing those things. But for now, she needs to feel she has control. She’s fixated on that picture, so give her a minute, okay? When she stresses out, she gets a migraine and her vision goes out on her. You don’t want that to happen, trust me. She starts bawling like a cat with its tail caught in a fan.”
Playing the injury card, doctor card,andcrying card all in one punch worked. Ingram rubbed his eyes under his glasses and looked away.
Guilt? Maybe the guy was just exhausted.
Or the idea of a crying female did to him what it did to most men.
“I found it!” Shelby called. “I knew it was here!”
Colton caught the surprise on Ingram’s face and patted his arm. “Thank the Almighty, it really was here. Her memory is coming back.”
The faint tic under the man’s left eye suggested he might not be so glad about that.
But Colton didn’t have a chance to analyze more before Ingram turned away. “Get her home, Bells. And make sure she gets to her PT session today. The sooner I get my agent back, the sooner I’m rid of you.”
“Nice seein’ you too,” Colton called after him. Lowering his voice, he muttered, “Dickwad.”
Shelby waved the picture for all to see as he walked back into the office, then realized Ingram was gone. “Where’s Theo?”
“He bought our little show. You got the USB?”
She tapped her hip. “In my pocket.”
He settled her into the wheelchair. She laid the picture in her lap. Sure enough, it was one of the two of them at Christmas, back before Colton and Shelby had shipped out on their one and only mission together—Connor’s rescue.
Happier times.
Yeah, he remembered those. From the way Shelby kept kissing him, she remembered them too.
Somehow, he had to figure out how to get them back.
“Mission accomplished.” He wheeled her out the door. “Let’s go, Mata Hari.”
