Page 136 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

Jeannie laughed. “You bet I would—and I’d make you salute me.”

“I’d be happy to. This is such marvelous news. I couldn’t be happier for you—or myself, because worrying about my pregnant wife chasing murderers is the stuff of nightmares.”

“Am I going to call the mayor, then, and tell her I’m interested?”

“Only if it’s what you really want, but my vote is an enthusiastic hell yes. They need you in a command role in that department. You could help fix the problems the FBI report identified and clean up Stahl’s mess in addition to so many other contributions. You’d have real power to make changes.”

“That part definitely appeals to me.” She let out a nervous laugh. “I guess I’m going to do this.”

“Congratulations, love. I’m so, so proud of you.”

“Don’t congratulate me until it happens.”

“I’m congratulating you on being asked, and it will happen. If you make that call to the mayor, you’d better be ready for that.”

“Jeez, am I really going to make that call?”

“Yes, you are. Now go do it and let me know how it goes. I’ll be dying until I hear back from you.”

“Don’t do that. I need to keep you around.”

“Then hurry up and call me back. I love you so much, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

“Thanks for the support. I love you, too. Here goes nothing.”

“Call me back.”

“I will.”

Jeannie ended that call and gazed at the business card with the direct line to the mayor written on it in ink. She dug deep, searching for the Zen she’d worked so hard to find after being kidnapped and assaulted. Alas, there was no Zen or chill to be found in this surreal moment. Before she could talk herself out of it, she dialed the number and listened to it ring.

“Monique Brewster.”

For a second, Jeannie was so surprised that the mayor herself answered that she forgot what she needed to say.

“Hello?”

“This is Detective Jeannie McBride.”

“Detective McBride! I’m delighted you called.”

“Thank you for thinking of me. I’m in shock, to be honest.”

The mayor’s laughter helped Jeannie to relax a bit. “I don’t know why you’d be shocked after orchestrating some of the most important arrests in recent memory. Everyone is talking about you, Detective, and in the best possible way.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“I’ve been following your career since the earlier incident that we don’t need to rehash now. But let me just say I admired the way you handled yourself after that, and your superiors have nothing but praise for you and your work. It’s an honor to offer you the deputy chief position if you’re interested.”

This was it. “I’m interested—and nervous. It’s not every day that a detective is promoted three ranks. I expect to have some pushback from my colleagues.”

“Which I’m sure you’ll handle with the aplomb and professionalism you’ve exhibited thus far. I made it clear from the beginning, after Conklin was relieved of his position, that I wanted a woman in the job. Your boss turned me down cold, twice, but she enthusiastically recommended you, as did Captain Malone and Chief Farnsworth.”

That brought tears to Jeannie’s eyes. She had so much love for Sam Holland as a boss and a friend and tremendous respect for the captain and chief. “That’s nice to hear.”

“So, have I found my new deputy chief of police?”

“I should mention I’m expecting my first child this summer.”

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