Page 9 of What We May Be

“They’re gonna wipe the floor with us, Deputy. I didn’t need to see that.” Except he’d been seeing it all month, dutifully attending Annie’s games now that they’d gone public with their relationship. He sighed dramatically, but the corners of his lips turned up as he caught another of Annie’s grins.

Another light in the dark of the past couple months.

“You got off easy, man.” Trevor’s amused voice carried over the din of the bullpen. He shuffled through the rows of desks, balancing a cardboard tray of food in one hand and holding two bottles of Cheerwine with the other. “You didn’t have this one”—he pecked Charlie’s cheek, then strode into her office to unload the ballpark bounty—“heckling you the entire time too.”

“I would have behaved myself,” she called after him.

Everyone laughed. Rightfully so. All of Hanover knew she was a grade A heckler. It was her favorite thing about sports, especially since she was otherwise shit at them. She’d grown up surrounded by athletes, but athletic talent had skipped her completely, so she’d made up for it with moral support.

“How many strikeouts?” she asked her sister.

“Twelve,” Annie said. “The last one was a wicked rise ball.”

Charlie opened her mouth, and Jaylen held up a hand. “Don’t say it should’ve been fifteen. You weren’t there.”

“Just in case, I’ll have Maggie check your eyesight.”

“It’s all good.” Annie swaggered over to Jaylen and slapped his shoulder with her glove. “Lay off Jaylen.”

“All right.” Grinning, Charlie raised her hands. “I’ll ease up.”

“Why don’t you go find Abel and fill him in?” Trevor said to Annie and Jaylen. “I’m sure he wants to know how the game went, and I need to get some food in your sister since I’m sure she hasn’t eaten all day.”

Charlie opened her mouth to lie but her grumbling stomach betrayed her. “I forgot.” Not a lie. “It’s been a day.” Also not a lie.

“Sounds like a plan.” Jaylen hooked an arm through Annie’s and steered her toward the stairs. “You can tell him how you’re gonna kick our asses in the tourney next month.”

“I promise I won’t be too hard on you.”

Charlie barely contained her laughter. Annie’s competitive streak was as fierce as Trevor’s and—

Charlie blocked the mental image before it fully formed, focusing instead on the here and now. Her family, and the case that had eaten up more than half her day. “Jaylen,” Charlie called after him. “Once Annie is on her way, find Diego and get up to speed on the new case.”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

They disappeared down the stairwell, and Charlie retreated into her office, Trevor on her heels. He sank into one of the visitor chairs in front of her desk. “Seems like love is in the air for those two.”

She swiped the box of Raisinets from the tray and dropped into the chair beside his. “Doubly good I wasn’t there cheering for the wrong team.”

“Please.” Trevor took a swig from his soda bottle. “Jaylen’s been here a few years now. He knows the drill.”

Rolling her eyes, she traded the box of candy for a hot dog, unwrapped it, and took a bite. Doctored with ketchup and cheese, just the way she liked it.

“Heard them making plans for another date next week,” Trevor said. “What’s that bring the tally to? I’ve lost count.”

Charlie hid her prideful smirk behind a napkin. “Me too.” She was happy Annie and Jaylen were getting closer, especially since she’d been the one to set them up. But her pride was tempered by recent events and events in the near future. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

She didn’t have to say more for Trevor to understand where her thoughts had gone. Annie was a primary concern for both of them as they’d each considered the move to DC. “I hope so,” he said. “I hope it’s the fresh start she needs too.”

Annie would be out of any other Henby shadows and on her own two feet with Jaylen by her side. Abel would still be in town—Annie wouldn’t be totally without family—and Charlie and Trevor would only be a six-hour car ride away. She was a grown woman. Charlie shouldn’t worry, but turning that instinct off where her little sister was concerned was impossible.

Trevor set his empty bottle on the desk and angled toward her. “Have you heard any more from the feds?”

She paused midlift of her hot dog. She appreciated the shift in conversation away from the hard one to something else, but she was cautious about having this particular conversation at the station. Her work on the Salazar case had caught the attention of the organized crime unit at the FBI. Joining the Bureau would be a giant leap for her career, but every time she thought about the opportunity, every time she let herself get a little excited about it, the next instant her stomach would churn. Yes, she’d taken down Hector Salazar, but her father and brother had died in the process. Yet somehow, she was the one climbing the LEO ladder when they’d only been in the ground a mere month? Nothing about the situation seemed fair.

And nothing about joining the organization where Sean Hale worked as an assistant legal attaché seemed wise either. But Sean was a legat at The Hague, and she’d made damn sure he’d had nothing to do with her recruitment. He’d said he was going to let her live her life, and this was another door opening. To a possible future of her own in DC. Exactly when she needed it. But, fuck, would the guilt that roiled her stomach and burned the back of her throat ever go away?

Trevor grasped her knees with both hands. “Charlie.”

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