Page 83 of Hot Pursuit

What the hell?

He silenced the call, but this time pulled the cell out of his pocket far enough to read an unknown number across the screen.

Spam?

Now?

Really?

He shoved it back into his pocket.

Thirty seconds later, the fucking thing buzzed again.

“Oh, for god’s sake,” he grumbled as every eye in the room turned in his direction. “Sorry, sir.”

“No problem at all, Parker. I wouldn’t want a little thing like an international crisis to get in the way of your busy social life. Answer it. I don’t mind.”

Nate squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. The boss was in rare form. “Really, sir, it’s nothing.”

“Humor me,” he drawled, voice dry and devoid of any hint of amusement.

Nate sighed but did as he was told and lifted the phone to his ear. “Parker here.”

His voice came out deep enough to make Leo hold a fist to his lips to cover up his laughter. He glared at his partner as he waited for a response, any response. But there was only static. Heavy breathing and static.

“Who is it, Parker? We’re all dying to know.”

“No one, sir,” Nate said. “Wrong number.”

Just as he pulled the device from his ear, he heard it.

Pop! Pop!

A sound that haunted his nightmares.

A sound that followed him around in his waking hours, at the practice range, on the job.

A sound that defined his life.

Gunshots.

Oh god. Jo. Jo!

Nate jumped to his feet, clutching the phone. “Hello? Hello? Who is it?”

More static.

Heavy breathing.

The pounding of boots.

Scuffs and scrapes he couldn’t identify.

Just as he was about to say her name, a man’s voice came on the line, controlled in a way that was completely at odds with the noises that had preceded him. “Agent Parker?”

“Yes. This is Agent Nate Parker. To whom am I speaking?”

Leo reached across the table with a cord. Nate stuck it into his phone, and the call transferred to the comm set in the middle of the room, putting the unidentified man on speaker. Everyone’s energy shifted, on alert, on the job. No more joking. No more reprimanding. Just business.