Page 24

T he next morning, they sat at Jake’s kitchen table, eating French toast and bacon. When he placed their meals on the table, she looked up at him, and her face softened. “You remembered what we had in Brooklyn,” she said.

He slid into the seat across from her and took her hand in his. Twined their fingers together. “Yeah. I want to replace those terrible memories with some better ones.” He reached across the table and smoothed his thumb over her lips. “And after the way we spent most of the night, I think we both need to load up on carbs and protein.”

Her cheeks heated with the memory of how they’d made love all night, and she smiled. She reached across the table for his hand and twined their fingers together. “I predict a lot of carb-heavy breakfasts in our future.”

“Absolutely,” Jake said. “As long as no one asks me why I’m losing weight, we’re good.”

After they’d finished their meal and Jake poured them both another cup of coffee, he reached for her hand again. “We have a big decision to make.”

“Yeah?” She tilted her head. “Like what side of the bed we each want to sleep on?”

“That’s really important, but we’ll get to that later,” he said, biting his lip. He was really enjoying this side of Livvy that he’d never seen before. “Where are we going to live?”

“Oh,” she said, freezing with a forkful of French toast halfway to her mouth. “Yeah,” she said, setting the fork back on her plate. “I’ve been too… busy to think about that.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jake said. “But we have to figure it out.”

“I don’t want…” They both spoke at the same time. Jake smiled and jerked his chin at her. “Ladies first.”

“I don’t want to live apart and have a commuter relationship,” she said. “Do you want me to quit my job and move back to Washington? I talked to Diana yesterday, and she said she’d take me back.”

“You snuck into headquarters and talked to her?” Jake frowned.

“I did.” Livvy sighed. “I didn’t want to go behind your back, and I wasn’t sure that would even be an option, but I needed to know.”

“Is that what you want?” Jake asked. “To move back here and get your old job back?”

Livvy tilted her head and stared at him. “I know I want to live with you. And if taking my old job at the FBI back is the only way to do that? Yeah. That’s exactly what I want,” she said.

“You sure you want to leave your Blackhawk Security job and go back to the FBI? I know how much you love your job there.”

“I do love my job at Blackhawk Security,” Livvy said. “But I love you so much more. I don’t want to spend half my time on a plane, and I don’t want you to do that, either.”

“I could transfer to the Helena office,” he said.

Livvy studied him. “Helena’s a lovely city, but do you really want to work in the FBI office there? There probably wouldn’t be a lot of… meaty cases in Helena. Not the kind of cases that would challenge you. The kind that would use all your skills. Do you really want to spend your professional life doing things like interviewing Nick Doyle about his father’s business?”

“That needed to be done,” Jake said, reaching across the table. “And it gave me a chance to reconnect with you.” But the thought of leaving the FBI office in Washington D.C. and moving to the small satellite office in Helena made his heart ache.

Livvy already knew him too well, because she pointed at him. “Yeah,” she said. “I didn’t think so.” She gripped his hand tightly. “Even if you wanted to do that, you can’t leave D.C. for a long time. Who knows how long this search for Russian moles is gonna last? It could take months. Years, even.”

Jake sighed. “You’re right, and I need to be there for it.” He shook his head. “No, that’s not exactly right. Someone else could cover it. But Diana wants me there, and more important , I want to be there. I want to follow the clues and figure out who else at headquarters is working for the Russians. Who else is corrupt?” He shook his head. “It all started when I heard your story about being set up. When I tied that into Nelson acting odd, I suspected he was part of it. Now I want to dig deep. Put the pieces together and arrest the rest of the bastards.”

“I get it, Jake,” Livvy said, gripping his hand. “If I’m honest? I want to be there, too. I want to root out anyone who’s working for the Russians. But I’d have a lot of catching up to do, and you need to focus on your search and not babysitting me.”

“I don’t think it’ll take that long,” Jake said. “Diana’s got her foot on Nelson’s and Windsor’s necks. Once they’ve been rotting in prison for a few more weeks or months, they’ll be begging to talk. Begging to spill their guts.” He smiled. “Diana’s playing them off each other. Windsor already spilled his guts, and it probably won’t take long for Nelson to fold. Nelson will break, probably sooner rather than later.

“Oh, and by the way, Windsor finally told Diana why you and I were targeted. Apparently we both saw Nelson talking to someone from the Russian embassy. I don’t remember that – hell, I’m not sure I’d even recognize someone from the Russian embassy. But Nelson was paranoid, and he over-reacted. Decided we both had to die. And he enlisted his Bratva buddies to take care of the problem.”

Livvy frowned. “Really? That seems like a stretch. I wouldn’t recognize anyone from the Russian embassy.”

“Neither would I. But Nelson thought we were threats.”

“Nelson probably thought a lot of people were threats. But since we reported to him, we were the only two he could get rid of easily,” Livvy said.

“Yeah.” Jake shook his head. “But now? He has a lot to lose if he doesn’t cooperate. They want protection in prison, and the only way Nelson and Windsor get that is by ratting out whoever they were working with. And they know it.” He smiled at Livvy. “Diana is one tough woman,” he said. “She’ll make it crystal clear to Nelson and Windsor that if they want protection in prison, if they want a few privileges, it comes with a price. And the price is the names of Russian moles at headquarters.”

Livvy nodded and tried to swallow the knot in her throat. “So -- bottom line? You can’t leave D.C. for a long time.”

“No. As arrogant as it sounds, Diana trusts me, and I don’t want to let her down.”

“I don’t, either. Which means you’re here in D.C. for the foreseeable future.” She reached across the table for his hand. “If I’m honest? I want to be there, too. I want to root out anyone who’s working for the Russians.”

“You know more about this case than anyone besides me. And maybe Diana.” He frowned. “Do you think Mel and Dev would loan you to the FBI for a while? To work this case with me?”

Livvy frowned. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never heard of them doing anything like that before.”

“Yeah, it would be a new thing for Blackhawk Security. I have no idea how Mel and Dev would handle a request like that.”

“I don’t, either,” Livvy said. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Jake. “If Mel and Dev don’t go for that, I had another thought about how we could be together and both still be employed,”

“Yeah? What’s that?” Jake asked.

She reached for his hand and wrapped her fingers around his. Jake wanted to reach across the table every night and every morning to hold Livvy’s hand. But with their jobs three thousand miles apart, that dream was unlikely to come true.

“Blackhawk Security has two agents permanently stationed in Seattle, and two in Chicago, because they get a lot of business in both of those cities,” Livvy began. “And it works out well because the agents are familiar with the cities before they start guarding people.” She drew a deep breath and tightened her fingers around Jake’s. “I was thinking that maybe I could propose that Mel and Dev station me permanently in Washington. If we got a few jobs here, and did well with them, we’d have a higher profile in the district. Could get more jobs. And if they agreed to that, you could stay here, working for the FBI, and I could live here, too.” She grinned at him. “And maybe the FBI would throw a few jobs my way. Maybe it wouldn’t take so long to get a reputation as a go-to security operation.”

“I like the way you think, Liv,” Jake said with a smile. “If Mel and Dev agreed to that, it would be the perfect solution.”

“Yeah. But Blackhawk Security doesn’t have a high profile here. We did in both Chicago and Seattle because we’d handled a few big cases in both of those cities. We don’t have that here, so I’m pretty sure Mel’s answer will be no.”

“I could ask Diana,” Jake said after a long moment. “Find out how the FBI handles cases where an individual needs a bodyguard. Do they assign an agent to the job? Hire someone else?”

Livvy tightened her grip on Jake’s hand. “Yes!” she said. “Talk to Diana. Explain the situation. And tell her although I was sincere about asking if I could have my old job back, what I really want to do is open a branch of Blackhawk Security in D.C. I’m wondering how much business I’d get. Are there bodyguard companies here already? How much work do they get? Would it be worth my while to move here?”

Jake nodded slowly. “That might work. But it’d be you making all the sacrifices. I’d still be here, doing my job. You’d have to leave Montana and all your friends to move here. And there might not be a lot of jobs for you, at least at first.”

“Yeah, all that is true,” Livvy said. “But it would be a way to stay together.” She tightened her grip on his hand. “I really, really don’t want a commuter relationship,” she said. “Especially one that’s six or more hours away by plane. The reality is, with our jobs, we wouldn’t see each other very often. And that’s not what I want.”

“Not what I want, either,” Jake admitted.

“You could join Blackhawk Security, but I don’t think that’s a solution. You love your job with the FBI. And as long as you love what you’re doing, why would you want to change that?”

“I’d change that for you,” he said. “I’d do anything to build a life with you instead of having a commuter relationship.”

“Same here,” she said. “I’m willing to give up my job with Blackhawk Security to have a life with you. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but I’d do it in a heartbeat if it was the only way.”

Jake slid his fingers between hers. “I’ll talk to Diana tomorrow. I’ll tell her you were serious about asking for your job back, but it wouldn’t be your first choice. You want to stay with Blackhawk Security, but unless you were posted in D.C., we’d be apart more than we’d be together.”

He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her palm. “I have no idea what the Bureau does if someone needs a bodyguard, and I’ll ask her about that. Find out if they use non-agents for that, and if so, how do you get on their list.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Fingers crossed that I could work something out with the Bureau.” She drew in a hopeful breath. “But if I can’t, we’ll figure something out.”

The next day, Jake was going to take a day off, but Livvy shook her head. “Don’t do that,” she said. “We might need all the days off you have. Go to work and talk to Diana. See if they use outside bodyguards.” She leaned closer to Jake. “And ask if it would be possible for me to be a… a contract hire, I guess. Short term, for a single job, or something like that.”

“I’ll ask her,” he said. “I think she’s pretty flexible. She might go for that.”

* * *

The next morning, Jake made an appointment to talk to Diana, then headed to his office to make a list of things he wanted to ask her. He was pretty sure that the Bureau didn’t hire temporary workers, but he’d ask anyway. And he’d find out where the Bureau went if one of their agents needed a bodyguard.

When his phone alarm went off, he grabbed a notebook and headed for her office. When he arrived, the receptionist called Diana, and after a short conversation, the receptionist nodded at the door to Diana’s office. “Go on in,” she said.

Diana looked up from the papers she was studying and said, “Hey, Jake. Good to see you. What can I do for you?” She pushed the papers in front of her to the side and focused all her attention on him.

He swallowed once, then straightened his shoulders. “Livvy told me she came to you yesterday to ask about getting her old job back.”

Diana nodded. “She did, yes.”

“I’m not sure she shared her reasons with you, so I wanted to clarify them. And also tell you that she wants to stay in D.C., but not necessarily as an FBI agent.”

Diana raised her eyebrows. “She didn’t tell me that.”

“Of course she didn’t,” Jake said immediately. “She was completely sincere, but that wasn’t her first choice. And when she talked to you, she didn’t even know what my reaction would be to her showing up in D.C. For all she knew, I’d tell her to get lost.”

Diana tilted her head as she studied him. “I’m betting you didn’t say anything even close to get lost.”

“No, ma’am, I didn’t.” Jake blew out a breath. “Livvy and I are good, and we’re trying to figure out how to be together and both still have jobs. I know she asked you if she could have her old job back, and you said yes. As much as she appreciates that, it’s not her first choice.”

Diana smiled. “I didn’t think it was. I saw it as covering all her bases.”

“That’s exactly what it was,” Jake said, relieved that Diana hadn’t taken offense at Livvy’s request. “But I do have a few questions.”

Diana leaned back in her chair. “Shoot.”

“First of all, does the Bureau ever hire temporary workers? Maybe for a specific job, or a specific window of time?”

Diana sighed. Shook her head. “We don’t. I know that Livvy’s a special case, since she was an agent for a long time. But there are too many downsides to that. First and foremost is the security issue. If we hired someone on a temporary basis, the security screening would be time-consuming and expensive. Likely not worth it.

“Secondly, there would be so much information that she’d need. It would take a long time for her to get up to speed. So, no, Jake, I’m afraid that Livvy working here on a temporary basis wouldn’t work for us.”

Jake tried hard to hide his disappointment. “I suspected that was the case, but I had to ask.” It would have been perfect and easy, but when had anything been easy for him and Livvy? “Another question -- what does the Bureau do when someone involved in an investigation needs a bodyguard? Do you just use one of your agents? Or do you hire private security?”

Diana leaned back in her chair. “We generally use one of our own agents. It’s a lot easier than vetting a private security person. A lot quicker, as well.”

“Okay,” Jake said, taking a deep breath. “What do you know about private security services in D.C.?”

“I know there are a few of them,” she said. “One has a good reputation. The others are… problematic, for one reason or another.” She leaned toward Jake. “Is Livvy thinking about starting her own service?”

“No. What she’d like to do is open a branch of Blackhawk Security in D.C. Mel and Dev have stationed people in both Chicago and Seattle, but they’ve had a lot of business in those two cities, so Blackhawk Security is a known commodity in those locations. That’s not the case for D.C. They might have had a few clients here, but not enough to create any buzz.”

“I see Livvy’s dilemma.” Diana frowned. “Let me give that some thought,” she said. “I have a lot of contacts in this city. I might find a few companies who occasionally need protection for their employees. If Livvy decides to go in that direction, I have some people she could contact.”

“Thanks, Diana.” Jake wanted to pump his fist. Instead, he said, “That would be very helpful.”

She smiled at Jake. “I’ll start working on a list.”

“I’ll let Livvy know. A few contacts would help when she pitches her idea to Mel Melbourne and Dev Smith.”

“I’ll email the list to you.” She tilted her head and held his gaze. “You sure she’s not interested in re-joining the FBI?”

“She’d do it as a last resort,” Jake said, trying to be as honest as possible. “But it wouldn’t be ideal. She’d much rather continue working for Blackhawk Security.”

“I understand,” Diana said. She raised one eyebrow. “And you’re not interested in transferring to the Helena office?”

“Honestly?” Jake cleared his throat. “Not really. I told Livvy I’d do it if I had to, but she knows that’s not what I want.”

“Thank you for being so honest with me,” she said. “And thank Livvy as well. I wondered how sincere she was about getting her job back, and now I know. She would have done a great job, like she did before she left, but it wouldn’t be what she really wanted.”

“No, it wouldn’t be.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Thank you, Diana, for being blunt with both me and Livvy. I’m guessing she’ll go back to Montana after her leave is over and talk to Mel and Dev. Hopefully they can work something out.”

“I hope so, Jake. In the meantime, take a few days off while Livvy’s here. Enjoy yourselves. Figure out what you’re going to do. And when she goes back to Montana to talk to Mel and Dev, you can throw yourself back into your job.”

“You know I will,” Jake said.

“Absolutely.” Diana smiled, then shooed him toward the door. “Now go home and enjoy your time off with Livvy.”

Jake pushed the chair back and stood up. “Thanks, Diana. You don’t have to tell me twice.”