Page 27 of Code Name: Ember
Her face softens for half a second, then she nods.“I like that.”She glances around the room, taking in the laughter and chatter.“I like that you have this.”
I know what she means.This was the missing element I never really had in my former careers.
Dinner unfolds in waves of noise and warmth after that.Anna moves around the table refilling plates whether people want it or not.Malik recounts a training mishap that has half the table laughing and Reid claims the lasagna qualifies as a controlled substance.
For a few minutes, I let myself lean into it.
This.
The noise.The food.The sense that even though our jobs revolve around violence and deception, there’s a solid foundation underneath it all.
Family, if we’re allowed to use that word.
I catch Tessa watching the room the same way I am, like she’s cataloging it for a story she’ll never write.There’s wonder in her expression, as well as caution, and that tells me she feels it too.
My phone vibrates against my thigh and I glance down at the screen.
Brady.
The warmth in my chest cools instantly.“I’ve got to take this,” I murmur to Tessa, already pushing back from the table.
She nods, distracted by whatever Bebe just said, and I step away from the noise, moving toward the hallway that leads to the apartments where the sound dampens.
I answer on the second ring.“Yeah.”
Brady doesn’t waste time.“You’re not going to like what I found.”
I called Brady this morning and filled him in on what was going on with Tessa, Erik’s murder and RainVest.Given that he’s deep undercover inside of a corrupt ring of cops, I knew he’d have his finger on the pulse of anything dirty regarding this murder.
My jaw tightens.“Lay it on me.”
“A favor got called in,” he says.“High up.”
“How high?”
“High enough that the evidence custodian didn’t ask questions.They asked to see the video of the parking garage.”
I lean against the wall, lowering my voice further.“Requested to see or be wiped?”
“Both,” Brady replies flatly.
A slow burn starts in my gut.
“Someone paid a lot of money to get that footage out of evidence,” Brady continues in a low voice.“Before they did, they wanted to know if there were any identifiable witnesses.”
The burn sharpens.“And?”
There’s a beat of silence.“They saw her,” Brady says quietly.“Saw Erik hand Tessa something.Clear enough angle to confirm it wasn’t a random interaction.”
I close my eyes for a second, internally cursing the fates.“They’ll assume she’s a reporter.”
“For sure,” he confirms.“They’re already pulling strings to identify her.It’s only a matter of time before they do.”
I force my breathing to stay even.“And where’s the video now?”
“What video?”he replies, and now I have my answer.
“Do you know who made the request?”I ask.
