1st Case - James Patterson Page 0,35

it was nothing compared to the bigger picture here.

But Billy wasn’t buying it. “Come on, Angela. It’s just us,” he said. “Don’t bullshit me.”

I nodded and stalled with a long draw on my iced coffee.

“Yeah, okay,” I said. “You’re right. It wasn’t easy. And maybe I’m not made of the kind of nails I’d like to be. But hey, I’m still here, right? And I’m still ready for more.”

Everything I’d just said was true. This thing was kicking my ass, but that’s not the same as wishing it weren’t happening. It was more like the opposite. I didn’t want to give Billy a single reason to stop bringing me in on this case.

He took his own time responding and smiled at me over the Coke can he was sipping from. Then he sat back and stared just long enough to give my pulse a little uptick.

“What?” I said.

“I’m just going to go ahead and say it,” he told me. “You’re impressive. You really are. I know you’ve got this massive IQ, but you’re tough, too, in your own way. You’re going to be great at this, if you want to be.”

“Does that mean I’m not yet?” I asked half seriously.

“Well,” he said with another smile, “you did almost lose Nigella Wilbur in the parking lot. But other than that—”

I don’t know what he was planning on saying, but he never got there. I’d already leaned across the seat and planted my lips on his.

There was no plan for it. No premeditation. It just happened, as A.A. might have said. And sweet Jesus, the man’s lips were as soft as those blue eyes of his. Once I started I didn’t want to stop.

Billy didn’t pull away and he didn’t lean in. He just let me kiss him, which was its own kind of mixed message.

“What was that?” he asked when I sat back.

“Um … a kiss?” I answered.

Sometimes I like to do things just because I’m not supposed to. Or maybe there was more to it than that. Either way, I wasn’t in the mood for apologizing.

“All right, well, that conversation’s going to have to wait,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of people expecting to hear from me at the shift meeting.”

“Understood,” I said, and we got out of the car. I wasn’t sure I needed to talk about that kiss, anyway. Not on top of everything else. But it was moot for the moment. What I really needed to do was get out of his hair, let him get to his meeting, and be on my way.

Or at least so I thought. My bike was still in the back of his car, but when I went around to get it, he was already heading toward the office.

“Hey!” I said, and he turned around.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I need my bike,” I said. “I’m going to take it to Eve’s and drive home from there.”

“So you’re not coming to the shift meeting?” he asked.

“Oh,” I said, too numb to be surprised anymore. “Yeah. I’m definitely coming.”

“Let’s go, then,” he said. “What are you waiting for?”

Answer: Not a damn thing, now.

CHAPTER 38

THE NERVE CENTER for this case—as well as my office—had been moved down to the fifth floor to accommodate a larger team. When I got there, people were milling around, taking seats, and getting ready for whatever came next. I got lost in the shuffle and took a seat on the side of the room where I could see everything. Just as well. I literally didn’t know my place here.

Audrey Gruss was seated near the front, and Zack Ciomek from the CART was on hand, too, along with most of the expected players, plus a dozen or more unfamiliar faces. There were also six screens with alternating live feeds from various field offices around the Northeast. I saw Albany, New Haven, New York, Newark, and Philly all represented, along with whoever else might have been looping in by conference call. This operation had bulked up considerably since the last meeting I’d been allowed into.

Keats got things started with a full briefing of the day, including some credit thrown my way, which I appreciated. Then he handed the meeting over to Zack.

“For those of you who haven’t seen this, let me give you a current snapshot of the app’s penetration,” Zack said.

He used his laptop to pull up a map of the US on several screens around the room. Then he toggled in to show just the Northeast. It was