they know you’re retired or do people just keep their offices here for the rest of their lives?” I asked as I walked in, planting a hand on my hip.
Dad frowned when he looked up from a folder spread out on the surface of his desk. “I still have business to attend to here. You know that. Once it’s all wrapped up, I’ll clear out. What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to you,” I said. “About Lincoln. Where is he?”
His hazel eyes flashed at me. “This is not the place for that discussion, Sofia.”
“Well, you didn’t want to have it at home, either.” I marched right up to his desk and stared down at him. “It’s been days since I’ve heard from him, and I’m worried. Where is he?”
“That’s none of your concern,” he ground out. “It’s official business. You know better than to question me on matters I can’t discuss with you.”
“Bullshit.” I folded my arms tightly across my chest and sat down without breaking eye contact. “I’m not leaving here until you tell me where he is.”
“Sofia,” he said, his voice a low warning.
Before he could say anything else, though, there was a faint clicking sound on the floor that sounded like crutches.
As I turned around, I saw Lincoln’s very blond friend limping into the office. His skin was pale, but his jaw was set with determination. “I’m here to give my statement, sir.”
“As you can see, Phillips, I’m in the middle of something.” My father leveled him with a glare, but the guy didn’t back down. “I’ll call for you to come in when I’m ready for you.”
“With all due respect, sir, my statement in this matter is overdue. No one has contacted me, and now Dobbs isn’t answering his phone.”
My heartbeat sped up at the mention of Lincoln. “What is going on here, Dad?”
“Dad?” The guy frowned, then comprehension set in behind his light green eyes. “You’re Sofia, aren’t you? I remember you now. From the party.”
“And you’re Eden.” It wasn’t a question. “You haven’t heard from Lincoln either?”
He gave his head a curt shake. “Not a word. It’s been days. This isn’t like him. Something is wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong,” my dad chimed in with a glare at both of us. “We have placed him on indefinite suspension and he’s the subject of an ongoing investigation. He’s in the brig. When will your generation learn your place?”
Eden shuffled forward on his crutches. “My place, and Lincoln’s, is on active duty, sir. If you’ll take my statement, I have been cleared by my doctors to give it.”
“You should be resting, son. Dobbs almost cost you your life not so long ago. Now is not—”
“Lincoln didn’t almost cost me my life,” Eden said, his voice louder as red blotches mottled his skin. “He saved my life and everyone else’s too.”
“Phillips, there is a civilian—”
This time, I interrupted him. “I’m not going anywhere. My involvement with Lincoln is obviously clouding your vision right now, and I won’t have it. Being with him isn’t a crime, but what you’re doing to him might be.”
My father turned a very unhealthy shade of red but then drew in a deep breath. “I’m too old for this shit. Phillips, get the hell off your feet before your doctors come after me. Sofia, if you’re staying, none of what you’re about to hear leaves this room.”
“Of course, it won’t,” I bit out.
Eden seemed surprised by my father’s sudden change of mind but took the seat beside me and rested his crutches against the armrest. When he was seated, my father picked up a legal pad full of notes from his desk and nodded at him.
“If you take any strain while doing this, I’m taking you back to the hospital myself. I haven’t received notice that you’ve been discharged, nor have your doctors notified me that you’re cleared to make a statement.”
Eden lowered his chin in acknowledgment. “I understand, sir.”
“Do you also understand that I’ll need to get that clearance before anything you say here can be taken into serious consideration? You had a head injury, Phillips. It might have affected your memory.”
“It didn’t,” Eden said quietly. “When I first woke up, I was a little confused, but that’s no longer the case.”
“Even so, I’ll need to speak with your doctors. That’s why I haven’t come to take your statement yet. I was waiting on the all-clear from them.”
“I received it this morning, but I know you’ll need to follow up.”
“Very well.” My