ospi to Wythe. His mother was the daughter of a Wythe lupus, and either she or his grandfather had passed on a bit more about clan secrets than they should have.
“We believe it mitigates my symptoms if Rule stays close to me.”
“Hmm.” He steepled his fingers together in a way that was disconcertingly like Ruben. Had he consciously copied his boss, or was it unconscious mimicry? “You need to be pulled from active duty.”
She sighed. “I’m afraid so.”
“Very well. I’ll contact Drummond.”
“Who will you replace me—”
But he was shaking his head. “If you aren’t part of the investigation, you aren’t privy to anything about it anymore. I certainly can’t speak of it in front of Rule. I’m sorry.”
Lily’s lips tightened, but she didn’t argue. Rule wanted to take her hand, to assure her she’d done the right thing, but he knew better. No hand-holding in front of her boss. She would consider it unprofessional. Rule understood, though he’d put it differently. Being professional in this sense meant “don’t show your belly.”
“I’ll tell Drummond this is related to your wound,” Croft said. “There’s little point in telling him it’s due to something I’m unable to discuss because you can’t discuss it. The man’s got an attitude where magic’s concerned as it is. No point in raising his hackles.”
“What kind of an attitude? Is it magic itself he dislikes or—”
“Enough.” But Croft grinned. It was a tired grin but real enough, the first sign Rule had seen of the man rather than the man’s position this morning. Professionalism again. “I’m not going to gossip with you. Lily, you’re worrying me. Off the record, can you tell me anything else?”
She couldn’t, of course. Croft’s mother or grandfather might have shared more than was strictly allowed, but hadn’t gone so far as to speak about mantles. So Lily refused as tactfully as possible and stood. “I won’t take any more of your time. I know you’re jammed.”
Croft rose as well, which should have signified the end to a meeting Rule knew had been hard on Lily. But he walked around his desk and touched Lily’s arm. “I’ll see that you have the leave you need. Take care of yourself.” His dark eyes were worried. He turned to Rule. “I’m sure I can count on you to see that she gets all the help possible.”
“You can.” Rule decided to step them all back from all this careful professionalism. “You look tired, Martin.”
Croft shrugged. “I’m hoping Ruben can come back soon. For his sake, of course, but also selfishly. I miss fieldwork.”
“You’re very much needed here.”
“I’m a decent administrator, but I was a damn good investigator. I want to get back to what I’m best at, but . . .”
“But if you weren’t doing this job, someone with less understanding of the Unit would be. Or one of the Gifted agents would be promoted to a desk, and they’re needed in the field.”
“Exactly.” He ran a hand over his hair. “With your people, Rhos face the same problem, don’t you? There has to be distance between the Rho and everyone else, plus they have to stay denned up at their clanhomes. Except that you don’t. Stay denned up, I mean. How do you pull that off?”
“Two clans,” Rule said. “Two sets of duties. And I can’t be the public face for my people if I never leave Clanhome.”
“Hmm. Rule, I won’t ask if Lily has told you anything about the investigation she’s been on. I do need to make it clear that the order for silence on this one came from the director himself.”
“I see.” That was a clear enough signal for him to stay out of it . . . which wasn’t what Lily had in mind. “If one of my people just happened to be in the park across the street from the senator’s house, would you be interested in hearing about any unusual smells that he notices?”
Martin shook his head. “You’re as stubborn as she is, but more diplomatic. Hypothetically speaking, yes, I would.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I hope to see you again soon, Martin, when things are less difficult for all of us.”
Croft walked out with them, stopping at Ida’s desk to give her instructions for the form he needed to sign concerning Lily’s leave.
Rule and Lily started down the long hall. “That’s a good idea,” she said, “having someone sniff along that trail I followed.”
“I thought of it while we were headed here.” He glanced at her. “You look relieved.