Special Assignment

As soon as Angel left, Cassie made her way down a short hall to the glassed-in area that protected the servers and most of the tech equipment at PPS from the dust and hustle of the offices and cubicles where the agents worked. She slipped behind a bank of servers.

She wasn’t ready to face Mike Lawson. Just one glimpse of him in the reception desk monitor made her feel as jittery as a teenage girl. Not the feeling she was after. This was the first case she’d worked on solo, the first time Evangeline had trusted her with something really big. She needed to prove she could do as good a job as any hearing person. A better job. And being around Mike Lawson, having him babysit her, didn’t make her feel exactly capable.

A gentle hand tapped her shoulder.

She whirled around to face Lenny, her brilliant coworker who all but ran the technology department. His fire-red hair stuck out in several spots, as if he’d slept at his desk last night instead of going home. Again. No one was as dedicated as Lenny.

“Who are you hiding from?” Lenny’s lips formed the words.

My bodyguard, she signed.

He gave her an odd look. Lenny might be brilliant, but he wasn’t as well versed in relating to humans as he was relating to computers. He probably thought she really was hiding from her bodyguard.

Well, wasn’t she?

She stepped out from behind the servers. Just kidding, she signed.

Lenny nodded as if he still didn’t understand. “It’s cool you have a bodyguard. I mean you work to protect other people’s bodies, it’s about time someone protects yours, right? You’re lucky.” He shrugged a skinny shoulder.

Lucky? Her fingers raced. I don’t want to be lucky. I want to be respected.

The grin fell from Lenny’s freckled face and he stared at her blankly.

She took a deep breath. Whenever she got upset, she signed too fast for anyone at PPS to keep up. Even poor Lenny the genius couldn’t keep track of her flying fingers. But she hated speaking out loud. Just the thought that other people could hear her voice and she couldn’t made her feel uncomfortably out of control.

She let out a sigh. Never mind. I’m just blowing off steam.

Lenny offered her an awkward smile, as if he still didn’t understand her but didn’t want to be rude enough to say so, and shuffled back to his workstation.

Cassie watched him go, guilt clamping down on her shoulders. Of course Lenny would think having a bodyguard was cool. He was working on sensitive projects, too, yet he had no bodyguard. Further evidence Evangeline was going out of her way to take care of the deaf girl.

The change in air flow alerted her to the open door. She glanced over to find herself face-to-face with Mike Lawson.

Angel was right. Even with the battered face and swollen eye, he was hot. A fact that only made this moment all the more awkward.

Don’t look so excited, he signed.

She gave him a frown.

Which way to the large conference room?

The briefing. Of course. She’d been so shaken about Mike Lawson’s appearance, she’d all but forgotten the case. Her first big case. Her chance to prove what she could do.

She marched to the conference room, feeling Mike’s presence behind her even though she couldn’t hear his footfalls on the terra-cotta tile. She pushed through the conference room’s double doors. The large conference table stretched in front of them, empty chairs ringing its circumference.

Where were the other agents? Had she gotten the wrong conference room?

Evangeline breezed through the door behind them. “Shall we get started?”

Cassie frowned in her boss’s direction. Where is everyone?

“The disk’s decryption concerns only the two of you. Please take a seat. We need to get started.” Evangeline focused on Mike. “Glad you decided to take me up on my offer, Detective. After yesterday, I wasn’t sure you’d make it.”

“Funny. I got the feeling you were far too sure.”

Cassie tore her gaze from Mike’s lips and slipped into the closest chair. Mike folded himself into the seat next to her. Evangeline strode to the head of the table and punched a few buttons on the laptop. An image materialized on the screen in front of them. Movie star Nick Warner gazed from the screen with fierce determination in a famous scene from his action film Sayonara, Baby.

Cassie felt Mike shift beside her.

Evangeline gave Mike a pointed look. “I’m sure the two of you have heard about Nick Warner’s death.”

Mike glowered.

Cassie didn’t know what was going on, but it was clear Mike wasn’t expecting Evangeline’s reference to the deceased movie star. And he wasn’t happy about it.

His lips tightened as they formed the words. “Is that why you wanted me on this case? Something to do with Warner?”

Evangeline returned his gaze unfazed. “I wanted you on the case for the reasons I gave you. Of course, any knowledge you have about Nick Warner will be appreciated.”

“I don’t know anything about him.”

“I heard he came to the Denver film festival at least partially to meet with you.”

“I never spoke to him.”

“You did talk to people who worked for him, though.” Evangeline’s expression made it clear she was not asking a question but stating a fact.

It seemed there was more to Evangeline’s selection of Mike as her bodyguard than his knowledge of American Sign Language. Much more. Cassie watched Mike for an answer.

“I talked to them long enough to tell them I was not going to let them option my story, no matter what they paid me.”

“Who did you talk to? Specifically?”

Mike shifted in his chair, as if the answer made him uncomfortable. “Mitchell Caruthers.”

Evangeline nodded. “You know, Caruthers set Nick Warner up to be killed?”

“It doesn’t surprise me.”

“He endangered Nick, his wife and their four-year-old daughter.”

Cassie had heard the talk about Nick’s wife and little girl. Even neck deep in computers, she couldn’t miss that story. Especially the gossip about the budding relationship between the widowed Mrs. Warner and PPS agent Jack Sanders.

“Specifically, Detective, do you remember Caruthers mentioning anything to you about a list?”

“A list? A list of what?”

“That’s what we need to know.”