“Smartasstoo.”
She shrugged.“Never said Iwasn’t.”
There it was again, the confidence I always thought might be hovering beneath the surface, but she’d never shown before.And it was hot.My sexy little genius.Before I could go further down that line of thought, she picked up with the questions again, forcing me back to the subject I’d beenavoiding.
“What does that leave?PI work?Do youenjoyit?”
Did I?I let myself answer honestly.“I don’t want to follow cheating spouses around ever again.I’ve had enough.Sure, it pays the bills, but itblows.”
She abandoned her fork on her plate and leaned her elbows on the table, dropping her chin on her hands to study me.“But you liked tracking down that guy’s family.That meant somethingtoyou.”
Hell yes, it had.Absolutely.That had given me just as much satisfaction, if not more, than closing a case as a detectiveeverdid.
Inodded.
“Have you considered focusing on missing persons?You have the skills, and you’re building the independent résumé on top of the experience you had at thedepartment.”
It was like a light bulb going off in my head, and Ari had flipped theswitch.
Help people locate the loved ones they refused to let go of, and get them answers?The work could be just as hard as chasing down cheating spouses, just in a different way.But when the outcome was positive, it was a hell of a lot more rewarding.The more I turned the suggestion over in my mind, the more Ilikedit.
“That’s a damngoodidea.”
Ari’s face lit up with a wide smile.“I’m glad you think so.Finding something you enjoy makes all the difference.I wouldn’t work as much as I do if I didn’t love it.You could change lives by helping people in a way that onlyyoucan.”
I soaked up her enthusiasm.“It’s something to think about.But first, I have to figure out ...”I stopped short because we both knew where I wasgoing.
“Is there any way I can help?I have skills, you know.Maybe not perfectly legal ones, but they’re helpful in the rightsituation.”
My gaze sharpened on her.“You’re talking about hacking into the department,aren’tyou?”
With her chin still perched on her hands, she lifted her shoulders to her ears and dropped them.“It’s not like it would be hard.I got into Heath’s work computer in about twelve seconds, but that’s only because he’s not creative with his passwords.If there’s information on the inside that they’re not being up front about, you need to know.You deservetoknow.”
I thought about what she was saying.Not so very long ago, my perspective on the world was very black and white.Things were either right or wrong, and I didn’t spend much time considering shades of gray.But that was before.Now I realized that life was more blurry gray lines than anythingatall.
The departmentwasholding something back.There was a lot more to the story than they were saying, and Heath’s position in IA meant that he should know what it was.Or he would if he hadn’t requested to be removed from the case due to a conflict ofinterest.
“What exactly are youproposing,Red?”
Her brain was wired differently than mine, so I couldn’t help but wonder what she planned.I could swear excitement lit her eyes at thequestion.
“Just some snooping around.See if maybe there are files they’ve tried to bury.Digital footprints are everywhere, even when you think you’veerasedthem.”
“You don’t think they know how to cover theirtracks?”
She lifted her chin and tapped her index fingers together with a sly smile.“I don’t think you realize how good I am at whatIdo.”
That smile.That confidence.This woman.She was the full package, and beyond intoxicating with that light shining in her eyes.And her loyalty—willing to do whatever it took to help me find answers—that was evensweeter.
“What doyouneed?”
“Only yourpermission.”
My grip tightened on my empty glass.“Doit.”
It was as if those words unleashed something in the universe, because at that moment, Ari’sphonerang.
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