Her phone dinged.
She grabbed it. Maybe it was something on Colter.
Nope.
A text from Kumar.
Kumar
Need to talk. ASAP
That didn’t sound good.
Dani left her office and called over to Shirley that she was grabbing her sweater from her car. Technically, it was Lily’s car, borrowed until she could pick up Princess B, but either way, it was the one place she could talk freely and not have to be out in the icy wind that had kicked up today.
Dani sat in the driver’s seat and called the secure line to her new boss.
“Kim, why did I have to hear from a source at the Renegade Police Department that you were run off the road yesterday?”
Note to self: Don’t expect inane greetings or pleasantries from Kumar.
And find out who her source in RPD is.
Dani cleared her throat. “I, uh, didn’t realize it was something I needed to report. It was a thing with an ex?—”
“I don’t care where the threat comes from. I need to know when one of my agents is in danger. And is this really a jealous boyfriend, or were you investigating more than the accounts at SL Trucking?”
Busted.
“I did make some contacts at Renegade Waste Management. Some of the numbers weren’t making sense at first?—”
“I thought I made myself clear. Making contacts is not your job. You’re looking for evidence of embezzling.”
“But I think there’s more than embezzling. Why else would Jim Rodriguez threaten me?”
Kumar’s exasperated sigh coming through the line set Dani on edge. She’d heard it enough to know. She was in for it now.
“If you’re going to question everything I say, I guess we need a little more handholding here, so this is what we’re going to do. You will give me a daily report. I want an account of your whole day. Every bathroom break. Every spin class or book club meeting. Everything. You can include in this report all those gut feelings and theories on what might be happening behind the scenes, and if I deem any of them worth investigating, I will have one of the other agents here look into it. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Because we’re putting together a case. To do that, we need evidence. You are there to find it. I don’t need you drifting into someone else’s lane and blowing your cover and messing up everything we’re working for. Now, give me the name of this ex, and I’m running him through our databases. If I find anything, I’ll pass it on to the police to follow up. Catch my drift?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Then show me. I’ll expect your report at end of day.”
Kumar ended the call before Dani could say more.
Dani fisted her hands and screamed under her breath. Not quite as satisfying as releasing it out loud, but better than nothing.
Handholding? Sticking to her “lane?” Yeah, Dani was new, but she wasn’t incompetent.
And she needed to show Kumar that.
She needed to get a handle on her jumping-before-looking impulses if she was going to make it here. Even if the stifling of them killed her. She’d been through a lot to get this job. If she could put in her time, prove herself, then hopefully she could get her transfer and do the undercover work she wanted to do.
After her self pep-talk, Dani pulled on the navy sweater dotted with daisies and walked back into the office.