Friday, June 25
“As I’ve told you before, Agent Caldwell, I did not immediately recognize any of the thieves who took over my bank. It wasn’t until Raptor was taunting me that I recognized him to be Eric Sauters.”
“And what gave him away, Mr.Traymoore,” I asked.
“His eyes,” he replied. “And please, call me Michael.”
I nodded. “Did you recognize any of the others who were with him?”
Michael sighed. “I can only assume that the other man with them was Parker Ramsey.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “You mean Jonathan Price?”
“Whatever he calls himself now, yes.”
I nodded and looked at the pad of paper in my hand. “What about the woman who called Eric by name, this Songbird, did you recognize her?”
“I did not.”
“The voice was not familiar to you?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. As you know, Agent Caldwell, I have been performing the duties of both President and CEO of this bank since the day of the robbery and I’m afraid I must cut our meeting short. I have pressing bank business with which to attend.”
I nodded and stood. “Of course, and if you think of anything else…”
Michael opened his office door to show me out. “I’ll contact you if I learn of anything you should know.”
Despite having no solid evidence to support it, I knew he was lying to me. The only slip he made was calling the abrupt end to our meeting as soon as I mentioned Songbird. Of course, I already knew Skylar Montgomery was Songbird, and now I knew Michael knew it as well. My most difficult task would be proving it.
I thought about all of the dead ends I encountered in the three months since the robbery of First Alliance Bank and Trust as I started the tedious drive to FBI Headquarters in downtown Dallas. Eric Sauters, the infamous Raptor, had most certainly left town after his last heist. Parker Ramsey had vanished into the same thin wisp of fog he had come out of and ten million dollars was still nowhere to be found.
To say the least, my transfer to the Dallas Financial Crimes Unit was not going well.
The only good thing that had come from moving to Dallas was Jenna. Things had gotten off to a bumpy start, but they improved right before the robbery and, despite the fact that my career with the Bureau was not going as planned, I’d never been happier in my life. We’d been living together since right after the robbery and I knew that my life was better with her in it.
The only problem was that I wasn’t sure if she felt the same way about me. There was no disputing the fact that she loved me. I just couldn’t be sure if she was in the same place that I was in. What I wanted became clear to me one night shortly after we got back together, but I’d only let myself acknowledge it a few weeks ago.
I’d been carrying the ring around with me ever since.
Sure, most men probably would have tried to find out if their girlfriend even wanted to get married before they made a trip to the jewelry store. Not me. I’d always been the sort to play fast and loose with my heart when I finally managed to let someone get close. Besides, nothing about my relationship with Jenna had been conventional by anybody’s standards so it didn’t make sense to change gears now.
It was moments like this that I was forced to realize how drastically my life had changed in a relatively short period of time. In my younger days, I wouldn’t have been desperately trying to figure out how to pop the question; I would have been trading on my black hair, crystal blue eyes, olive skin, and rigorously maintained physique to ensure that I was never alone in bed unless I wanted to be. That part of my life had surely come to an end when I’d met and married the woman of my dreams, only to later have her toss away our marriage for my partner and mentor at the Bureau.
Being divorced by the age of 34 sure hadn’t done much for my romantic resume or my ego. When I’d met Jenna while working undercover I’d never even imagined that she’d be the one to jump-start my broken heart. It was amazing to me all of the things we’d been through together in the months since we’d first met. It was even more amazing to me that she’d been able to get past my deception about my career. Really, it was like I was living in a dream and I could wake up at any second and find myself back in my old apartment in D.C., alone and miserable…
After almost an hour on the road, I was finally able to fight my way through the morning traffic to Headquarters. I looked at the ring again for a minute before putting it in the glove compartment. If I had any chance of capturing Raptor then I would have to stop trying to find the perfect way to propose and start trying to find my partner. Maybe Brandon had some ideas about how to get the truth about Skylar out of Michael.
God knows, we needed something to give right now.
© 2011, Sydney Katt. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of content will result in dragon attacks.
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Awww! He bought a ring!!!! He is trying to think of the perfect way to propose?!?! Double aww. I do wonder if Jackson’s ex wife/partner ever pop up in this series.
It’s sweet Michael is covering for Skylar, and here I almost thought he was Raptor last book.
Simple answer: Yes. Quite literally the worst possible situation though.
Well, buckle in I will hun – thanks for the tip!! LOL!!
Mmm….so Michael blew it!! I must admit that when he changed the subject so quickly, I thought that would have been a sure sign to Jackson – and of course it was….
Things may not being going as well as he had planned on the professional front, but at least Jackson seems to be as happy as a pig in poo with Jenna – and a ring in the midst no less…..
Off to the next chapter…xx
Now, if only Jackson could prove what he suspects…
Ah, but so much can happen in a day.