Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 109640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Apparently, the gossip grapevine was waiting for no one.
And that fucking grapevine might be strangling Crew soon.
Like in the next few minutes.
Should he stay? Run? Drop to his knees and beg forgiveness?
Pretend he was having a heart attack so the EMTs could help him make his escape?
Or should he just call the coroner and have them on standby?
No, he wasn’t a goddamn coward. He needed to face Cami’s father like a fucking man and take full responsibility.
“Your record as an agent is a stellar one, Crew. You also impressed me when we worked together eighteen years ago.”
Crew pulled his shoulders back and straightened his spine, looking directly in the man’s eyes. “I remember.”
“When C.C. was only ten and... you were not.”
Maybe the whole heart attack thing was a better plan. “I remember that, too.”
“She has her whole career ahead of her.”
“She’ll do well with the agency.”
“She has her whole life ahead of her, too. In my eyes, she’ll always be my baby.”
For fuck’s sake, he respected the man but not this bullshit guilt trip. Time to end it. “She’s not a baby in mine. She’s a very strong, capable woman.”
“From what I heard, you didn’t believe that at first. You thought she was too young and too green for the task force.”
“She proved me wrong.”
“But despite your belief she was inexperienced, she wasn’t too young for you.”
Shots fired.
“What are you now, forty-three?” Cami’s father asked.
The man knew exactly how old he was. He came prepared for this ambush. “I am.”
“Divorced. Two kids.”
Luis Cabrera had already known that, too. “Yes.” Where was he going with this?
“I’d like to have grandchildren someday.”
There it was. “I’m sure at least one of your five children will be providing you with that gift.”
“It would be nice if all of them did. My wife and I love having a big family. We love having a full house filled with the sound of children laughing and playing…”
Jesus fucking Christ, was the man laying it on thick. “I’m sure my house will sound like that, too, if my children decide to have their own.”
“But you’re done having any more.”
Crew’s eyes narrowed. That wasn’t a question, that was a fucking statement. “I’m not sure what this has to do with my position as a senior special agent.”
“It has to do with your position with my daughter.”
“She’s capable of making her own decisions.”
“Children always need guidance.”
Crew’s jaw shifted. “She’s not a child.”
Cabrera stared at him for a little too long for Crew’s liking. “It’s difficult not to still think of her as one.”
“How about when you attended her graduation from the academy after she served her country in the Navy? Did you think of her as a child then, or were you proud of her for following in your footsteps?”
Crew caught the slight flare of the man’s nostrils. “I’ve been proud of everything she’s accomplished. I just don’t see what a forty-three-year-old man sees in a twenty-eight-year-old besides being able to brag about having an attractive young woman hanging on his arm.”
Crew had to remind himself that he liked Cabrera, he respected him. And he’d get fired if he broke the man’s nose with his fist. He also had to tell himself that he might act the same way when it came to his own daughter. “First of all, I don’t need to brag about shit. I wasn’t looking for eye candy to hang on my arm like an accessory, whether in her twenties, thirties or in her eighties. Second, I see past her age to the woman Cami is. It’s a shame you are reducing her to her age.”
Pot meet kettle.
“She has her whole life ahead of her and by being with you, she’s limiting that life.”
“That’s for her to decide and she made that decision. I gave her an out. She didn’t take it.”
“What out was that? Your vasectomy?”
For fuck’s sake, how fucking deep did the man dig?
“All my shortcomings you already listed.” The inability to give her children, Sasha and his kids. Luckily, none of those scared her away. He was done with this line of discussion. “Does she know you’re in town?” Because if Cami did, she didn’t warn him.
“I didn’t tell her. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
It certainly would be that. “She’ll be happy to see you. I can make reservations for dinner somewhere if you plan on staying in the area overnight.”
“I plan on staying with C.C. at her place for a few nights to get caught up. I’m sure she won’t mind.”
That meant Crew would have to sleep at his own place. Alone.
Annoyed, he drew a hand down his beard.
“Is there a problem with that?”
There sure as fuck was. “Not at all. I’ll make dinner reservations for the three of us for tonight. Six-thirty work?”
“Perfect.”
“Great. But let me say this… I’m letting you get your cuts in now but once we walk out of this office,” Crew jabbed his finger toward the closed door, “this conversation doesn’t go past that door. Do not bring it with you to dinner. This discussion ends here.” He pointed to the floor. That was a warning, not a request. “You don’t have to like our relationship, but it’s our relationship, not yours. You have no say in it, only we do.”