Chapter 10

Jep touched her elbow to lead her onto the elevator back at the office.

"I'm sorry about your shirt, too," he said.

"I've got more. Next time, I'll take your advice."

When the doors opened on the fifth floor, Lawson was waiting.

"Miss Chapman," he said, closing in on her. "I take it you're reasonably okay?"

"Yeah." She lifted her arm to show off the bandage. "Seven stitches later. Not too bad, considering."

He glanced at Jep, then back at her. "Good. Why don't you take a few days off. You've earned it."

"For a cut on my arm? I see others in the team come in with a lot worse."

"As an analyst, I have no expectation of you overcoming an experience like that to get right back to work. That attack must have been terrifying."

"It—well—no. Jep was there. I was shaken up by it, but that's to be expected." It hadn't occurred to her until that moment that she hadn't been scared.

"If he'd done his job properly," Lawson said, breaking her train of thought, "you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"A few painkillers, and I'm good to go. Really."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

"You're a real trooper. You can let Gardener know you're back on her team. Jep, you can come with me."

"He didn't do anything wrong," Em said. "And I?—"

"I have all the information I need. Thank you. If you're staying, you can return to your desk."

"But sir?—"

"He said he'd keep you safe, and he didn't. This was exactly what I was afraid of. Jep, come with me."

Em remained in place as Jep followed Lawson to his office.

The door slammed shut, but Lawson's voice still carried through the room. "You might be good on the field, Jep, but you're incapable of working in a team. You not only refused to listen to solid advice, but you then put Miss. Chapman's life in danger for what? To prove a point? You're a disgrace. And I'm sickened by the prospect of having you in this office."

There was a pause. If Jep was speaking, she couldn't hear it.

"This must be your first work injury," Pearce said.

"I got a paper cut once." She laughed weakly, her attempt to make light of the situation failing to lighten her mood.

"I'm sorry it happened."

"It's no one's fault. These things happen."

"No, they don't. Not when he was supposed to be keeping you away from anything dangerous, and what does he do?"

"It's not what you think. Jep's a good guy. Maybe he does bother some agents by the way he works, but his motivation is all good."

"You sure about that?"

"I'm positive."

"Okay. I'll take your word for it. I just hope he doesn't still expect you to be his partner."

"No. He apologized for that."

"That's one positive outcome from all of this."

They both looked to Lawson's office when his door opened, but Jep stopped and turned back into the room when Lawson spoke again.

"While I try to get my orders to have you here reversed, I am taking back control. You can sit at your desk and write up a report about today's incident, and then you can write another report about how you would behave differently so that it never happens again. You will remain in this office until I know what to do with you."

Jep shook his head and walked to his desk without looking at anyone.

The room remained silent as he tossed his badge on his desk and laid his weapon beside it before collecting his things. He looked around until he spotted Emery, and he walked over to her.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "The thing I regret the most about coming back is what happened to you. You won't have to worry about it happening again."

He didn't bother with the elevator. Instead, he yanked open the emergency door, causing the alarm to sound. He jerked to a stop and looked up, obviously not expecting that, then walked through the door and disappeared.

Em was frozen in place while a few scrambled and made phone calls to get the alarm turned off.

When the silence returned, a gaping hole appeared in its place.

"It wasn't his fault," she said to Pearce. "It really wasn't. It would have been so much worse if he hadn't been there."

"But you have to understand Lawson's position. You never should have been there in the first place."

She turned on him. "Then wrap me in cotton wool, why don't you?"

"Em—"

"No, we could have gotten in a car accident because of someone else's driving, and Lawson would have blamed Jep. He was waiting for any opportunity to get rid of him. So was everyone."

"Not everyone. He has some friends in here."

"Does he? You mean all those people who kept him from walking out the door?"

"You say that like you wanted him to stay. I thought you didn't like the guy."

"I—I was wrong about Jep, and I don't want to lose this task force. I think we can do some real good here."

"Then let me put your mind at ease. What happened between Agent Booth and the assistant director was always going to happen. Those two needed to blow off steam at each other. I'm sure Jep will be back once he's cooled off. He's got a taste for it now. Trust me. I know the feeling. Tomorrow or a few days from now, he'll turn up back here like nothing happened."

"And Lawson will be fine with that?"

"He'll have to be."

"Maybe you should go talk to him."

"Jep or Lawson?"

"Both. You seem to be the only tie those two have. If anyone can mend this, you can."

"There's nothing to do right now. They need to cool off. Trust me. Jep will be back, and Lawson will take him."

"I hope you're right."

The elevator doors opened, and Emery swallowed a tiny gulp of air, but it wasn't Jep. It hadn't been all week.

"Hey, Pearce," she said as he walked past.

"What's up?"

"Jep hasn't come back."

"No."

"Are you still confident he will?"

He thought about it for a minute. "I honestly thought he'd be back by now."

"Do you know if Lawson has told the deputy director yet?"

"He's been putting it off."

"Truman won't be happy to find out he's the last to know."

"He's got bigger issues at the moment. He's currently testifying at a congressional hearing, so Lawson can avoid it until that's finished."

"And then what?"

"I don't know."

"You should call him. Jep, I mean."

"I have."

She jerked forward. "You did? What did he say?"

"When he finally answered after I called him a half a dozen times, he said—and I quote—‘Never going to happen.' He obviously needs more time to cool down than I anticipated."

"It sounds to me like he's made up his mind. I wonder if—" She shook the thought away.

"What? If you have an idea, you had better share it. We need a miracle here."

"I was thinking, maybe I could call him. Now that my arm is healing and I've been cleared of any other ailments emanating from it, maybe that would soften the ground for his return."

"You'd feel comfortable doing that?"

"Comfortable? No. It will definitely be awkward. I barely know the guy. But if it would help, it's worth a shot."

Pearce let out a relieved sigh. "Honestly, I'd hoped you'd offer. I didn't want to ask after everything that's happened, but I think we'd have a better chance of him listening if it's coming from you. Whatever it is he sees in you, you may be the only one who can bring him back."

She got stuck on his " whatever it is he sees in you " comment for a second. "Okay. If that's what it will take, I'll call him."

Pearce winced.

"What?" Em said.

"I hate to ask…"

"What?"

"He avoided most of my calls. I think if you went to see him, you'd have a better chance. A phone call is too easy to dismiss, but if you're standing there in front of him…"

"A phone call was one thing, but a visit? You want me to go to his workshop? Alone?"

"Is that too much to ask? It's too much to ask. Forget it."

"It's just…wouldn't it be weird for me to turn up at his place? Wouldn't it seem…I don't know…desperate?"

"Aren't we?"

"What if you came with me."

"I could, but I think it would mean more if you turned up alone. You said you'd changed your mind about him. And he's probably defensive right now. I know I would be. We don't want anything to get in the way of his favorable response."

The thought of turning up on his doorstep made her cringe, but she didn't know why. He thought better of her than most of the people in the office.

"Are you embarrassed by the idea?" Pearce said.

"Why would I be embarrassed?"

"Using your feminine touch to sway him."

"That's not what I would do."

"Then what's holding you back?"

"Nothing. Okay. I'll do it."

"Fantastic. Thank you." He pressed his palms together in gratitude.

"But I have a condition."

"I think Jep rubbed off on you. Let's hear it."

"If I go talk to Jep, you have to talk to Lawson. I don't want to go through the hard work of getting him back in the office only to lose him again because Lawson can't rein his temper in."

"Done. You can leave Lawson to me."

"You have to make sure that Lawson will continue to agree with Jep's original terms."

"Absolutely, but while you're with Jep, confirm that he intends to choose another partner."

"I can still be his partner if he wants."

"What? No way."

"Why not?"

He pointed at her arm. "That, for one."

"That was unforeseen."

"What happened to you only being his partner because it was the only way to make him stay? Surely he doesn't expect to continue with that arrangement."

"He doesn't. And maybe he won't want me anymore. I doubt he does. But I'm okay with it if that's what it takes to get him back."

"You're a tougher woman than I ever gave you credit for. What about Gardener? She may refuse to let you out of her sight."

"She won't. She turned out to be quite agreeable to having one of her analysts in the field."

"That doesn't surprise me. Well, if your boss is okay with it, then I guess I have to go along with it."

"Then we're agreed?"

"If you're sure."

"I am." She tugged at her skirt. "When do you think I should go?"

"The sooner the better. What are you up to now? If Gardener is on board, you won't have any trouble getting out of work. And you can take one of our cars. I'll clear it."

"Thanks. But?—"

"What?"

"What do I say to a man like Jep to convince him to do something he doesn't want to do?"

"You're assuming he doesn't want to come back."

"Isn't that why he left?"

"He left because Lawson took away his freedom. He came to work here because he wanted to. You just have to remind him of that."

"Right."

"Any more questions?"

"A million but none you can answer. I guess I'll wing it."

"Good luck."

So that was it. She was going to go see Jep. A man she barely knew, but who seemed to know her. And she was going to convince him to come back. Unless she couldn't.

God, what have you gotten me into? Or is this my own doing? It was impossible to tell.