sir. This information came to me only recently.”
“What information is that?” Jane crossed her arms.
“It’s my lead,” he said coldly. “I’ll chase it down. I wouldn’t want your bias to color your judgment.”
“My bias? What about yours?”
“If my brother is truly guilty, I’ll close the book and let it be. I know he’s not, though. If you had known my brother, you’d know he couldn’t have done the things you say he did.”
“And would you say your brother wasn’t capable of gunning down innocent people? Because he absolutely did that,” she countered. “That’s irrefutable.”
Holden swallowed. True, and that piece of the puzzle didn’t make sense. All kinds of bad stuff had been happening under the auspices of I.D., which had subsequently been shut down, but Holden had a feeling the rot went even deeper than they’d uncovered. And somehow Miko had been at the heart of it.
“So spit it out,” she pressed, her green eyes narrowing as she awaited his answer. “What’s this new compelling evidence that miraculously appeared at the eleventh hour?”
He glanced at Reed. “I’d prefer to share that information in private.”
His boss shook his head. “Jane is the investigating officer. Technically, any information you have should be shared with her, too.” Reed’s stare bounced from one officer to the other. “I really have no reservations with Jane as an investigator, nor do I feel she was biased. She followed the evidence and arrived at the conclusion that we all did.” He drew himself up and effectively put an end to the conversation, saying, “I’m sorry, son, but this case is closed. You’re going to have to make peace with it.”
“My brother was a highly decorated marine.” Holden’s throat was tight. “To strip him of his medals... They were all he had left.”
“He should’ve thought of that before he committed treason,” Jane said, nodding to Reed with smug approval. “Sorry to have bothered you, sir.”
Finished, she turned and left Holden standing in Reed’s office, his anger smoldering so hot he didn’t trust himself not to blow his entire career with one expletive. He reined in his anger enough to ask, “Sir, is that your final decision on the subject?”
“It is.”
Holden accepted his superior’s answer with a stiff nod and exited the office, but instead of going straight to his desk, he grabbed his coat and headed out. He needed air. Or else he was going to do something as foolish as throttle Jane Fallon.
* * *
From her desk, Jane watched Holden stomp out of the building. She released a pent-up breath. What possible evidence could Holden have that she hadn’t uncovered in her investigation? She was known for her sharp eye and attention to detail. It wasn’t possible she’d missed something. Right?
She returned to Reed’s office, and her boss offered a brief, knowing smile. “He planted a seed, didn’t he?”
“I didn’t miss anything,” she protested, but Reed was right; Holden had definitely planted a seed of doubt, and it was already germinating like a weed in her mind. “What do you think he was he talking about?”
“Does it matter?” Reed countered, and she supposed he was right. It didn’t matter. The case was closed. “You have to understand that Holden is grieving the loss of his brother on several different levels. He’ll survive this, and it will all become an unpleasant memory best left in the past.”
She didn’t think so. She’d known Holden for a year. They’d both transferred at the same time to the CIA, military affairs department, and ever since their brief, ill-fated and definitely secret affair, they’d been at odds with one another. However, if pressed, Jane would have to admit Holden was as thorough an officer as she—which meant if Holden thought he had new evidence, he likely did. “Maybe I ought to look into the case, make sure there aren’t any loose ends.”
Reed arched his brow. “You want to reopen it?” he asked.
“No,” she said quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was reopen the case that had finally given her a measure of approval from her father, but if there was even the slightest chance she’d missed something, she couldn’t let it go. “But I don’t want Holden questioning my skills. I have no doubt that my investigation will hold up.”
“Then why do you care what he thinks?”
“I don’t.” I care what others will think if Holden starts spreading his theory around. If word reached her father that she’d potentially buggered up the high-profile case.... She shuddered to think of how heavy his disappointment would be. “I just like to be thorough,” she finished.
Reed sighed, as if knowing the exercise was pointless and a waste of manpower, but he shrugged and said, “Fine. I’ll reopen the case for one week. But here’s the catch,” he added. “Holden is going to work with you.”
“With all due respect, I don’t think that’s wise,” she said, her heart skipping a beat. “He doesn’t have a clear head. He’s too emotional about this. Holden is a wild card that will only impede my progress.”
“Potentially true, but Holden is a good officer—as good as you—and I have a feeling if he doesn’t get the opportunity to chase this down, he’s going to do something rash. I don’t want to lose a good officer over this.”
Work with Holden? She’d rather chew nails. “Sir, I can appreciate your concern but—”
“Decision is made. You and Holden have a week to get this cleared up. Try not to kill each other in the process.”
And what if they did worse than kill each other? Jane’s mouth dropped open in dismay, hating the idea of working side by side with Holden. From the minute they’d met, sparks had flown—the kind that made for incredible, earth-shattering sex but only made things messy everywhere else except the bedroom. She found him arrogant, harsh, cocky and too good-looking to be trusted. Anyone with eyes like his ought to be quarantined as a matter of national security. He was bad news. He reacted emotionally instead of rationally, and he didn’t care how his actions affected other people. Such as when he wanted to come clean about their relationship and she wanted to keep it quiet. She had known her father would never approve, and she had told Holden this, which somehow had prompted him to have a conversation with her father, The Major. And that had gone down exactly as she’d imagined—not well. She’d ended her relationship with Holden and he had been adversarial with her ever since. Now whenever they were together, her armpits immediately started to sweat, which was why she’d switched to clinical-strength deodorant. He set her teeth on edge.
He also hogged the office exercise equipment. Of course, he would be the only other person who arose at a ridiculously early hour to get in a good workout before the day started. It was hard enough to forget his near-perfect body without having to exercise beside him each morning, but she was not about to purchase a gym membership when she had a free gym readily available to her.
And now she was supposed to work with him like they were buddies in a Sandra Bullock film? No way. Again, she’d rather eat nails. Rusty ones, at that.
She returned to her desk and glowered at her screensaver—flying
