“
How could I have known that? There was no evidence that they were,
”
I yelled.
“
And that doesn
’
t make what happened to me fair! Besides, you guys were in charge of getting the background
info
. I was risking my life out in the field.
”
“
It
’
s no one
’
s fault!
”
Chief Havers bellowed out behind me.
“
I
’
ve had enough of the finger pointing.
”
“
I wasn
’
t finger pointing
.
”
I sp
un
around to face him.
“
I seem to have walked into my own office and having to defend myself!
”
“
Agent Frank, get back to work,
”
Brian
barked
.
“
I didn
’
t tell you to pack up Agent Thomas
’
s
desk.
”
“
Yes, sir,
”
Frank replied, sending me a scathing look before leaving.
“
Sera,
”
Brian started to say.
“
Yes, Chief Havers?
”
I asked sweetly, showing that I was going to keep this conversation as professional as possible.
“
Fine, if that
’
s the way you want it,
”
Brian answered.
“
Agent Thomas, I had to put another
a
gent
in your old position. You knew I would have to.
”
“
Understood, Chief
.
”
I mov
ed
behind my desk to pac
k up the rest of my belongings, focusing on anything but him.
“
You had to know your choice would burn me though. To come in and find the agent whose life I saved packing up my desk just added insult to injury.
”
“
I
’
m sorry about that,
”
Brian sighed
,
looking away from me and
running his hand through his
blond
hair.
“
Agent Frank was out of line, packing up your office and for what he said. No one thinks it was your fault we didn
’
t know Bernard and his crew were shifters.
”
“
Doesn
’
t seem that way to Agent Frank.
”
“
You saved his life
and
he doesn
’
t seem to be taking it well.
”
“
Oh, poor baby, I feel so bad for
him
.
”
I rolled my eyes just to make sure my sarcasm was getting across and it wasn
’
t subtle.
“
Sera, please,
”
Brain
groaned
sitting down on one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“
Talk to me.
”
“
There
’
s nothing to talk about, Chief,
”
I replied
,
my hands grabbing at objects without my eyes registering them as my
packing
became
faster. I knew what was coming next, and this was what I had hoped to avoid.
“
Yes there is, Sera.
You know how I feel about you
.
”
H
e
was
quiet so no one could
accidently over
hear. I did catch the change in his tone to something huskier, as if trying to seduce me or remind me of feelings for him I didn
’
t have.
“
Let it go, Chief.
”
“
Cut the Chief shit,
”
Brian said
,
standing and closing my office door.
“
I know there
’
s a heart in you.
”
“
Yeah, there
’
s a heart in me, Chief. It
’
s what got smashed when my team and boss didn
’
t give a shit about what happened to me!
”
I was done being nice or professional since I seemed to be the only one playing by the rules.
“
You know that
’
s not true, Sera.
”
“
Don
’
t I?
”
I hissed
,
spinning around to face him
.
“
N
one of you called. No one checked up on me except my new boss.
”
“
Sera, you know the position I
’
m in here
.
”
Brian
looked at m
e
with pleading eyes
.
“
Please don
’
t let what
’
s happened professionally effect our personal relationship.
”
“
We don
’
t have a relationship, Brian. We
’
ve slept together a half dozen
times.
”
I
countered
,
gripping the box I was holding even tighter.
“
That
’
s it
.
E
nd of story. You didn
’
t personally call to check on me either. I could tell how much you really cared.
”
“
I
’
m sorry
.
I just figured you
’
d want some time alone to deal with everything.
”
His face showed guilt, down to his cheeks getting slightly ruddy. Riiight. Liar!
“
That
’
s what you really thought, Brian? Sounds like a cop
-
out,
”
I replied, focusing on my hands so that they turned into claws. Brian couldn
’
t hold back his gasp of surprise as he took a few steps back from me.
“
Yeah, I can see how giving me space was the reason you didn
’
t call. I
’
m sure it had nothing to do with the fact I
’
m a
werewolf
now.
”
“
Sera, you
’
re shifting,
”
he whispered
,
pointing to my claws.
“
You could hurt someone.
”
“
Yeah, I could,
”
I sneered, focusing on changing my claws back to hands before I continued.
“
I can control it, Brian. I was merely proving a point. You stayed away and didn
’
t call because you
’
re scared of me now. You didn
’
t want to be involved with a freak
.
At least
be honest with yourself if you
’
re not going to be with me.
”
“
Sera, what do you want me to say?
”
He didn
’
t look scared anymore, just sad and riddled with guilt.
Crap
! What was it with these guys and acting like I should be apologizing to them
?
I
’
m the one who got hurt. I saved Frank
’
s life. I
’
m the one no one checked up on or cared enough to call and see how I was doing.
Crap
. Them.
“
Nothing, Brian,
”
I answered
,
throwing the last of my personal belongings into the box.
“
I don
’
t want a damn thing from you.
”
“
I
’
m sorry
.
”
Brian s
a
nk back down into the chair he sat in before.
“
I
’
m truly sorry
about
how everything turned out.
”
“
I
’
m not,
”
I replied, lying through my teeth.
“
At least now I know the truth about you and my own team.
”
I picked up the two boxes with my more personal belongings,
“
Agent Frank can finish packing the rest up. Please have it shipped to my new office, Chief.
”
“
If that
’
s what you want, Sera.
”
“
Yes, actually, it is
.
”
I
was being
curt
and probably overly bitchy. But
right then, I didn
’
t really care
.
I opened
the door and gave him one more glance
.
“
Good bye, Brian. Best of luck with Agent Frank running the team.
”
And
,
with that, I walked out of my old office, not waiting to hear if he bothered to respond. I walked
down the pathway
that led from my office
, through the section of cubicles,
and
to the exit
, head held high, ignoring the whispers and
odd
looks. Luckily, I caught the elevator right away, pushed the button for the ground floor with my hip, and met anyone looking at me face on. Until the elevator doors closed that is, then I leaned on the wall
, closed my eyes,
and sighed.
That w
ent
about as bad
ly
as it possibly could, I thought to myself. When the doors opened, I walked out to my car, popped the trunk
,
and put my boxes in. After I closed the trunk, I hopped in the car and started it up. I pulled out of the parking lot without even a backward glance, glad to leave that office behind me. Time to go see what my new office and team
were
like.
Chapter 3
It was
n
’
t
hard to
find my new office
.
E
veryone kn
o
w
s
w
h
ere it is. That
’
s how agents avoid
ed
it. Sucking it up and
getting
ready to make the best of my new situation, I pulled one of the boxes out of the trunk and headed inside. The
brick
building itself
wa
s smaller than my old one
.
N
ot being right in the middle of the city, the FBI was free to have the whole building. It was about a mile away from O
’
Hare airport, right off highway 45.
I
pushed my way through the glass doors, box in hand, and
walked up to the main receptionist
’
s desk, waiting for the gum-smacking woman to get off the phone.
I watched as her long glossy-red fingernails tapped rhythmically on the wooden surface of the desk
. S
he twisted back and forth slightly in her chair
while she listened to the person on the other end of the line.
“
Can I help you?
”
s
he asked when she was done
, adjusting her glasses and peering at me closely
.