Chapter 239
796 Words
Selena signed the ‘request for leave’ form and bit her lip. God, she hated this – hated everything to do with this. She’d been expecting it for years, of course, but now that it was here, she realized that she hadn’t been totally prepared after all.
She got to her feet and headed down to Dallas’ office, tapped at the door. He answered and she popped her head in. He was standing and staring out the window at the Rockies. He turned.
“Hey, Selena. Perfect timing. Come on in.”
“Oh.” She clutched the form a bit tighter. “Sure.”
They sat down and as always, Dallas just launched right into it. The man was nothing if not straight-up, and it was one of the many, many reasons that Selena loved working for him.
“I’m sending you and Griff to Kansas to pose as a married couple looking to adopt,” he said in his gravelly voice. “You’re gonna be breaking up a child kidnapping ring aimed at selling babies to adoptive couples.”
She blinked, totally taken aback. “When?”
“You’ll spend the next three days prepping, and drive out on day four. The meet’s in seven days and you’ll stick around until you get access to the places they’re hiding the kids. Pretend to choose one, start the process. As soon as you get that kid in your arms and walk out the door, the feds will move in. I’ll be there too, at a more remote location, acting as backup for the meet and the kid selection. I’ll make an appearance if things go to hell, but my face is too recognizable on any kind of facial-recognition search. I’m all over the f*****g internet too, because I own this business.”
Selena struggled with herself now; she desperately wanted to take down a bunch of scumbag kidnappers, but the timing wasn’t going to work. She took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, boss. I can’t.”
Dallas stared at her. The woman had never refused an assignment – not ever.
“Why?” he said, knowing that whatever the reason was, it was no joke. “What’s wrong?”
She set the form down in front of him, and he stared at it.
“You need some time off?” he said.
“Six weeks.”
Dallas glanced up at her. “You’ve written ‘medical reasons’ here.”
“Yes. I’m getting some elective surgery.”
“Elective?”
“Yes. But… it can’t be put off any longer.” Selena paused, trying to decide how much to share. “It’s something that needs to be done and soon.”
Dallas leaned back in his chair. “How bad is this, Selena?”
She hesitated. “It’s – bad, Dallas. I mean, it will be bad if I don’t get the surgery.”
“So it’s elective and preventative?” His rough voice was low, worried. “You need it to stop something from happening to you?”
“Yes.”
He nodded and picked up a pen. She watched him sign the form, and she felt the strangest combination of relief and terror work its way up her throat. She hadn’t talked to anyone about this, and she wasn’t about to start now, but Dallas’ palpable concern was tugging at her heart. She suddenly needed a hug and she kicked that weakness down, hard.
Crisp and cool now, she took the paper back. “I’ll give this to HR right away.”
“OK.”
“I’ll get full medical clearance before coming back, and I’ll re-certify my gun license.”
He c****d his head at that. “The surgery will affect your ability to use a weapon?”
“Possibly. I don’t know. That’s why I’ll re-qualify.”
Dallas nodded. Legally, he had no right whatsoever to force his employee to reveal private medical information, but as her friend, he was as worried as hell. He gazed at her face, saw her fear, wondered what she was up against.
“OK,” he said. “So you’re gone from tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’ll tie up all my loose ends and prepare status reports on the two open cases I’m on right now.”
“Thanks, Selena.”
“Sure.” She got up now, tried to look confident. “I’m sorry about the op in Kansas.”
“It’s OK. I have a Plan B.”
Despite what was coming into her life, she grinned. “You always have a Plan B, Dallas.”
“C and D too, darlin’.” He grinned back, gave her one of his sexy little winks. “Welcome to life as the boss.”
- Writer
