Page 150 of Mr. Charming
“Already?”
“I know, right? This is the real thing. I’ve never felt this way about someone before. We connect.”
“But now the FBI is saying you can’t see him.”
“Exactly. Unless I can unravel the mystery of who is behind this smuggling operation and where all the money is going.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed.
“You have an idea to help?”
“No! I almost forgot to tell you. I’ve met a new guy.”
I resisted rolling my eyes.
“That’s nice, but…”
“No, really. He’s great, a rock star.”
My eyes rolled on their own.
“I’m serious, Jade. We’ve been getting along well so far, and we haven’t even slept together.”
“That’s great. I’m glad for you, but I’m kind of in middle of an emergency right now.”
“Have you called your dad?”
“Um, no. Why would I call him?”
“Because he’s a spy…” her voice trailed off.
“I’ve told you, he’s not a spy.”
“And I’m telling you he’s definitely some sort of spy. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“You back on drugs?”
“No. I can’t believe you don’t believe me after all of this time. There’s something off there, and it’s because he’s a secret-keeping spy.”
“I’m a journalist, Jen. If my mother were alive and said she loved me, I would look into it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that line before. I’m going. All this talk of the FBI and spies has me spooked.” She giggled. “Spooked. Get it?”
Many people might hate Jen for being so goofy and seemingly unconcerned with helping me, but I understood she would only get in the way. I had a hell of a lot of work to do if I would bring down the people smuggling precious minerals out of Afghanistan on a massive scale.
Clearing Cooper’s name as well as my own was my first priority. I saw Laura out of the apartment then returned to my laptop. Running the Tor browser made it more difficult for them to watch where I went on the Dark Web, a real source of information that flew fast and free.
As I worked on the story of my career, I realized if Cooper was going to be a part of it, he’d have to go on record. My first instinct was to protect his identity, but having his name attached would give the story even more credibility when it broke online. If I ever finished.
THIRTY-FOUR
Jade
As much as I hated to admit it, Laura had given me decent advice. Even though my father wasn’t a freaking spy, he was my superhero and might have an answer to my dilemma.
He appeared surprised yet happy when I appeared at his doorstep. I threw my arms around him and hugged tightly. No matter the situation, he always made me feel better.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Come inside.”