Why was she wasting time defending Holden when she knew there was no winning this argument with her father? Total waste of energy. She’d long ago learned to pick her battles, and this situation was no different.
“So what’s the big case?” Walker asked.
“I don’t have details yet,” she hedged. “I will know more in a few days.” Her father narrowed a speculative gaze at her, as if he were reading her mind and discovering her secrets, and she suffered an uncomfortable moment. “When I can divulge details I will,” she clarified. Anytime she tried to act as their equal, they managed to shoot her down with the equivalent of an indulgent pat on the head. Well, that was how her brothers handled it. Her father? He just got that look on his face that said, “Girl, you’ll never be as good as your brothers because you’re a woman and incapable of critical thinking” and she ended up doing and saying something that invariably started an argument. So tonight, she was determined to steer clear of any potential land mines. Yet...she’d just lobbed a big one in her own path. Self-destructive much? “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
The Major grunted and returned to his sons. “Walker, tell us about the latest detail in Afghanistan.”
“Dad, you know I’m not supposed to talk about that—it’s classified,” he said, winking at their father. The Major laughed as if they were sharing a big private joke, and Jane hated she couldn’t just enjoy an evening with her family like normal folks. Her thoughts wandered to Holden, and she pushed them back. She didn’t want to think of him. Not now. She was already surrounded by big, tall, muscular numbskulls with too much testosterone. She certainly didn’t need to muddy her brain with one more.
“Dad, how was the summit?” she asked, trying to steer the conversation. “Anything worth reporting?”
“Bunch of politicians jockeying to be top dog,” he said. “Nothing new. Food was adequate for the situation, but I was more than happy to be home where a man can get a decent steak.”
Adequate. Top chefs catered the military summit each year. It was mildly gratifying to know her father was difficult to please on all fronts. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t be eating so much steak at your age,” she countered. “Your cholesterol is probably through the roof.”
“My cholesterol is fine,” her dad said. Then his brow arched in a knowing fashion, and Jane’s stomach flopped. He knew and he’d simply been waiting for a convenient segue. Damn the man’s connections. He probably had a line to God so he knew when to pack an umbrella. “Let’s get back on topic. Jane, an interesting conversation floated my way concerning the investigation you closed on that Archangelo man.”
“Yes? Such as?” she asked, feigning polite interest when she really wanted to forgo eating and split this dinner invitation. She grabbed a handful of pretzels and tossed one back. “Anything good?”
“Talk is that his brother is asking questions.”
“Well, that’s not surprising. It was his brother after all,” she answered, trying not to choke on the pretzel. “What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is the whole I.D. debacle was an embarrassment to this country and everyone is ready to put it to bed. You did a decent job closing that investigation to everyone’s satisfaction. Perhaps you could persuade your peer to let sleeping dogs lie,” The Major suggested, but his tone told her it was anything but. She hated when her dad pulled rank. “I.D. was a toxic extension of the government that ended up with gangrene. Many good people went down on that ship. No one wants to dredge it up again.”
“I told him that,” she said, biting her tongue too late. She looked to her brothers for help, but they were watching her as keenly as their father was. Damn boys. They stuck together, no matter what. Well, cat’s out of the bag. No sense dancing around. She tossed back the last pretzel and said, “He’s never going to stop asking questions. He doesn’t believe Miko was guilty.”
“The guy was caught red-handed,” Ian said with a snort. “He couldn’t have been more guilty than if he’d filmed himself doing it and mailed the evidence to the authorities.”
“It’s an open-and-shut case,” Walker agreed. “I wish all my cases were that easy.”
She bristled. “It wasn’t that easy. The I.D. corruption went deep. There’s always the potential we didn’t root out all of the rot. I assure you, it wasn’t an easy investigation by any means.”
“Of course, Janey,” Walker soothed in a patronizing way that made her want to sucker punch him in the kidneys. “It was a nice feather in your cap, for sure.”
“Thanks, Walker,” she gritted, her temperature rising. “Listen, I don’t know if Holden has anything of value, but he says he has some new evidence.”
Ian raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, hating that she’d blabbed at all. But no sense in hanging on to a half story. “Reed has temporarily reopened the case with Holden and me investigating.”
Her dad scowled. “That’s some special kind of bullshit. What possible evidence could this Holden character have that would warrant reopening the case?”
“I don’t know, Dad,” she answered truthfully. If only Holden hadn’t been such a jerk and shared what he knew, she could’ve had solid answers, but now it seemed as if she were on the outside looking in on her own case. “I’m sure it’s nothing truly substantial, but Reed thinks this will give Holden closure.”
“Whole lot of hand-holding if you ask me.” Her dad groused and her brothers nodded. “If I was in charge, none of that would be going on.”
“Yes, Dad,” she said dutifully, though she wanted to roll her eyes. Her dad had little faith that anyone could do their jobs as well as he could. Well, you didn’t rise up the marine ranks by sitting back and letting the tide carry you. Her dad had the chops to back up his claims, but he wasn’t the least bit gracious about it, which put him on the outs with almost everyone beneath him. “Anyway, I’m starved. When’s dinner? I have an early day tomorrow and I still need to go over the case files.”
“It should be ready now.” Her dad motioned for everyone to follow him to the dining room. He nodded with brisk approval at Claudine, the live-in maid and cook, and then seated himself at the head of the table like a king surveying his subjects, which Jane thought was an apt analogy.
“Smells great, Claudine,” she murmured, ready to dig in and get the hell out.
“How are you, Miss Jane?” Claudine asked, placing the gravy boat nearest to her father because he practically drank the stuff with a straw. Her father was waging a war against time, determined to prove he was damn near invincible, no matter that he was nearing seventy.
“Good, and yourself?”
“Can’t complain.” The older woman smiled. “When are you going to meet a nice young man?”
“No time for that,” she said briskly, shaking her head as she scooped a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Why didn’t anyone ever ask why Walker or Ian hadn’t settled down? Because men were allowed to be footloose and fancy-free, she answered herself in a sour tone. “I’m married to my job,” she said, thinking briefly of the time she and Holden had spent together. If things had been different...maybe...but they weren’t, so what was the point in wallowing in the past?
Her father nodded and said, “There’s more to life than getting married, Claudine. Don’t be putting foolish thoughts into the girl’s head. She’s finally doing all right. Time to focus on the priorities.”
Somehow having her father echo the same sentiment sent a stone tumbling into the pit of her stomach when it should’ve made her grin from ear to ear. She was constantly yearning