He turned, burying his face into my chest. I reached up for a pillow, propping my head. Thomas sucked in a breath, and I hugged him tight.

“I fucked up,” he said. “I really fucked up.”

“We’ll make it right.”

“How can we make it right if you’re done with me?”

“Thomas, stop. We’ll fix everything tomorrow. Just sleep.”

He nodded and then took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. When his breathing evened out, I knew he was asleep. I lifted my hand to glance at my watch, and I rolled my eyes. We would both be exhausted in the morning.

I hugged him again, and then I leaned down to kiss his cheek before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-One

I TAPPED MY NAILS ON THE COMPUTER as I listened to the recorded conversation coming through my headphones. The Japanese was broken, mostly slang, but Agent Grove had gotten the numbers wrong again. This time, he had even falsely identified a location as a supposed vacant building next to a hospital when it was actually next to a medical professional building seven miles away.

I picked up the receiver of my landline and hit the first speed-dial button.

“Office of the Assistant Special Agent in Charge. Constance speaking.”

“Agent Lindy for Agent Maddox, please.”

“I’ll put you through,” Constance said.

Her reply took me off guard. She usually at least checked with him first.

“Liis,” Thomas answered. His voice was soft and tinged with surprise.

“I’m listening to these Yakuza recordings. Grove”—I glanced over my shoulder and then away from my open door—“is getting brazen, almost sloppy. He’s falsely identifying locations. I feel like something is getting ready to go down.”

“I’m working on it.”

“We have to remove him before he gets wind of Travis’s recruitment anyway. What are we waiting for?”

“A staged accident. That’s the only way Tarou won’t know we’re onto him and Benny. Otherwise, we could jeopardize the entire operation.”

“I see.”

“What are you doing for lunch?” he asked.

“I, uh…Fuzzy’s with Val.”

“Okay.” He chuckled nervously. “What about dinner?”

I sighed. “I’m playing catch-up. I’ll be working late tonight.”

“Me, too. I’ll take you home, and we can grab take-out on the way.”

I looked out the wall of windows to the squad room. Val was on the phone, having no clue that we now had plans for lunch.

“I’ll let you know,” I said. “The odds of us finishing at the same time are slim.”

“Just let me know,” Thomas said before the line clicked.

I placed the receiver on its base and sank back into my throne.

Once again, the headphones covered my ears, and I pressed Play on the keyboard.