Southern Comfort - Fern Michaels [11]
Tyler waved his hand toward the bank of louvered windows. “Hurricane. The roads were blocked.”
“Amazing that I got through, isn’t it, Lawrence? I’ve been hanging out here for fifteen hours. You had me fly across the country and threatened me with my job if I didn’t get here on time even though there was a hurricane warning. You told me Florida was about to get a little storm, but you obviously were unwilling to venture out into this particular little storm.” Kate saw the smirk on Tyler’s face, and it stirred her to throw caution to the winds. “This is your revenge. This is all about your getting even with me for getting you transferred here. Admit it, and we can go on. Otherwise, I’m outta here.”
Tyler looked around, distaste written all over his face. “You’re being ridiculous, Agent Rush. Obviously, you are PMSing, so I’ll overlook your little outburst this time. The only thing I expect from you is professionalism and doing your duty to the country. Threaten me again, and you go on report.”
Kate bit down on her lower lip. She thought about the resignation letter in her purse, which she’d shoved into the bottom of her go-bag. Tyler had to pay for that PMSing comment. She debated pulling out the letter and ramming it down his throat. She could do it, too. Every one knew what a wuss he was. He even got manicures. She realized at that moment how much she really hated the man standing in front of her. Still, she’d come all this way. The least she could do was hear him out before shoving her resignation down his throat or up his ass, whichever target presented itself first.
“Let’s cut to the chase, Tyler. Why am I here? Why is this meeting taking place in this . . . this hellhole? There are hundreds of hotels in Miami. I know you set this up to spite me, no matter what you say.”
“Your problem, Agent Rush, is that you’re a drama queen. And you will address me as Special Agent Tyler and not by my last name. Is that understood?”
“It’s understood,” Kate said coldly.
“The reason, the only reason I picked you for this job is because you grew up in Miami. You lived here for eighteen years.”
So the little shit remembered after all.
“You know the area, the people, you have friends here. You were the logical choice.”
“The logical choice for what?”
“We have it on good authority that something big is going to go down on one of the Keys.”
“When? What?” Kate asked.
“We don’t know. It could be money laundering, it could be drugs, or it could be human trafficking. It could take as long as two years. Don’t look at me like that, Agent Rush. You know how it works. We get in place, set up our surveillance, then wait it out. You’ll also be working with the Coast Guard on a limited basis. There’s a man we want you to watch. You’ll be set up with accommodations that will give you access to the man in question.”
“How did you come by this information, Special Agent Tyler? Which one of the Keys?”
“That doesn’t matter. The source is reliable, that’s all you need to know. The old maps call it Thunder Key, but these days it’s known as Mango Key.”
Was it all she needed to know? Nah.
Kate took a deep breath. This was where the rubber met the road. She turned around, picked up her go-bag, yanked out her purse, then reached in and grabbed her resignation letter. She whirled around, and said, “Let me make sure I have this right. You have a tip from someone who is more or less reliable who tells you something might or might not happen in approximately two years, and you need someone to babysit some man who lives on Mango Key. Do I have that all correct? Ah, yes. I can see by your expression that I got it right. Nah, I don’t think so. Based on all of the above, I think I will pass on this gig, Lawrence.” In the blink of an eye, she thrust the resignation letter into his hand, turned, grabbed her bag, and was out the door and