Son of Cerberus (The Unusual Operations Division Book 2) by Jacob Hammes Page B

She must be driving if she gave him that voice.
    “Hi baby,” she said in a tone that made him feel unwelcome.
    “You sound so chipper,” he answered. “Is this a bad time?”
    “It’s never a bad time for you. I just got some bad news about a case we’ve been working on and I had to hurry up and get ready is all. I’m frustrated that one of my damn employees can’t take care of the simplest matters without me holding his hand.”
    “Sorry to hear that.” The sound of her frustration just gave Marcus more trepidation. He didn’t want her even more upset, but hopefully he would be home before dinner regardless. “I guess it’s a bad time to tell you I’m going to be out of the state for the rest of the day.”
    “Not really,” Julie stated bluntly. “I’ll probably be at work until tomorrow morning anyway trying to sort through all of these legal proceedings. I don’t want you to go, but I won’t see you anyway. You’re not skipping out on me so you can have more time to think about us getting hitched, are you?”
    “It’s a possibility,” Marcus chided. “I’m taking my whole team up north so that we can hash out the details of our living arrangements together. Don’t worry, though. They are all on your side.”
    “As they should be.” Julie giggled. Her voice turned pleasant for just a moment before it was back to business. “Well, I’m just pulling into work. Please be safe and keep me updated. I’ll sleep at my place tonight, but you had better call me soon.”
    “I will, don’t worry. You don’t give me enough credit.”
    “You don’t give me enough of a warning when you’re jetting off to other states.”
    “Goodbye, beautiful.” Marcus couldn’t help being curt. It was his way of telling Julie to stop pushing the matter. He had been open with her about the importance of his job from day one—complaining about it did nothing.
    “Bye, Marcus,” she stated before hanging up the phone.
    She really wasn’t in the mood, Marcus thought to himself. He made a mental note to try and make it up to her later, if he could. There were many things both of them enjoyed that would make her happy and nearly half of them had to do with bed. Lately she had opened up to him about a specific fetish that included latex, ropes, and clamps. It wasn’t particularly surprising to him seeing as how she enjoyed ripping chunks of skin off every time they were in the sack, but he wasn’t exactly sure how to approach the subject. If he bought her something like a gag, he was worried she would turn it around on him and stifle his pleas for mercy.
    He wasn’t quite sure whether or not the thought turned him on.
    “You ready, buddy?” Stephen had accompanied Marcus to the underground parking garage to stow his personal effects and had been waiting patiently nearby. His booming voice woke Marcus from his temporary daydream. The ridiculously expensive vehicle he drove put Marcus’s sleek little sports car to shame, though Marcus would never admit it. The grin that split Stephen’s face from ear to ear made him wonder whether or not he had been able to read his mind.
    “Women,” Stephen said. “They’re never exactly what you hope for.”
    “Brenda is everything you want her to be, isn’t she?”
    “That’s another story altogether,” Stephen said, pushing Marcus playfully as he got out of his vehicle. They sauntered toward the awaiting sports utility vehicles while bantering back and forth about women.
    Something weighed heavily on Marcus’s mind. Though he hated to admit it, he was sure the rest of the team felt the same way; they were one man short. The banter, the preparations, all of it just seemed hollow without Bishop in tow. He had been the one to which every looked for fun. His bright smile, shining attitude, and ability to see the positive in every situation had made an impact on everyone he ever met. This would be the team’s first case without Bishop, and all of them would feel the