Chapter 22 #2
Her gaze lingered on his mouth. “I do. I mean it’s a great body, but I know the heart and soul of the man is even better.”
Laying it on a little thick, but he figured she was on a deadline.
“Maybe we could meet up a little later?” She touched a finger to the back of his hand, the one without the wedding ring. “You know. Catch up properly.”
“My ego is a little dented. I don’t remember the last time I was dumped.” He shot her a heated look and a flirtatious smile. “Her loss. I’ll get over it.” He let his eyes wander over her pretty features. “I think I already have.”
If this woman was in league with Bocharov, he wanted them both to know he’d been jettisoned like a piece of space junk and that he didn’t give a shit. He wanted them to believe Daisy was nothing but a convenient hookup he’d taken advantage of.
Jenna stared down into her lap and frowned. “You know, I’ve often thought about you over the years, Jordan, and about what happened. It was so terrible. I’d do anything to make it up to you. To take away that pain.”
Whoa. Was she genuinely making a pass at him? Did she think spreading her legs would make up for his family dying in an inferno?
Was she out of her damned mind?
He kept the atmosphere light rather than let the darkness overwhelm him. “Hey, it wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, but something went wrong that shouldn’t have. CPD…”
“Fucking CPD.” He pushed his plate away abruptly.
“Agreed. Incompetent at the best of times.” She looked up at him through dark lashes.
“Anyway, perhaps I could bolster that ego of yours by telling you I’ve always found you very attractive.
Of course, there was no way I could admit that when I was technically your superior.
But as a civilian, and a recent widow who is only in town for a few days, I hope I can be honest. Perhaps, we could help comfort each other in some small way. We could meet after you finish work?”
“What about your friend in crisis?”
She gave a little shake of her head. “I told them I was arriving tomorrow because I wanted to take a full day for myself.” Her dark eyes shone when they met his. “We could grab dinner, say about seven? For old time’s sake and take it from there?”
“I don’t want to take advantage of a grieving woman.”
She smiled sadly enough that maybe Charlie had been real. “Life is for the living. Charlie would understand.”
“Where are you staying?”
She named an expensive downtown hotel and gave him her number.
“Okay, I’d like that. I’ll meet you there.”
“I better go.” Her eyes danced. “I want to hit the mall and buy something nice to wear.”
“Doesn’t matter what you wear. You always look good.”
She smiled and then hurried out the door.
Alex Parker slid in beside him with his own stack of pancakes. He surreptitiously felt beneath the counter and along the far edge obviously searching for listening devices.
Neither looked at the other.
“You manage to place the bug?” asked Alex.
“Slipped it into her purse.”
“We’ll track both the bug and her cell, see if she spots it and tries to ditch us. I have one of my people following her to the mall—if that’s where she goes.”
“She’ll go straight to meet her handler,” Jordan scoffed.
“Let’s hope so.”
“How good is the person you have following her?”
“Surprisingly good for a teenager.”
Jordan tried to hide his shock. “You’re kidding.”
Alex shook his head. “I caught her when she tried to pick my pocket once. When she was twelve. She was living on the streets. I offered to find her a decent foster home and a scholarship to college if she could get the grades required to get in. Now she attends American University here in the city. Got good enough grades for a full ride and the foster placement worked out so well they adopted her.”
That was pretty impressive. “Why isn’t she in class?”
Alex gave him an odd look. “It’s a Saturday.”
Jordan blinked at him. “Shit.”
“You okay?” Alex’s voice held compassion.
“Worried about Daisy,” he admitted.
“Understandable, but she’s protected. You don’t have to do it alone anymore.” Alex cocked a brow. “Although, I guess you had someone in TacOps giving you a hand.”
“Regan told you.”
“I found a faint trail that led me to Florence Cisco, but that was access only. Regan confirmed it. She didn’t have anything to do with taking the cameras offline.”
“I shouldn’t have asked for her help.”
“No one expected what happened to go down, but after HRT’s recent run-in with Lorenzo Santiago, the potential for danger is high for active duty Federal Agents, which is why Kurt asked you to watch Daisy in the first place.
Don’t bother to deny it.” Alex shot him an amused glance when Jordan opened his mouth to do just that.
“And don’t bother to deny something real happened between the two of you, either. ”
“Kurt is going to despise me.”
“He’s an adult. He’ll deal with it.” Alex shrugged. “You’re really worried about her.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“Yeah, but you know what I meant. She means something to you.”
“Of course, I care about her.” Jordan stared down at his hands. “She’s Kurt’s daughter.”
Alex chewed another mouthful of pancakes, but the look he shot Jordan was full of wisdom and pity.
“Fine, it’s more than that, but she’s strictly no strings. And I don’t do relationships. We’re completely incompatible.”
“On the contrary, it sounds like you’re perfect for one another.”
Jordan tried to force the image of those deep blue eyes and pretty mouth out of his mind. “Last woman I was in a relationship with tried to kill me.”
“Rude.”
“Daisy is completely unreasonable and won’t listen to reason.”
“Women.” Alex shook his head in agreement.
“Bullheaded and stubborn.”
“I plead the fifth.”
“Funny.” Jordan drew in a long breath. “And smart. I can’t even think about becoming involved with anyone right now. That fucker murdered a stripper because we had sex once.” He squeezed his eyes shut as he thought of Ana. “Shit, I should never have touched either of them...”
“You created the alibi to protect her in the moment. The rest followed on from that.” Alex popped a crispy piece of bacon into his mouth.
“You’re right to be concerned about her, but you being there was the biggest break of luck the FBI could have had under any circumstances.
Bocharov doesn’t mess around, and I have my entire team on high alert.
” Alex checked his phone and placed it between them.
“Looks like Stork is headed to CityCenterDC like she said.”
“What’s the plan?” Jordan was itchy with the need to do something, and the fact he didn’t know what Daisy was up to was driving him slowly nuts. Was she flirting with one of the guys?
What would she say if she found out he’d arranged to go on a date tonight?
Not that it was a real date.
Would she care? Even a little?
“We’ll head back to my apartment and monitor what she does.” Alex checked his watch. “See if we can find you something suitable to wear.”
Jordan looked down at his black tactical pants and black shirt. At some point he needed to grab clothes from his home. “You don’t need to get back to the family?”
“We have a possible lead I don’t want to waste.
I told Mal about the threat. She understands the stakes, and she’s busy on a case.
” Alex downed his water and ate the last of his pancake.
“I wonder if Stork realizes the prevailing winds might carry danger all the way to her precious slice of paradise?”
“She’s a hell of an actress.”
“Yeah, Charlie never existed, not as a husband anyway. I ran her background earlier.”
“Figured. Never took her for a liar. How’d she beat the polygraph?”
“Vodka?”
Jordan laughed and pulled a face. “I fucking hate vodka.”
He paid the bill then pushed outside to follow Alex discretely down the street, all the time wondering what Daisy was doing and if she was safe.