Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Jag looked toward Cass’s office, fighting the urge to ask her to check on Steff and see if she was okay. Earlier she’d sent a text to let him know she and Cynthia were going shopping. He was happy she was doing something with her friend, but he was still on alert.
It had been two weeks since she’d agreed to wear the earrings, and he hadn’t felt the need to check if she was fine when she’d been visiting her therapist. Or doing anything else.
Things had been quiet. No unusual packages, and he was grateful for that, but worried they were being lulled into a false sense of security. That whoever was after her was waiting for them to drop their guard so they could pounce.
Jag wasn’t going to let that happen.
He was still staying at her place, and she was happy with him doing so. Not like she had any choice; he wasn’t leaving.
Maybe ever.
Her place was much nicer than his. It felt like a home, whereas his apartment felt like a place to lay his head.
A hangover from always being on the move when he was a SEAL.
It didn’t matter that he’d been out for a few years, the expectation that he could be called to leave at a moment’s notice still lingered.
“For fuck’s sake, just go and ask her,” Fox grumbled.
“What?” Jag looked at his friend, who was watching him with a smirk.
“I’ve watched you look toward Cass’s office over and over for the last two hours. If you’re that worried about Steff, go ask if she’s okay.”
Of course Fox would notice he was antsy, it came from being good friends and teammates. No doubt, he would notice if Fox was tense about something. “She’s out with Cynthia, so it’s not like she’s alone. I’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“There’s always reason to be concerned.” Fox held up his hand when Jag went to argue with him. “I’m not saying anything is going to happen, but we’ve seen too much to not always think worse case scenarios.”
“What about you? How come you’re not stressed about Cynthia?” Since the night when Fox had dropped by Steff’s place when Cynthia had been there, the two of them had gone out a couple of times.
Fox hadn’t said much about what was going on between them, but he’d been smiling a bit more than he usually did. Steff had mentioned that Cynthia appeared happier too.
“I am, I’m just not showing it.” Fox shrugged.
Jag took a second to really study his friend, and he detected the tiny lines of tension around his mouth, things that hadn’t caught his attention because he’d been so wrapped up in his own mind.
Some friend he was. Only a few moments ago, he’d been thinking that he’d notice if anything was bothering Fox, but he’d totally missed it.
“You really like her, don’t you?” Jag kept his voice low, so as not to broadcast it to everyone in the office.
The open plan set up was great when it came to planning missions and throwing ideas around.
Not so much for private conversations. And as they didn’t have too many heart-to-heart talks in the past, it hadn’t been an issue.
Fortunately, Hound and Deal were off somewhere else, and the others were doing their own thing and not paying attention to what he and Fox were discussing. At least that was the impression they were giving, but Jag wouldn’t be surprised if they were aware of what was going on.
Fox’s lips stretched into a wide smile. “I do. She’s fun, and we have a lot in common. It’s rare to meet a girl who is as into sports as Cynthia is.”
“Considering she worked the entertainment beat with Steff, it’s not too much of a stretch to think there wouldn’t be interest. Sports stars hit the red carpet for movie premieres and other stuff.” Honestly, Jag had no idea if what he was talking about was true, but it sounded reasonable to him.
“That’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.” Deal laughed, as he popped his ass on the corner of Jag’s desk.
“What are we talking about?” Hound sauntered up with a cup of coffee in his hand. So much for believing they weren’t around to listen in.
“Jag sprouting some shit about how Cynthia and Steff would’ve been exposed to sports stars on the red carpet when they were working for the entertainment section of the paper.”
Hound took a sip, and Jag could tell he was thinking things over. “It’s not actually an unreasonable assumption; there’s a bit of crossover now between sports stars and music stars. Plus actresses.”
Jag smiled smugly at Deal. “See? I do know stuff.”
A second later the four of them burst out laughing at the absurdity of their conversation. “Since when did we talk about shit like this?” Deal wheezed out between laughs.
“Since these two buffoons became besotted with two certain entertainment reporters.” Hound shook his head as if the very idea of being smitten was a deadly sin.
“Just you wait.” Jag pointed a finger at him. “I’ll remember this when you’re looking forlorn and wistful.”
“If I ever look that way, put me out of my misery,” Hound grumbled. “But I am happy for you guys.”
Fox held up his hands. “Hey, I’m not living with Cynthia, like Jag is with Steff. We’ve gone on a couple of dates. Nothing more.”
“If it’s not serious, then why did you ask me for a pair of earrings for Cynthia to wear after your first date?” Cass looked over the top of her glasses at Fox, a huge smile on her face.
Geez, now everyone was coming in on the conversation.
“You didn’t say you’d done that.” Jag looked incredulously at his friend.
“Made sense considering everything that was going on, and she was more than happy to wear them,” Fox said casually, as if it was an everyday occurrence for him to give someone he’d seen twice a tracker.
Jag absorbed the information that had been shared in the last few seconds. If Cynthia didn’t mean anything to Fox, then he wouldn’t have worried about having her wear a tracker, even though the threat hadn’t been directed at Cynthia.
“Can’t believe that’s two,” Hound muttered before looking at Deal. “You got anything to tell us?”
Deal shook his head. “Nope, footloose and fancy free at the moment. Plan to keep it that way for a while.”
“Now you’ve jinxed yourself,” Jag joked.
“Whatever.” Deal tossed some balled-up paper at Jag, who caught it with a snatch of his hand.
“Anyway, I’m going to head back to my desk, and you girls can continue your gossip session,” Cass sassed them.
Jag leaped up. “Let me walk you there. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
The fact Cass only had to walk about fifty meters to get to her office, made his reasoning a little out there, and the way everyone in the office snorted, even Irish, they all knew it too.
“I’m not doing it.” Cass crossed her arms, her expression serious.
“Doing what?” he asked innocently, now wishing he’d been a bit more subtle in getting what he wanted.
“I’m not checking up on Steff and Cynthia. You know how hard it was to get Steff to wear them, if she found out you were checking up on her all the time, she wouldn’t wear them anymore, and how would that make you feel?”
His friends moved away quickly, leaving him alone with Cass, although not really alone, seeing as they’d congregated to where the others were—all of them looking at him while trying to keep smiles off their faces.
Some friends they were.
“Fine, I wouldn’t like it if she didn’t wear them, but this is the first time she’s gone further than her therapist’s office.
I’ll even tell her that I asked you to check her location.
Please Cass, I need to know she’s okay.” Pleading with someone wasn’t what he normally did.
It went against everything he’d been trained to do, but this situation was different.
“You promise you’ll tell her?” Cass asked.
“I will.”
“Fine, come with me.” Cass headed for her office, and he followed, aware of the sniggers from his friends. He wasn’t going to live down how he’d begged Cass for the information, and he didn’t give a shit. Knowing Steff was safe was more important to him than what his friends thought.
“After we hit the fourth dress shop and still hadn’t found anything, I sat Cynthia down and asked exactly what she was looking for.
Once she told me, I had a better idea of where to go.
If I’d asked her in the first place, I could’ve saved us a lot of time.
Anyway, we found the perfect dress for her date with Fox tonight.
I’m so happy she and Fox are seeing each other.
We should go on a double date with them one night.
” Steff shoved a heaped fork of spaghetti into her mouth, preventing her from talking.
Jag didn’t care if she spoke with her mouth full, he was loving seeing the happiness on her face. The way her eyes sparkled as she talked about her adventures. The way her shoulders were relaxed and there were no visible tension lines around her eyes.
“I like the idea of a double date. I’m sure Fox will be open to it as well. I also need to say, before we go any further, that I did check your location today. I swear I haven’t asked Cass to see where you are before, but today I needed to.” Jag hoped what he said didn’t pop her good mood.
“Oh, um, okay. I don’t mind now. It is kind of nice to know I’m protected. Even after being unsure.”
Relief settled in his belly. “I’m glad, and it won’t become a habit of mine. I promise.”
“I believe you. Now, back to what we were discussing a few seconds ago.”
“The double date?”
“Yeah. I may have already suggested to Cynthia that we should go out together. She’s keen and was going to run it past Fox tonight.” She dipped her head, her hair covering her cheek, but he didn’t miss the faint pink hue blossoming.