Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
The last thing Jag wanted to do was leave Steff alone, especially after her attack the previous evening, but he couldn’t hover. She had to work through everything herself, and he would provide the support she needed, like he had.
He quickly scribbled a note to say that he was going to PT, and he would head to the office after he’d gone to his apartment and picked up some more clothes. He didn’t really need anything more, but he needed to check in at his place. He hadn’t been there for a few days.
“I’m glad I caught you before you left.”
Jag startled, concentrating on the note, he hadn’t heard Steff enter the kitchen. Some former SEAL he was. Inattention was a surefire way to get oneself injured, captured, or worse, killed.
He looked up from his note to find her leaning against the fridge, purple smudges beneath her eyes, indicating it had been a rough night for her.
He hadn’t slept well either. He’d been worried that she might have a nightmare after her attack.
Not having enough sleep didn’t bother him; he was still conditioned to working on minimal shut-eye even with being out of service for a while.
“Hey, what did you need?” Jag went over to her and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek. Her body relaxed, as if she’d been worried that he wouldn’t want to touch her again. That was so far from the truth, it wasn’t funny.
He would’ve loved nothing more than to follow her into her bed last night, so he could hold her and keep her safe. It was way too soon for that. One day thought, it would happen.
“I wanted to know if I could come to the office with you today. I need…” She looked down at her hands and then back up at him. “I can’t be here alone with all my thoughts.”
Jag gave into his desire to be close to her and hauled her into his arms. Immediately, her arms wrapped around his waist, as though she needed the human contact as much as he did.
“Of course you can.” He doubted Ox would have a problem with him bringing Steff to the office. “Teresa is coming in today. Maybe you can help her with the research stuff she does for us.”
Steff pulled back, a flare of interest brightened her eyes. “You think? She wouldn’t mind?”
“Nope.” And he was confident that he was right.
Another thing he loved about working at Alliez, like Ox, no one would question him bringing Steff.
They were aware of her background and would go out of their way to make her feel welcome, and if she wanted to help out, then there was plenty of people who would be grateful for it.
"Great. Um, I should let you go. You’ve missed so many sessions because of me. I don’t want you to miss anymore.”
“They’re not mandatory, hon. We do it to keep fit. Besides, I can still take the others on, even with missing a few sessions.” He winked, and she laughed. He loved hearing the sound, and was determined to make sure she laughed a lot more.
“I’m sure you could,” she murmured, and she raked her gaze over him.
His body reacted immediately, going hard, and he cursed the fact he was wearing sweatpants where hiding his hard dick was virtually impossible.
Jag turned abruptly so she wouldn’t see how he couldn’t control his reactions to her. “Right. I’m going to-uh, leave. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Okay.”
He hooked his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door.
“Jag?”
He paused, surprised that she used his nickname instead of his given name. “Yeah?” He glanced over his shoulder, his hand gripping the open door.
“Nice sweatpants.” She grinned big and fluttered her fingers in way that he was sure she didn’t know was sexy, but hardened his cock even further.
He shook his head and smiled ruefully. “Bye.”
He clicked the door shut and headed down the hall, hoping that by the time he got to the beach, his body was under control.
Jag stared at the grainy image of the person who’d delivered the box to Steff a few weeks ago. They still hadn’t identified who it was. They’d had a couple of possible hits, but after doing a comparison, everyone came to the conclusion they weren’t the same person.
“Who are you?” he muttered. “Who sent you?”
“You don’t think it was a courier company?” Deal wheeled his chair over to Jag’s desk.
Steff was safely ensconced in one of the conference rooms helping Teresa.
No one had blinked when he and Steff had walked in.
He’d already told Fox and his other teammates that she would be coming in, but Ox, Growler, Irish, Angel, and Isaac had all simply said it was good to see her, and Teresa had been beyond happy to have her help her.
Jag wasn’t sure how much work was being done, or if they were chatting, but he didn’t care.
The last time he’d looked in, Steff was smiling and looked relaxed.
The shadows of her last attack no longer lurked around her like a dark cloud.
“I believe he could be a contractor, but I don’t think the job came through a courier company.
I keep thinking it was done personally. Someone asked him to deliver it.
Someone who knew the building and where the cameras were, and gave him a heads up so that we didn’t get a good image.
” Jag stabbed his finger on the picture.
“That’s quite the theory.”
Jag looked at his friend. “With all the shit we’ve seen over our careers, and all the stuff everyone in this office has gone through, you know that even the most outlandish ideas could be possible.”
“You’re right.” Deal tapped the table. For a SEAL, it was a major tell when he was thinking or anxious.
Although, come to think of it, Jag hadn’t really picked up on it when they’d been in the service.
Was it a habit he’d picked up after they’d chaptered out, or had it always been there and Deal had kept it hidden?
It was something he could think about another day. Right now, his mind was on who the person was in the image.
Were they part of the overall plan?
If there was a plan, what was it?
What connection, if any, did they have with Steff?
Was this person just the puppet, and if so, who was the puppet master and why were they targeting Steff?
“Talk to me, Jag. I can see your mind turning things over.”
He gave Deal a rundown of everything he’d been thinking. All the questions that peppered his mind.
“The thing is, it’s been quiet since the package was dropped off. I haven’t even had that same feeling that someone was watching the hallway outside Steff’s apartment, since the first time I went over there. I’m starting to believe I imagined it all.”
“Nah, I still maintain if you felt it. It was there.” Deal sat back in his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face. “You know the lack of action for a couple of weeks seems to be pretty normal.”
Jag leaned forward interested in Deal’s assertion. “What do you mean?”
“Isaac and Marie, for instance. There was stuff that happened, and then nothing. Then it heated up again.”
“I don’t want it to heat up,” Jag stated, not liking that nothing had happened recently. “I much prefer the quiet. Do we pass it off as some prank?”
Deal shook his head. “Don’t think we can do that.” He touched a finger to the picture resting on Jag’s desk. “This person wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble to make sure they’re identity wasn’t found out.”
“You’re supposed to lie to me,” Jag joked, knowing full well that there’s no way any of his friends would bullshit him to make him feel better.
“As if. All I will say is, don’t lower your guard. I don’t know what it is about the whole thing, but I think the person is closer to Steff than we think.”
All humor leached out of Jag. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, someone knows where Steff lives. They knew her apartment number. She’s only given that out to a few people.”
“We’ve run checks on everyone she told us who knows her address. They all came up clean.”
Deal shrugged. “That may be, but you and I know that most enemies keep their targets close.”
Jag hated that his friend was right. “Yeah, I know.”
“We’re not going to rest until we get to the bottom of this, you know that.”
“I do. I just wish we had more to go on. More to point us in the direction of where to look, because all it feels like, is we’re chasing our fucking tails and they’re laughing at us.”
“Just keep doing what you’re doing, but you know, maybe you should think about a change of location for you and Steff.”
“I don’t know, man, she’s starting to lose the shadows that surrounded her when she first came to Angelica’s birthday.” Although after what happened between them last night, and her panic attack, he was worried that any progress she’d made was in jeopardy.
No, he wasn’t going to think that way. Steff was strong, she would keep moving forward.
“What are you two discussing?”
“How was your meeting with that starlet’s team?” Jag asked, as Fox dropped into a chair he’d pulled from his desk.
“Good. It’s only for one night, so there wasn’t too much to go over. We’ll do the standard procedures we normally do.”
“Is she as hot in person as she looks in her pictures?” Deal waggled his eyebrows.
Fox rolled his eyes. “She wasn’t there, doofus, it was just her team.”
“Well, that’s a disappointment. You’re a lucky bastard getting to watch over Zadie Nyx. That’s one job I would’ve liked.”
“Dude, you got to work with Vera Bush, quit complaining,” Jag tossed back at Deal.
Deal laughed. “I think we’ve all had our fair share of looking after some fine-looking women. The perks of working in La La Land.”
“I suppose.” Fox looked thoughtful. “Although, there’s something to be said about the girl next door type, too.”
“You talking about Cynthia?” Jag asked, knowing that his friend had been spending a bit of time with Steff’s friend. He hadn’t forgotten his and Steff’s conversation the night before, and what Cynthia had said to her.
A soft smile played over Fox’s lips, and Deal groaned. “Fuck, not another one. What is it about this place? It’s like a love spell has been cast over the whole building.”
Jag and Fox laughed. “I’ll remember that when it happens to you,” Jag teased.
“Does anyone look unhappy with the people they’ve found to share their lives with?” Fox asked.
“No, but that doesn’t mean I want it to happen to me. I like being single and carefree.”
There was something in Deal’s tone, an almost forced happiness, that had Jag doubting he was one hundred percent happy being single, but he wasn’t going to say anything to his friend.
Deal’s cell rang, and he rolled back to his desk, almost missing it with the speed he’d pushed his chair back, leaving him and Fox.
“You’re getting serious about Cynthia?” Jag queried.
Fox shrugged. “Maybe. Like you, I’m taking it slow, because of what Cyn went through with Steff.”
Jag nodded, noting the way Fox had shortened Cynthia’s name—he was definitely interested in her.
Should he bring up what Cynthia said, or just leave it? It baffled him that she would think he’d get upset with Steff if she made plans without consulting him. It wasn’t as though he had such a busy life that every second was scheduled. Unless it was work related, he had a lot of free time.
“I hear we could be going on a double date,” he said instead.
“I heard that too. Sounds good to me. You and Steff busy tomorrow night?”
“As far as I know we aren’t. Steff’s here, so I can check with her. Where are you thinking of going?”
“There’s that little Italian place around the corner from my apartment.”
“Good choice. We ordered take out from there the other night. Their squid ink seafood linguini was amazing. I’m sure Steff would be happy to go there.”
“Great. I’ll make a booking, say, six thirty?”
Clearly Cynthia didn’t have any qualms with Fox making plans. At least Jag assumed so, considering what was happening. He wouldn’t mention what Cynthia said to Steff.
Cynthia was being a good friend to Steff, and she needed them. But Steff also had him now, and he had no plans on letting her go.