She looked him over.
“Good to know, Chief.”
She walked away.
* * * *
“What are we going to do about her?” Brook asked Lincoln and Calder. Conway was on the phone in the surveillance room with Sandman.
“Nothing to do. She’s got guts, I’ll tell you that much,” Lincoln said.
“She shouldn’t have made her presence known. Pauline could go carrying on at the bar in town about J.J. Then what?” Calder asked.
“It won’t matter. Everyone will know that Pauline’s pissed that we’re taken. J.J.’s move probably helped us finally get Pauline off our asses,” Lincoln said.
They were quiet a moment and then Lincoln chuckled.
“What?” Brook asked.
“Calder’s face, when he heard J.J.’s voice calling his name.”
“What?” Calder asked.
“We were all shocked to hear her. But hot damn, when we entered that living room following Pauline, I thought my heart stopped beating,” Lincoln said.
“You? Shit, I think we all know how our bodies reacted to seeing J.J. like that. Damn, that woman has got an amazing body,” Brook stated.
“She also has a lot of bruises. Remember, we don’t know shit about her, or the situation she’s in. How do we know that she didn’t cause something? How do we know this doesn’t involve drugs, or like you said earlier, mafia shit? She could be one of the bad guys, a seductress, or some thug’s lover who was a witness to murder. Something that the feds are willing to protect her like this,” Calder stated. He was pissed off and obviously untrusting.
“You don’t know that, Calder. Do you seriously think that she was involved with some criminal, and is a witness to operations or even murder?” Brook asked.
“It could be why the other teams weren’t successful in protecting her. Big-time drug lords and gangsters have connections everywhere. In government, in law enforcement departments, and anywhere else they deem fit to be able to destroy people standing in the way of progress and making money,” Calder said.
Then they heard voices coming from the living room again and knew it was J.J. and Calder.
* * * *
“We need to talk, J.J. I got some news from Sandman.”
She turned back to face him.
“Well?” She felt fearful instantly. Was it already too late? Did Dooley find her? She felt herself begin to teeter, when Conway grabbed on to her and steadied her by her shoulders. She looked at him, feeling instantly helpless now too. For that short period of time, even in angering Conway and Calder, she had forgotten about her situation and the worry.
“It’s going to be okay, but I need more information. Someone was able to find out that a commander in the Nevada State Police contacted Sandman out here. A tip from someone inside the federal government, which means they’re involved in whatever situation this is, gave the heads-up to a friend of Sandman’s.”
“Is Frank okay? Please tell me that they didn’t go after Frank?” she asked.
* * * *
Conway wasn’t sure why he was feeling so out of control right now. The sight of J.J. standing in the living room half-naked with a body of a fucking porn star might have done it. Then, of course, Sandman’s update on the abilities these people who were after J.J. had made him feel more protective. But now, hearing her ask about some guy named Frank made him feel jealous. Why the fuck for? She wasn’t his or his team’s. Although, by the way this scene had gone down tonight, a team meeting and discussion was needed. But first, Conway wanted answers.
“I don’t know who Frank is. I’m assuming that he’s fine because Sandman didn’t indicate otherwise. We’ve got a lot of friends and connections in the government. We could find out—”
She shook her head. “No. No asking questions or contacting anyone in the government. No. You don’t understand. The government can’t be trusted. Your police department can’t be trusted. These men have so many connections and contacts, the authorities will never be able to find them all. This is bad. They’ll kill Frank.”
“Who’s Frank?” Calder asked as he reentered the room. One look up and Conway knew that his men were there, and they heard the conversation.
J.J. looked at them and then at Conway.