Page 70 of The Last Close Call

“Why?”

“Aren’t you seeing her?”

“No.”

Bryan lifted an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

Jack turned his attention to the game as the Spurs hit a three.

“She seems smart,” Bryan said.

“She is.”

“You should talk to her about the Huerta case.”

Jack looked at him.

“She nailed it on the WCR thing,” Bryan continued. “Who knows? Maybe she could turn up something new with that, too.”

Jack gave a noncommittal nod.

“I know it bothers you.”

He sent him a sideways look. “Why do you say that?”

“I’ve seen your name in the log.”

Jack checked the case out every year, hoping maybe at some point he’d see something he missed. He hadn’t known anyone had noticed.

“So, you think you’ll talk to her?”

Jack looked at his partner.

“I know you’ve at least thought about it,” Bryan said. “Could generate a breakthrough.”

“She’s focused on her day job.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Clearly, Bryan wasn’t aware that Rowan didn’t do forensic work full-time. And why would he be? He had only just met her.

“Genealogy consulting. She helps people find their birth parents. Or track down relatives for medical reasons, that kind of thing.”

Bryan’s brow furrowed. “I thought Ric Santos recommended her?”

“He did,” Jack said. “But she doesn’t do police work anymore. Or not often. This case was an exception.”

Bryan sighed. “Too bad, man. She’s good.”

Jack watched the game, annoyed tonight for reasons he couldn’t pinpoint.

Well, besides Rowan showing up at his place earlier and then rushing away.

I can’t get involved with you.

Since the moment they’d met—hell, since the whole week before that—Jack had sensed her wariness. Ric had flat out told him Rowan was out of police work and that Jack was going to have to do some convincing if he wanted to get her help.

And Jack had been up for the challenge. He’d welcomed it, really. He was good at convincing people to do things for him, and the need to identify WCR was a major motivator for him to pull out all the stops. He’d do damn near anything for a lead in that case—especially now.

But what Jack hadn’t counted on was persuading Rowan to help him and then getting to know her and then her specifically not wanting to get involved with him on a personal level.

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