Page 30 of Jina

He chuckled and helped himself to a slice of the pie loaded with the works. For long minutes, they ate in silence, enjoying the gooey cheese and zesty sauce.

All too soon, she ruined the companionable mood. “Let’s talk about the strip mall. I really think this perp will expect us to show up there tonight.”

Which was a good reason to stay away, but he didn’t voice his thought. “I don’t see how we can safely set you up as bait in an area that’s wide open.”

“It can work if my teammates get out there first to get in position.” She tapped on her phone screen while eating. “We’ll talk to Zeke, see what he thinks.”

He didn’t doubt her teammates’ skills as cops, but sacrificing Jina’s safety was not happening. “Maybe you should ask Zeke and the others to check the place out first to see if it’s a reasonable location. If not, there may be another angle to approach this.”

She glanced at him, then nodded. “Okay, I can go along with that. But if they like the strip mall, no complaining.”

“Fine.” He didn’t like it and silently prayed that these teammates of hers would agree with him that the strip mall wasn’t a viable option.

Not that he could come up with a better one. And that was the crux of the matter. She was right in that they needed a place where this guy would try to come find them.

Preferably not a well-populated location like the neighborhood he lived in.

Her phone dinged. She smiled slightly as she texted back. “Zeke and Flynn will head over in about thirty minutes.”

“Great.” He would be happy to meet these guys in person. Hopefully, he could speak privately with one of them to voice his opinion that this was a lousy idea.

They polished off the first pizza by the time Jina’s teammates arrived. The two guys eyed the second one with obvious longing, so he gestured to it. “Help yourselves.”

“Hey, that was supposed to be our breakfast,” Jina protested.

“Too bad,” Zeke said, opening the box. “We haven’t eaten all day thanks to a hostage situation that took hours to resolve.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Flynn added, his reddish hair a stark contrast to Zeke’s black hair. “I wanted to stop on the way, but Zeke seemed to think you needed us right away.”

“Fine.” Jina threw up her hands. “Eat first, then we’ll talk.”

“Jesus, thank You for this food. Amen,” Flynn said. It was the shortest prayer Cole had ever heard, and it made him smile at how the two men fell on the pizza like starving dogs.

“You might want to breathe,” he said dryly. “Helps the digestion.”

“Overrated,” Zeke joked. Then he finished off the last slice and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Okay, Jina, what’s going on? Rhy said you’ve been targeted by gunfire and arson.”

“Yep.” She filled her teammates on the events of the past twenty-four hours. All hint of humor faded from their expressions as she described the recent danger. “We’re not sure how they found us at Cole’s place in Peabody. At first, we were thinking along the lines of perps I’ve put away who might be seeking revenge, but now I’m wondering if this guy has law enforcement background. He showed up at the gas station as if he’d suspected we would go there to view the video.”

“If he’s law enforcement, I’d think he’d be smart enough to avoid going to a place so close to the gym in the first place.” Flynn looked at Cole. “Any chance you were followed from the gas station to your home?”

“I watched for a tail, but it’s possible I missed one in the steady stream of traffic. And really, if this guy is a member of the gym, maybe he recognized me and figured out where I lived from some other source.” Cole shrugged, then added, “Unfortunately, we have more suspects than not.”

“The gym attack brings us to the strip mall,” Jina said, picking up the thread. “That area behind the strip mall is where he tried to run me over.”

“This guy is a menace,” Zeke said with a dark frown.

“Tell me about it,” Cole agreed. “But here’s the part where Jina and I are not on the same page. She wants to head back to that strip mall later tonight to see if the shooter returns.”

“I can see why,” Flynn said.

That was not what Cole wanted to hear. “It’s dangerous, not to mention there aren’t that many places for those of you backing her up to hide. This guy might hit her this time.”

“I have extra tactical gear in my trunk,” Zeke offered. “It won’t be specifically fitted for you, Jina, but it should work well enough.”

What was wrong with these two? Did they really think having Jina expose herself to this nutcase was a good idea? He fought to keep his tone level. “I think you need to head out to look at this strip mall before you move forward with any sort of plan.”

“We can do that,” Flynn agreed. He stood and bent the empty pizza box in half. “Come on, Zeke. Let’s check it out.”

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