Page 50 of Jina

“Thanks.” She sent him a sideways glance, then turned her attention to her waiting teammates. This wasn’t the time to think about how much she wanted to kiss him again or how much she enjoyed hanging out with him. At least, when he wasn’t looking at her as the primary suspect in his cold case.

Yeah, better to stay focused on the upcoming mission.

They had a lot to accomplish before dusk.

As they gathered with the three members of her tactical team, Cole tried not to let his growing feelings for Jina show on his expression. From the way Zeke had narrowly eyeballed him in the rearview mirror, the feelings in question weren’t much of a secret to anyone but possibly Jina herself.

Their close call with Zeke only pressed the point home. He’d been seconds away from throwing himself into the line of fire to protect her. He cared for her, more than he should. She was messing with his mind to the point he didn’t even care if she had crushed Brad Crow’s skull in. The more he learned about the guy, the more he was convinced the creep had gotten what he’d deserved. The way he’d stalked Jina, climbing into her bedroom, and also staring at the other pretty young women at the pub was not something to be taken lightly.

But uncovering Crow’s killer wasn’t his focus for today. Which only reminded him that he still needed to call his boss to provide an update on the case. He’d do that soon, but in truth, his sole mission was to keep Jina safe.

This so-called plan of hers better go off without a glitch or he was going to be royally ticked.

“The best option so far is to use the property in Timberland Falls,” Jina said.

“Not Timberland Falls,” Zeke groaned. “They hate us. I mean really, really hate us.”

“Yeah, and I’m not sure how many more times they’ll let us off with a warning,” Cassidy added. The pretty redhead scowled. “Rhy had to work really hard to get us off the hook for that July shooting with Roscoe. I’m not sure he wants to face off with the Timberland Falls captain again.”

“The second location isn’t nearly as attractive,” Jina said. “I’m sure Rhy would rather we have more coverage than worry about the Timberland Falls PD getting their undies in a bunch. Besides, if we do this right, no shots will need to be fired. Hence nothing for them to complain about.”

“Famous last words,” Flynn muttered.

Jina waved that off. “First, we need a place nearby to talk through some details. We found a GPS device on Cole’s SUV and have reason to believe my phone is being tracked by this guy. That’s why we needed a spare ride. Both the GPS and my phone will be useful in setting the trap, but we can’t head out to the property yet. Not until we make sure it will suit our needs and that we can get Rhy on board.”

“Where should we go?” Cassidy asked.

“How about that breakfast place? What was it?” Zeke frowned. “Oh yeah, the Pine Cone.”

“Nope. That’s too close to where we left my SUV,” Cole interjected. “We should either head west or south.”

“Hang on,” Cassidy said, staring at her phone. “Okay, there’s a chain restaurant four miles from here.”

“I’m starving,” Zeke announced. “Let’s do it.”

“Cole and I have eaten, but we can always drink more coffee,” Jina said. “Which one of these cars is for us?”

“The rental.” Zeke tossed the key fob high enough in the air for Jina to easily catch it. “I’ll ride with Flynn to breakfast.”

“Meet you there.” He nodded to Cassidy and then followed Jina back to the SUV.

“Do you mind if I call my boss?” He glanced at her as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Go ahead.” She frowned. “If you need me to drop you off in Peabody so you can work, that’s fine. I don’t want you to risk losing your job.”

If he was going to lose his job, it would be over his getting too close and personal with a suspect. “No need, I’ll stick with you.”

“If you’re sure.” She shrugged and pulled out into the road to follow Cassidy who was in the lead.

“Positive.” He was hoping he might have time to do more computer work on the cold case if there was some downtime. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was going on nine in the morning. He’d hoped to simply leave a message, but hearing his boss’s voice on the other end of the line proved that wasn’t the case.

“Roberts, where have you been?” Lieutenant Bell demanded. “I thought you’d be here this morning.”

“I had some car trouble.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, having the rear window shot out and finding a GPS tracker was troublesome. “But I’m happy to give you an update on the case.”

“Oh, so you are working.” Bell’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Let’s hear it.”

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “We’ll start with the ME’s report. He provided an ID on our victim. Young adult male with a dental match to Bradley Crow. As you know, Crow was reported missing roughly twelve years ago. He was twenty years old at the time of his going missing, and I suspect he was killed shortly after his disappearance.”

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