Page 32 of Protecting Jess

Jess didn’t need him getting all worked up. His job was to support her. He could hit the gym later to deal with his pent-up energy.

When she finished, she sat back, and he hugged her close. “You good?” he murmured.

“I don’t know.”

“Whatever happens, we’ll face it together. You’re not alone with this, okay?” Finn pressed his lips to her temple.

“I’ve got the hotel’s security feed,” Tex announced. “I’ll share my screen.”

A second later, the hotel hallway outside Jess’s previous room filled the screen.

Everyone watched as someone wearing a ball cap entered the picture with a large bag in hand. The person stopped outside Jess’s door, as if obviously obscuring their face from the camera.

“Fuck. They knew what they were doing,” Oak said.

Jess’s fingers dug into Finn’s leg, and he placed his free hand over hers. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

He’d keep saying that until it sunk in. No way was he going to let anything happen to her. Which was a big task, considering he couldn’t be with her every moment of every day. But he’d find a way to make sure she was safe, even when she wasn’t with him.

A few minutes after the person entered Jess’s room, they left, the bag looking decidedly less full than when they’d walked into it.

“There’s your culprit,” Tex growled. “I’ll see if I can get a better visual on their face. Dig around to see if there’s more footage of this person anywhere else in the hotel.”

This might be the first time Finn had had anything to do with Tex directly, but he was very glad House had contacted him for them.

“I’ll get answers for you,” Tex said. “Also, I can confirm Bartholomew Anderson is still in prison and, from what I can determine, he hasn’t made any contact with anyone on the outside to arrange anything. But I’ll keep an eye on him. Just because I can’t find any involvement, that doesn’t mean I’m going to disregard that he might be responsible for this.”

The more Tex spoke, the tenser Jess got beside him. Her fingers continued to dig into his leg. Finn wanted everyone to go, so it was just the two of them, and so he could calm her and reassure her the best people possible were on the case for her.

“Thank you. I appreciate you doing this for me.” Her body’s reactions told him she was freaked out, but Jess’s voice was still strong—not a hint of a waver as she spoke to Tex.

“No thanks necessary. You’ve got a lot of people supporting you, Jess.” Tex smiled. “When I hear something, I’ll let you know.”

“As Jess said, I appreciate everything you’re doing,” Finn said.

“We look after our own. I’ll be in touch.” The man nodded and the screen went black.

House closed the laptop and made eye contact with Finn. He’d put his team-leader face on. “We’ve got your back, Hive. Don’t ever forget that.”

Finn smiled, appreciating his teammate. “I know. Thanks.”

“I’ll see you later.”

Finn didn’t want to leave Jess’s side, but he needed to see his friend out. “How long do you think it will take Tex to get some leads?” he asked quietly, aware that Jess was still within hearing distance.

“Not sure, but when he finds something, he won’t hesitate to call, no matter the time. He’s on the east coast, too.”

Finn nodded. “Okay. I know I don’t need to say it again, but thanks.”

“Always.” House gave him a chin lift and exited the suite.

He took a few seconds before heading back to where Jess, Kaley, and Oak were seated. Tension licked through the air, and he glanced around to see if he could pick up on what was causing it.

“Do you always do this?” Kaley asked, breaking the silence.

“Do what?” Finn asked.

“Hack into security systems, and other stuff to get information you need? Isn’t that illegal and unethical? And what about the police investigation? Will what you find be admissible since you got it from illegal methods?”

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