Page 33 of Protecting Jess

Oak laughed. “Honey, how the hell do you think the government gets most of their intelligence? It’s not through various agencies sharing all their secrets. All the important things...well, that’s from other means. Other people. You need to watch some spy movies. Some of that stuff is closer to the truth than you think.”

Kaley glared at Oak.

Finn stepped in before things got too out of hand. “Kaley, if it gets Jess the answers she needs, then I’m all for it. And Oak’s right. We use whatever means possible to get the information we need. As for the police, I’m pretty sure they’re going to put what happened to Jess down as a jealous boyfriend or believe it was meant for someone else, especially if they find out the same information Tex did that Bartholomew is still behind bars.”

“It’s fine, Kay-Kay.” Jess hugged her friend. “As Finn said, if it helps to find out who is doing this quicker, then I don’t have an issue with it. Also, you know the police never took what I said seriously until I almost died from what Bartholomew did.”

“I know, I just don’t want to see you go through that again.” Kaley hugged Jess back, and Finn was glad Jess had her when her life was in turmoil.

He wished it’d been him, but he was here this time, and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

“How about we all go to the beach and watch the sunset and then get some dinner?” Finn said.

“I like that idea. How about it, Kay-Kay? We can go walk the sand, and you know...” Jess waggled her eyebrows, and her friend laughed. There was some hidden message passing between the two girls.

Finn caught Oak’s gaze and he shrugged, confirming he had no idea, either.

“That’s settled, then,” Finn said. “Let’s go.”

Jess clutched Finn’s fingers as they made their way along the damp sand. The water flowed up over their bare feet before retreating back into the ocean.

The first blast of cold water had shocked her, but the more it washed over her, the more she adjusted to the temperature.

“What’s the coldest water you’ve ever swum in?” she asked.

“All the water is cold, especially if we’re swimming in stormy water. But we usually have our dry suits on, and that protects us from the colder temperatures. Most of the time we’ve got adrenaline pumping through our systems, so I tend not to notice how cold it is,” Finn said.

Jess glanced over the ocean, trying to imagine him swimming in the dark depths, where all manner of sea creatures lurked. A shudder ran down her spine. Maybe it was better not to think about that aspect of his job. Then again, was there any part of his job that was good to think about?

Would he even answer her questions? How much could he talk about what he did and where he went?

There were so many questions buzzing around her head, but that was where she kept them. Jess could ask him about it later—maybe.

“Do you think we should head back? Things were a little frosty between Kaley and Oak,” she said.

Finn chuckled. “Oak is definitely doing everything he can to try and annoy Kaley. I’m not sure why.”

“He likes her,” she said, in a singsong voice. “And Kaley likes him.”

“Well, considering he just got dumped last night, it’s probably best Kaley ignores whatever Oak’s doing.”

Jess reared back, frowning. “Wait! Oak broke up with a girl last night? Did I hear that right?”

“Yeah, she ended it after the show. Oak said he was feeling the same way as Sylvia, so he wasn’t too upset about it.”

The last thing Jess wanted was for her friend to be a rebound girl. Nothing good ever came from that. Plus, Kaley was the type of girl who—while she’d never admit it—wanted the fairy tale. Wanted to be swept off her feet. “You need to tell your friend to back off,” she barked.

“I already told him when we were together this afternoon. Told him he shouldn’t be messing with someone so soon after a breakup.”

Jess let out a big breath. Good. Finn had thought to look after Kaley. “What did he say? Because it doesn’t look like he’s paying attention.” She pointed to where Kaley and Oak were wrapped up in each other’s arms, as if they were long-lost lovers—not people who’d just met.

What was Kaley thinking?

Finn tugged her hand until Jess was facing him. He gripped her waist lightly. “I can’t control what he does, and it looks like Kaley wants it as much as he does. I know Oak. If she didn’t want to be kissed by him, he wouldn’t force the issue.” He lowered his head.

Jess’s blood heated in anticipation.

“But I do say I like the way they think,” he whispered.

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