Page 19 of Securing the Odds

Next, heading to the fountain drinks, she plucked a sixty-four-ounce cup from the stack and held it under the dispenser.

Jake materialized at her side full of sage wisdom. “I might not know a lot about surveillance snacks, but I do know, you drink all that,” he tipped his head in the direction of the soda she was filling, “you’re gonna have to pee. And last time I checked, there isn’t a bathroom in my car.”

Good point! She exchanged the sixty-four-ounce cup for a sixteen ounce. At the register, she added two candy bars and a pack of gum.

Jake eyed her pile. She saw the lip twitch again and again ignored it. “Got everything you need?”

“I think so, but one can never be too sure.”

“Sweetheart, we’re going on a stakeout not to a deserted island. It would suck if we had to leave before we nabbed the asshole, but wecanleave.”

True. She shrugged. “Then I guess I have everything.”

The salesclerk rang them up, and Jake paid for the lot before taking the bag. “Speaking of peeing, if you have to go, you should do it now.”

“I’m good.”

He eyed her. “You sure?”

“Yep.”

He took her hand, led her out of the store, and back to the car. Then they were on their way to Tammy’s very first stakeout.

She had to pee.

Although Jake was staring out the windshield, she knew he must’ve seen her squirm in her seat because he said, “I told you to go while at the store.”

She threw him a dirty look, but of coursethathe didn’t see. “That was three hours ago.”

And in that time, they’d run the gamut of getting-to-know-you questions. She now knew Jake had an older brother who lived in Texas with a wife and two kids, that he had grown up in the San Fernando Valley, hated peas, loved apple pie—bonus if it was à la mode—and had watched every John Wayne movie ever made.

She’d also discovered it had only been a little over a year that he’d moved his agency from L.A. to San Diego. And she couldn’t help but wonder, if he’d been so successful and had clients of her brother’s caliber, why move?

She hadn’t had the nerve to ask though—not sure she was ready to hear the answer. She would freak out if he’d moved to be closer to her and be disappointed if the reason had been something else altogether.

“You wouldn’t have been so thirsty if you hadn’t eaten all three bags of Cheetos.”

“Hey, I offered you some.”

He glanced her way with a smirk. “And I refused your offer because I knew, being salty as fuck, I would need a drink and would then have to take a piss.”

Not having an argument for that, she gave him her back, turning to stare out the window. And that’s when all thoughts of having to pee flew from her head as she spied her asshole ex.

Chapter 9

“Holy shit, he actually showed up.”

Jake smiled at the sight of Tammy bouncing in her seat, her nose practically stuck to the glass of the window.

He looked back out the windshield. He’d already seen the fucker. Had noticed him getting out of his car but wanted to wait until he entered the building and was secured in his girlfriend’s apartment before making a move.

“What’s the plan?” Tammy asked, turning in her seat to face him once the dickwad vanished from view as he entered the building.

“The plan is… You’re gonna wait in the car while I go grab this fucker.” Leaning over the center console, he reached out to flip open the glovebox.

Tammy grabbed hold of his forearm. “What? No way. I’m going with you. We’re a team. Like Bonnie and Clyde. Butch and Sundance. Thelma and Louise.”

He turned his head, looking up at her. “You know those are all criminals, right?”