Page 56 of Taken

I’d been out of town on assignment, so we hadn’t seen each other since I stopped by Grannie’s a few days ago. I had been friendly but not flirtatious the few times we texted in that time.

Meg seemed more relaxed as she buzzed around, grabbing her bags. She walked up and hopped her last step so she was standing in front of me. “Ready.”

She was being playful, and it was adorable. I couldn’t help but chuckle and shake my head.She’s not making this easy for me.

I kept it friendly, but professional, at the range. It was a hell of a lot harder than I’d expected. I wanted to believe she was flirting, but wouldn’t let myself until she made it clear she wanted to be more than friends. I didn’t want to push myself on someone who wasn’t sure she wanted to be with me.

Holding myself back when I wanted to flirt back was exhausting.

Meg asked me if I wanted to grab a coffee at our usual place. I said yes, but only because it was part of our ritual, and I wanted to spend a little more time with her.

It surprised me when Meg voluntarily told me more about her herself. I’d been trying for weeks to get her to open up, but she kept secrets better than most spec ops guys I knew. She shared a few stories about growing up in Massachusetts and how she hated the cold winters. “One reason I chose Texas.” I couldn’t blame her. I loved living in the south.Will she ever tell me the real reason?It didn’t matter. I knew why she moved. Which reminded me I still needed to tell her what I knew. Since we were just friends, it should be easier.I’ll do it today. But not here, not now.I’d tell her when I dropped her off.

Her eyes sparkled as she told me more stories about grandmother, her father’s mother, teaching her how to cook after school. I listened to her explain how her grandmother would swat her hand with a rubber spatula for sampling raw cookie dough. “She’s the reason I like to cook.” Nostalgia, gratitude, and sorrow fought for space in her eyes.

“I got in trouble for the same thing. Cookie dough is hard to resist.” I had to keep reminding myself this wasn’t a date. It may have taken me longer than I cared to admit, but I had to accept that she might not want to date me. She didn’t trust me enough to share more than a few bread crumbs. I was sure her opening up today was a fluke, like her taking out her contacts, and she’d push me away again tomorrow.

I chickened out.

It wasn’t my proudest moment, but I couldn’t bring myself to ruin her good mood when I dropped her off. I was still kicking myself for being a coward when I pulled into my driveway and saw lights on in the house. Jamie must have hopped an earlier flight home from Boston.

I paced the kitchen while I waited for him to get out of the shower. As soon as he walked in, I asked. “What’d you learn?” I grabbed another beer. “Beer?”

“Hi. It was a shitty flight. Thanks for asking.”

I really didn’t need his bullshit right now. “Hi James, how was your flight? Would you like a beer before you tell me what you learned?” I laid the sarcasm on thicker than peanut butter.

“Yeah, thanks.” He grabbed the beer. “What’s up your ass?”

“Nothing. Just fill me.” I didn’t want to spill my guts and tell him Meg confused me, or that I had turned into a coward.

“I’ll tell you what I can.” He couldn’t tell me everything, and I fucking hated it.

He’d gone to Boston to talk to the FBI Agent in charge of Sullivan's case, Frank Jones, because he wasn’t willing to discuss the case over the phone.

My stomach dropped when Jamie told me Jones confirmed that Meg, as Margaret Graham, made the 9-1-1 call resulting in Sullivan’s arrest.

Sullivan was a big time crime boss involved in Human Trafficking, and Meg had turned him in. This was bad. I had so many questions. How did Meg get messed up with him? Did she witness a crime? Was she a victim? Was it because of her father? Jamie knew more than he was telling me but, despite the empathy I could see in his eyes, he wouldn’t answer my questions.

“You weren’t lying when you said her eyes are unforgettable.” Jamie said, having seen them for the first time in photos from the investigation files. “Is she still wearing the contacts when she’s in public?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Sullivan hasn’t made a move yet, but she should still be careful. I snapped pictures of anyone entering or leaving his house while I had it under surveillance. I’ll match them up with the list of known associates Jones provided.”

“Thanks Jamie, I appreciate it.”

Jamie nodded, “Of course. Have you told her?”

“Not yet.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I will soon.”

“The sooner the better, Jack. This is bigger than we thought.”

“I said I’ll take care of it.” I didn’t like being reminded of my earlier cowardice.

“Has she opened up anymore?”

“A little, but not with anything that’ll help us.” I explained, “She only shares big picture, general information. She mentioned her parents were alcohols and drug addicts once, but she shrugged it off like it was no big deal.”

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