Page 12 of CJ

“Please don’t leave me out of things like that again. I don’t like to be lied to, and I definitely don’t like secrets.”

“I promise,” he said, kissing her. He turned to face the others, happy that one crisis was averted. “What do we need to do? Do we need to go back to D.C.?”

“We? They want me, CJ. Don’t stick your neck out for me.” The entire room laughed, and she realized how foolish that sounded. “Okay, okay, I get it.”

“We’re all going to D.C.,” said Georgie. “I told them we’d be there first thing tomorrow morning to make our statements and provide evidence of your whereabouts. Right now, I have the tech team digging into his background to see if we can find out why he was murdered.”

“Well, it could be a number of things. He was a Ranger, but he was also screwing around with his teammate’s widow and ended up marrying her after his death. She was, is pregnant.”

“That’s a juicy little morsel,” frowned Cam. “Teammates know better than to do that shit. How did he die?”

“I don’t know yet,” said CJ. “I was asking around about it, but no one seemed to be able to give me a response. Something definitely wasn’t right.”

“We’ll find the wife and figure out what’s happening,” said Georgie. “You’ll be cleared, considering all the proof we have of your whereabouts. For now, just try to enjoy the day here. Wedding breakfasts are the best.”

“She’s right,” smiled CJ. “One day, you’ll experience our own.”

“CJ,” she blushed, shaking her head.

“I haven’t changed my mind, Jill. You’re the woman I’m going to marry. End of story.”

“My son is hard-headed,” smiled Milo. “Like his mother, really. He knows what he wants, and he’s not going to back off from that. If I can put in my two cents, I’d like to say that I think you fit in perfectly with our family, Jill. Your interviews were great. You’re obviously a talented lawyer, but more than that, you’re the woman that my son loves. I know it all might seem fast to you, but for this group, he’s been taking his sweet time.”

“I’ve heard that things move faster here,” she nodded. “Alright, let’s have breakfast, and I can spend the next twenty-four hours worrying about my career.”

“There is nothing to worry about,” said Georgie. “You were nowhere near your home for the last four days. He was found dead yesterday. It’s obvious you had nothing to do with it. We’ll figure out the cause of death and find out what’s going on. Until then, just enjoy the day.”

Jill didn’t think she’d be able to enjoy the day, but she was proved wrong. Above and beyond the spectacular food, music, games, and people, there was love everywhere. She could feel it in her bones.

“Are your parents living?” asked Lia.

“Oh, no,” said Jill, shaking her head. “My mother left when I was little, leaving my father and me on our own. He was a police officer in the D.C. area. We had a neighbor lady who always took care of me. She was wonderful.”

“And your father?” asked Ajei.

“When I was eleven, he was killed while trying to rescue a woman and her son. It was a bitter winter, and she’d driven off into the river. My father dove in and saved them both but got trapped beneath the ice.”

“I’m so sorry, honey,” said Ajei, reaching for her hand.

“Me, too. He was a great man and a wonderful father. I was lucky to have Mrs. Clausen. She was old when it happened but fought to get custody of me. Fortunately, the guys on the force knew what Dad wanted and went to bat for me. She passed away after I graduated from law school and went to work at the Pentagon.”

“Then you have no family?” asked Kate.

“No. No, I guess I don’t. I mean, my dad had some distant cousins, so I suppose they’re out there somewhere, but I don’t know them.”

“Well, you’re about to have more family than you can handle. We tend to stick together like glue,” smiled Sophia Ann. “Some of us are blood-related, others just fortunate enough to be married to this crazy group. It won’t matter. You’re a sister now.”

“A sister,” she smiled. “I always wished I’d had a sister or two.”

“How do you feel about a hundred?” smirked Gwen.

“I might need a hundred after this week,” she laughed. “I just don’t understand why he would have come back to my condo after leaving like he did. I took his keys from him, so he didn’t have a key to get in.”

“That’s good information for Georgie to have,” said Kate. Jill nodded, looking concerned for herself but also for CJ. She stared at him as he laughed and joked with some of the other men. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a big boy and can handle himself.”

“I know. It’s just, well, what if something strange is going on? What if Tim was doing something I didn’t know about, and it reflects poorly on CJ?”

“Was he doing something?” asked Ajei.

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