Page 183 of Somebody's Watching Me
“This should not be attractive. Something big is about to go down, and we should not be sitting here ogling. We should be helping,” Annabeth whispered. “What is wrong with us?”
“It’s not our fault.” Jamison frowned at the increased weaponry Liam wore. It was so much more than usual. “Blame them.”
“But what is happening?” Abe had rolled up while they were whispering, sticking his nose right into their conversation as he always did. “I’m all for watching Izzy strut around looking like my fantasy come to life, but I have no idea what is going on.”
None of them did. When they left the townhouse this morning, Liam had said all would be explained once his parents arrived.
“The not knowing is the worst part,” Bernie spoke up from across the table. “You have to learn to trust, and that’s not easy for humans.”
“If not knowing is the worst part, we’ll survive.” Her father came over to sit and not so patiently wait. “But they’ve been at it for hours.”
“Give him a minute, Ben,” Bernie said, looking tired after their flight. She and Will had taken one of the Fairweather planes, but she didn’t like to travel much, preferring to stay at their small farm in Virginia. “Will thinks he knows what he’s doing, but I guarantee that your man Rowan is handling most of the work.”
Jamison shared a look with her father. He had a soft spot for Bernie, and likely didn’t care for the paleness in her cheeks. “Can I get you anything, Bernie?” he asked. “A cup of coffee?”
Bernie smiled, the chin to temple jagged scar drawing tight. “Coffee would be lovely.”
As her father left to get the coffee, Bernie watched him go. “The coffee is more for him than me. I learned a long time ago that big men need small tasks when they’re dropped into a situation they can’t control.”
Jamison chuckled. While Liam’s father might be the famous behavioral analyst, it was his mother who was the real genius of the family.
Rowan shut the door and flicked the lock. “I promise to move all the seating back in here myself, Simone. It’ll be arranged just as you had it.”
Simone didn’t reply, and Jamison hoped Rowan understood that meant he was in trouble. He and Liam had moved all the furniture out except for the folding chairs and tables.
Over in the corner, a beep sounded.
“Almost ready.” Will crouched in front of a large metal box with switches and black cables protruding out of it. “Rowan, give it a ping,” he said, and glanced up at Klausen hovering next to him. “Are you sure you adjusted the antenna correctly?”
Klausen rolled his eyes. “This is a highly illegal piece of equipment, Dr. Cohen, and while I am not familiar with it, I do think I am capable of propping up a piece of wire.”
As the single federal agent permitted in the room, Klausen seemed to have garnered a new respect from Liam and his dad.
“No go.” Rowan tapped at a laptop. “Try again.”
“Let me see what I can do.” Abe rolled over to help, even though he knew nothing about electronics. Izzy passed him as he went, the two of them grinning at each other.
“Here you go.” Izzy handed Jamison a walkie talkie. “Everyone needs to keep one of these on them at all times.”
“We can’t use the burners?” Jamison asked.
“You can, but Rowan might be working with this new equipment for a few days, and…” Izzy shook her head. “Well, you’ll see in a minute.”
She sat with them, and Jamison eyeballed her clothing. Dressed the same as Liam and Rowan, the clothing looked utterly feminine on Izzy.
“Did my brother lose his mind when he saw you in that getup?” Annabeth asked.
Izzy’s lips twitched as she slid a laptop over to work on. “He did express his appreciation for the way my ass looked in these pants.” Realizing Simone was listening, she gasped. “I am so sorry, ma’am.”
“We’ve all noticed those little sighs you let out whenever he does something cute,” Simone replied dryly. “I’m well aware that my son is not a monk, and you’ll find that I’m not at all the judgmental type.”
Not the judgmental type?
Jamison turned away with Annabeth at the blatant lie, not wanting to laugh outright.
“Abe is very sweet. I like him,” Izzy said as she typed on her laptop. “But I’m not the only one letting out sighs. Jamison was doing quite a bit of sighing when I played Uber driver this morning.”
All eyes shifted in her direction, and Jamison slouched in her uncomfortable chair. “We stayed the night at Dee’s townhouse. What did you think we were doing?”
