Page 19 of 2nd Strike
JJ is still standing across from me, looking slightly confused. "I take it since Taylor's here, this has to do with an FBI investigation?”
“You never saw her, okay? At the moment, everything’s off the books. There is no official reopening of this case. Not yet, anyway, but I have to get to the bottom of this, and be ready for the backlash that could happen."
He nods sympathetically, but is still lost as to what I'm talking about. “And you didn't tell me because…? Do I need some kind of deniability about what you're investigating?"
JJ was an assistant U.S. attorney doing grunt work when Ethan was kidnapped. That's how we met—working the case. He was part of the team tasked with finding the kidnapper and bringing him or her to justice. I fell for JJ over a late-night session in an FBI conference room, files strewn over the table, half-empty coffee cups lined up like a centerpiece, enough sexual tension to make it hard to breathe. Both of us were exhausted, but determined.
I remember these same sexy eyes of his looking at me with a mixture of admiration and respect. It was the biggest turn-on of my life. I could see his star rising like a comet. I felt his power even then.
I look at him now and see the same determination—to help me, whatever the problem. This is also sexy, even though there's nothing he can do, and I’m hellbent not to admit I need it.
“There's nothing you can do to change what happened then, and I’ll minimize any collateral damage that might fall your way. I didn't tell you about it because the blame is on me, and I'm trying to find a way to fix it."
That's the truth. Unfortunately, his career is on the line same as mine. The details, the facts, will make no difference if—when—I go public.
Because I’ll have to eventually. Last night when I couldn't sleep and lay in bed tossing and turning, worrying about Carl and Lily sharing this, I realized, they may actually do the opposite. Whether they go through with a second genetic test and analysis, Lily will try to bury the results. She made that clear at our meeting. It’s been nothing but crickets, total silence, since.
But if Ethanisn'ttheirs, he belongs to someone else. The real Havers’ child is potentially out there somewhere. He deserves to be returned to his biological parents.
Meaning, that no matter what Carl and Lily do or don't do, I'll have to investigate, find the truth, and reveal it.
JJ takes a step toward the desk, toward me. "I think you better tell me what's going on.” He reaches to take my hand, stopping it as it rifles through files. “This isn't like you."
He's right. I hate the trepidation and dread coursing through my veins. I've been in plenty of unnerving situations over the years, and I never give into the fear. But this? This is somehow different than staring down a serial killer or trying to out-think a terrorist. I’m facing myself.
His hand is warm, strong, as it holds mine. I stare into his gaze and feel myself stop shaking. He smiles at me and I can breathe again. My pulse slows, my shoulders relax. For a long moment, I feel like the old me, the take-no-prisoners Charlie who can handle anything.
That’s what he does for me. Like Meg, he believes in me, believes I’m the woman he fell for eight years ago over cold coffee and a missing child. He once told me that no matter what, he would always bet on me.
Too bad he was already married. Too bad he still is.
Maybe it’s a good thing heis. How awkward if we were in a public relationship when the news breaks about Ethan.
I’m about to tell him what's going on when my phone buzzes. Haley comes over the speaker. “Jackleen DelRay on line one, returning your call, Charlie.”
JJ’s brow furrows. “The lawyer?”
I respond to Haley, “Tell her I’ll call right back.”
“You got it,” she says.
JJ rubs the top of my hand with his thumb. “Tell me you’re setting up a lunch date. That this doesn’t have anything to do with this case you’re diving back into.”
Out front, I hear the door beep. Haley’s voice is muffled as she greets whoever entered. Do we have an appointment this afternoon?
I withdraw my hand from JJ’s grasp and take a deep breath, searching for the words to explain the predicament. “Jackie is my lawyer, in the event I need one. Which is likely.”
The bushy brows rise again slowly. “Is it that bad?” he asks softly.
“It might be,” I confess. “Do you remember the first case we worked together?”
His gaze scans my face and I see the wheels turning as he searches his memory. “The kidnapping case with that morning show host?”
“Carl Havers and his wife, Lily.”
“What about them?”
“Their son…” I clasp my hands and twist my fingers. “All the evidence pointed to him being Ethan, but the kid, who’s fifteen now, recently took a DNA test.”
