chapter 15
The next few days they existed in a state of deliberate avoidance. JJ was busy pretending that the guys weren’t plotting a dangerous mission to find her ex. Jonas pretended that the entire situation wasn’t happening and made it a point to shower JJ with affection, reassurance and plenty of nights distracting her with sex so good that he didn’t think she give a damn who heard her screaming.
But like all good things, it had to come to an end. JJ chewed her thumbnail next to Jonas as they watched Noah kissing Lucia goodbye.
“We’re going to get this asshole, and then I’ll be home before you wake up. Okay?” Noah stroked her face and looked into her eyes so intimately that Jonas was embarrassed to watch.
JJ turned to face Jonas. “I think this is a mistake.”
He kept his face placid. This was a conversation they’d had many times over the past few days. Maybe she thought if she kept saying it, they’d change their approach. But they were following intel Matthias had found. JJ was upset that they were going in the opposite direction of Bliss, where she was pretty sure David would be hiding out. They’d already sent someone to check it out, but there was nothing there except a quiet town with friendly inhabitants.
“I know, baby. And I am going to look forward to saying ‘I told you so’ tomorrow morning.”
“Wake me when you get in. I don’t care how late it is,” JJ insisted.
Jonas wasn’t fooling himself that she would get any sleep anyway. More than likely she and Lucia would stay up, binge watch some shows on Netflix, and pretend they weren’t both dying inside wondering if their men were okay. He understood because he understood how JJ worked. And he loved that she cared about him enough to worry, even if he hated to put her through this.
“Okay. I’ll wake you.”
“I still really think that you or Noah should have gone to Bliss to check things out. And you guys are going in the complete opposite direction.”
Jonas nodded. “I know. But the trail is hotter where we’re going. You know how good Matthias is at this stuff. He wouldn’t lead us astray. This is our best chance to end this.”
JJ sighed. “That’s what I want. For this to be over and for things to go back to the way they used to be.”
Lucia’s voice interrupted from behind her. “You mean when I was running from a stalker and almost got kidnapped?”
JJ turned and accepted a hug from her friend. “I guess there’s no normal for us, huh?”
“Probably not. But that’s okay. I’ll settle for safe and happy. Normal is boring.”
Noah approached just then. Jonas could tell he was also armed to the teeth. Oskar appeared behind him with his grim face on. Dylan and Rafe stood at the doorway to the room but didn’t enter. A few seconds later, Matthias appeared from down the hallway where his room was, dressed in all black and looking as lethal as Jonas had ever seen him.
“I guess it’s time,” JJ muttered. She turned to Jonas and hugged him tightly. Her softness pressed against his jacket, bumping against all the weapons underneath.
The thought of her pressing against all that metal sent a cold chill through him. What if this was the last time he’d ever get to hold her like this? His heart started racing, and he sucked in a desperate breath. He wished and prayed to a God he wasn’t even sure he believed in before finally releasing her. Her arms slid from around his waist slowly. JJ didn’t seem any more excited about letting go than he was, but at the same time, Jonas didn’t want to leave her worried or upset.
This was going to be tricky enough as it was, even with a whole team going up against David. The thought of her upset would only distract him. They all needed to be on their A game tonight.
“Give me a kiss for luck,” he whispered.
She leaned up to kiss him. Maybe she could read the worry in his eyes because she pasted on a smile and said, “Okay, I think Lucia and I are going to have a movie marathon.”
Noah nodded at her appreciatively before kissing Lucia again. “That sounds good. Dylan will be watching over Nonna, just in case. Ryan will be here if you need anything.”
“You mean he got stuck being our babysitter,” Lucia teased.
Noah only smiled before motioning to the other guys. They all fell in line behind him as they left the room. Lucia grabbed her hand and squeezed hard. JJ clung to hers just as tightly.
Jonas turned back and walked up to JJ. “I just want you to know that we’re not giving up. Even if this trail goes cold, we’ll go check out Bliss. But no matter what, we’ll get him. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay. I trust you.”
He kissed her quickly and then ran out after the others.
As soon as the door closed behind Jonas, Lucia let go of her hand. She turned to JJ with a gleam in her eye.
“We aren’t really trusting them to do this, are we?”
JJ snorted. “Hell no. I just have no idea what to do yet. But we’re definitely not going to sit here and watch movies like good little womenfolk, or whatever.”
Lucia snickered. “Good. I was starting to get worried about you. Things are going to be tricky with Delaney here.”
They both turned surreptitiously to look at Ryan. He was moving around the kitchen making a sandwich. When he felt both of their eyes on him, he paused and raised his eyebrows in question.
JJ waved prettily. “This is going to be a problem,” she muttered out of the side of her mouth. “He might be younger, but all of these guys are paranoid as hell. It won’t be easy to get around him.”
Lucia hummed in agreement. “I know. But I think I have an idea. I just need to make a call.”
While Lucia went to her room, JJ figured it would make the most sense to proceed as if the movie marathon was actually going to take place. She gathered several throw blankets and brought them to the couch then queued up Netflix to a show that she’d never seen before. When Ryan looked up again, JJ walked to the kitchen.
“Do you want to share some popcorn with us?”
Ryan nodded. “Sure. What are you guys going to watch?”
Lucia came into the room with Isabella balanced on her hip. “Weren’t we going to watch that breastfeeding documentary, JJ?” The innocent look on her face didn’t waver as Ryan’s expression changed to one of horror.
“Oh, no. That’s okay. I’ll let you two have some girl time.” He snatched up his sandwich and left the kitchen.
A few seconds later, a door closed down the hallway. JJ burst into laughter. “You seriously just scarred the poor boy for life.”
Lucia grinned. “Desperate times. If our plan is going to work, we need him off kilter.”
“Plan? We have a plan now?”
“We do. Nonna is coming over to watch the baby and then we are going to go check out Bliss, Connecticut.”
“Uh oh. When I said I wanted to do something, I didn’t mean something that would put you in danger.” JJ didn’t want to lead her friend into trouble. She didn’t want to think about Lucia exposed to David’s special brand of crazy.
“Not me, but you’ll put yourself in danger?” Lucia demanded. “No way. We’ve been friends a long time. If you wanted to keep me away from trouble, well I have to tell you, that ship sailed the day we met. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
JJ shook her head. “Noah is going to kill us. What am I saying? Jonas will too. That’s if we can even get out of here. Ryan might allow Nonna to take the baby since Dylan is covering her. But there’s no way he’s going to let us walk out of here without him. Which means we’re not getting anywhere near Bliss tonight.”
Just then there was a knock on the door. Ryan came from the back immediately. If he was surprised to see them standing around talking instead of watching movies the way he’d expected, he didn’t show it. After confirming who it was, he opened the door to a beaming Nonna.
“There’s my bambina!” Nonna walked forward with her arms outstretched. Isabella let out a full belly laugh and tried to throw herself out of her mother’s arms.
Ryan closed the door and then smiled at the older woman. Nonna had all of the men at Blake Security wrapped around her little finger. Or maybe mesmerized by the delicious homemade Italian food she brought over all the time.
“Ryan, I brought tiramisu. Dylan is bringing it up. I know how much you love it.”
Ryan practically melted into a puddle of drool. “Tiramisu? I do love it. Thank you so much, Mrs. DeMarco.”
Nonna rewarded him with a sweet smile. “I told you to call me Nonna.”
Ryan nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Dylan appeared then carrying an aluminum pan, and Ryan followed him to the kitchen. As soon as the men were out of hearing range, Nonna looked at the girls sternly.
“I expect you two to be careful. And watchful. I wouldn’t help you if I didn’t believe you would be.”
“Yes, ma’am.” JJ replied instinctively. No matter how old they got, Nonna DeMarco would always be the boss of them. “What is the plan, if you guys don’t mind me asking?”
Lucia leaned forward. “Nonna brought the cake to distract Ryan. Now that we’re all in the same place, Dylan will leave since he was technically supposed to be off duty tonight. Once he’s gone, we’ll trick Ryan into going into the panic room and then lock him in there.”
JJ winced. “Damn, he’s going to get in so much trouble.”
Lucia looked uncomfortable, too. “I know. But I won’t let Noah fire him. I don’t care what I have to do.”
Nonna raised her eyebrows. “That’s enough about that, young lady.”
They all chuckled together.
“Ok, so we just have to wait for Dylan and Ryan to come up with the idea of Dylan going home on their own. They aren’t going to do it if we suggest it.”
Nonna smiled slyly. “Don’t worry about that. I took care of it.”
“What do you mean you took care of it?” Lucia asked suspiciously.
They all froze at the sound of footsteps. Dylan and Ryan appeared. Ryan was holding a paper bowl filled with tiramisu and eating it noisily.
“Well, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll take off. Nonna fed me a really big dinner and I’m exhausted. Since she’s planning to spend the night here so the girls can watch movies, we both don’t need to be here, right?”
Ryan nodded, never taking his eyes off his cake. “Go on. You were supposed to be off anyway. Noah won’t care. Matthias upgraded the security here, so once I turn the external alarms on, this place is safer than the Pentagon.”
Dylan waved at them. “I’ll see you ladies tomorrow then.”
“Good night, dear!” Nonna called out. When she finally looked at Lucia and JJ and saw the looks on their faces, she huffed. “What? I may be old but I know how to knock a man out. His stomach. I stuffed that boy so full of gnocchi it’ll be a wonder if he doesn’t fall asleep before he makes it down the stairwell.”
JJ was impressed. “Way to go, Nonna!”
Lucia glanced behind them. “One down, one to go.”
To make their story more believable, they moved into the living room and turned on their Netflix show. Nonna bounced the baby on her lap and after an hour, JJ thought she’d lose her mind. What were they doing? Ryan had shown no sign of relaxing, she’d seen him upright typing on one of Matthias’s spare computers when she’d gone to the bathroom.
Then Nonna stood and handed the baby to Lucia. “Young man! Yoo-hoo!”
JJ and Lucia exchanged confused looks but didn’t move from their perch on the couch. Whatever Nonna was up to, they definitely weren’t getting in her way.
“Yes, ma’am.” Ryan appeared in the doorway to the room.
“I need your help carrying out the surprise present I brought for my granddaughter.” Nonna marched down the hall, Ryan following.
Lucia leaned over. “She had Dylan bring in some big box when they came. But I’m not sure what that has to do with her plan.”
A few moments later, there was a loud “Hey!” and then the sound of something crashing.
“What was that?” Lucia gasped. They both stood and rushed down the hallway toward Noah and Lucia’s room.
JJ gaped at the scene. Nonna stood next to the panic room holding one of Lucia’s fancy stilettos. A loud bang on the other side of the panic room door startled them all. Ryan’s words were muffled, but it was easy to tell he was cursing up a storm in there.
“Oh, he is really upset with me,” Nonna murmured.
“How did you get him in there?” Lucia asked
Nonna looked satisfied with herself. “I asked him to lift that big box. While his back was turned, I opened the panic room and then pushed him in. I disabled the lock pad with this!” she held up Lucia’s shoe.
Suddenly she narrowed her eyes at them. “Now, before you go anywhere, you girls are taking weapons, right?”
JJ glanced behind her to see the keypad to the panic room was cracked. She looked back to Nonna with new eyes. “Wow. Remind me to never get on your bad side.”
Nonna ambled over and patted her cheek. “There’s no bad side for you, cara. You’re family.”