Chapter 10
Viviana woke to see Jax’s note on the pillow indicating that he had an early morning meeting with Mac and had to leave early. Reading the rest of his sweet message, she should have been embarrassed at her relief. But knowing that driving to work with him was a non-starter, it cheered her immensely. At least her angels were somewhat back on duty. The last thing she wanted to do was discuss the dinner with his parents. She cringed just thinking about it. God, how could it have been any worse? Even though Jax denied it, he had to have been embarrassed at how she had acted. God, what was wrong with her? She knew how to put on an act. Jax was right when he called her the ultimate chameleon. Maybe, just maybe, she might have pulled it off if it hadn’t been for the earlier debacle.
Remembering the shock on Mick and Greg’s faces when Jax caustically referred to her potential meeting with Raphael Torres brought back the team meeting nightmare. It was bad enough that Jax had called her on the carpet in front of her partner and her commander, but that he included the three national agents in her dressing down was something she would never forget or, frankly, forgive. Jax had warned her repeatedly what would happen if she went into her go-it-alone MO, but never in a million years did she believe he would purposefully embarrass her the way he did. Not ready to face her colleagues and knowing there was no way that she could avoid the hellacious morning facing her, she made a beeline for the precinct gym. She spent a solid hour and a half beating her body into submission. Following her likely losing three pounds in sweat and then a blistering shower, she admitted she was no closer to coming to grips with the upcoming meeting than she had been.
Steeling herself, she entered Jax’s office. She was relieved to see Jax engaged in a serious conversation with Greg and Mick in the corner. Her attempt to make it to the conference table unnoticed was thwarted when Jax looked her way. Under other circumstances, she would have been heartened at how his expression brightened when he saw her. He grinned at her as if he’d been waiting for her and her alone. In a couple of strides, he was at her side. Reaching for her arm, he tugged her up next to him and said in an undertone, “Ah yes. Now my day can begin.” When she looked down, not answering him, he said, “Hmm, may I assume you haven’t had your morning sludge?” Glancing over at Mick, who had turned when she entered, Jax added, “Fortunately, your partner came prepared, Sergeant Moreau.” Grinning at Mick, he said, “You were correct, Detective O’Reilly. Our wayward sergeant not only hasn’t addressed her serious addiction to caffeine, but if I’m correct, which I’m confident I am, she just spent a couple hours in the gym.”
A relieved grin lit Mick’s expressive face as he bounded toward her, clearly excited to see her. “Hell, yeah, Chief Hughes. One thing I can assure you is that Sergeant Moreau just came from a killer workout in the gym and hasn’t had anything to eat or drink. Have you, sweet cheeks?”
When Viviana didn’t answer him and pulled away from Jax, her irrepressible partner moved in. Yanking out a chair, he deposited her in it and smacked his packet of information in front of the chair next to her. Surprised at the tears clouding her vision, Viviana ducked her head. Willing herself to get hold of her emotions, she stared at the table, determined not to let either Jax or Mick see how upset she was. She was grateful when neither of them pushed her. Rather, Mick went to the sideboard and returned with a huge mug of strong-smelling coffee and a plate holding no fewer than three sugary doughnuts.
Sinking into the chair next to her, he said in a stage whisper, “Don’t pretend you aren’t hungry, Sergeant Moreau. And even if you’re not, I expect you to eat at least two of these calorie-laden, nutritionless beauties. Or, God forbid, I might feel obligated to eat them, and, honey, you can stand more meat on your bones than I can.” He raked his eyes up and down her body and said with a salacious grin, “Although what meat you do have is amazingly well-packaged.”
“Ahem. If you are through assaulting your colleague, Detective O’Reilly, I’ll call this meeting to order.”
Viviana glanced up to see Jax smiling at them but didn’t miss the serious expression narrowing his gaze. She’d felt his hand tighten on her arm when she’d pulled away and sat down. She knew there was no way she could hide what she was feeling. Jax was like a divining rod when it came to her emotions. No matter how hard she tried, he seemed to pick his way through the shale she’d spent a lifetime erecting around herself as though it didn’t exist. Frankly, at the moment, she hoped he did know what she was feeling. Now returning to the scene of yesterday’s debacle, replete with the players who’d seen her ignominious defeat, she wanted Jax to see the anger that was flooding her. Prepared for him to refer to what had happened yesterday and make some stupid remark acknowledging that she was back on the reservation or another equally idiotic phrase, she was surprised when Jax strode past her to the whiteboard.
Facing the group, he began drawing lines on the board, adding initials and contact points. Having expected Jax or, at least, her irrepressible partner, Mick O’Reilly, to comment on the horrible meeting the day before, Viviana was surprised when Jax moved the agenda forward as though he hadn’t purposefully humiliated her in front of the team. To her surprise, without so much as referring to her devastation or the fact that she’d come perilously close to losing her badge, Jax went quickly to the tasks at hand.
“We need to take advantage of the inroads Sergeant Moreau made yesterday with the Diablos.” Nodding to her, he said, “I agree that you should meet with Manuel Ortiz by yourself. Bringing anyone with you would change the dynamic and, as you said, make it unlikely that he will see you.”
Shocked at Jax’s concession, Viviana was more surprised when he continued in a matter-of-fact tone. “Last night, Matías was good enough to courier me the latest and greatest not-yet-on-the-market surveillance trinkets and security toys. These little beauties won’t hit the most off-the-grid operations for at least a couple of years. They will allow us to connect with you as if we were standing next to you.”
Facing her, he asked, “How soon do you think you can schedule the meet with Torres?”
Shoving at her surprise, Viviana responded carefully, “I need to hook up with Carlos Mendes. We tentatively agreed to meet today, but I need to confirm the time.” Shrugging, she reminded the men, who were all looking at her, “Remember, I won’t know until I connect with Carlos whether Torres is amenable.”
Jax was all business. “Fine. Keep that meeting with Carlos, but before you do, we will outfit you with all of Mat’s latest toys. I’m telling you, Sergeant, when we’re through wiring you up, you could waltz past White House security without as much as a raised eyebrow. These trinkets are that sophisticated.”
For the next two hours, Jax ran them through their paces. Since yesterday, the three nationally based agents had accumulated a truly surprising amount of data on both the Diablos and the Padrones. Not wanting to participate at first, Viviana soon found herself correcting and adding to the information the agents had compiled. When Jax handed her the stylus and said, “Please, Sergeant. You’re the expert on these two gangs. Elucidate us.”
It wasn’t until later, when she was alone, that Viviana conceded how skillfully Jax had managed her. He’d encouraged the other agents to describe what was happening in their areas of expertise. After they laid out a compelling picture of the challenges they were facing, Jax skillfully pivoted to the local scene and brought her into the discussion. At first she resisted sharing her carefully cultivated information. But Jax asked question after question, and before she knew it she was scoping out the infrastructure of both gangs on the whiteboard. Soon, she was describing not only the leadership but, as she responded to Jax’s on-target queries, she found herself leading a highly detailed analysis of the local gang structure and how their team might invade it.
As they were winding down, heading for a very late lunch, she saw the satisfied glance Jax and Greg exchanged. She knew they were likely congratulating each other for bringing the go-it-alone sergeant into the discussion and onto the team. As annoyed as she was at their patronizing attitude, Viviana admitted that, yes, the meeting had been productive and she’d even learned a lot. The national agents and, of course, Jax were a fountain of knowledge. But she’d had her fill of the team for the day. As she was moving to the door, needing to get away from the collaborative conversation, her phone buzzed. She looked down to see Carlos Mendes on the caller ID. As if he were equipped with radar, Jax was at her side instantly. Motioning to the others and turning off the sound on the national connection, he signaled that she should put her call on speaker. Infuriated at his inclusion of the others on her call, she did as he ordered, then turned her back on him.
“This is Sergeant Moreau.”
A silky Hispanic-accented voice responded. “You are a lucky woman, Sergeant.”
“Hmm, does that mean that the inimitable Raphael Torres will deign to meet with me?”
His response was curt. “Tomorrow. I’ll text you the coordinates twenty minutes prior to the meet.” The threat in his voice was clear when he added, “Come alone, Sergeant, or know the chances of you ending up in the arms of that fucking police chief tomorrow night are, shall we say, remote at best.”
Viviana snorted. “I’m always alone, Carlos. Day or night. You know that as well as anyone does.”
As the cafeteria staff rolled in a cart holding their lunch, Viviana took advantage of the break to head for the door. Jax was at her side instantly.
“Going somewhere, Sergeant?”
When she tipped up her chin and brushed his hand off her arm, his gaze hardened. The storm clouds gathering in his slate-hard eyes as he moved closer to her confirmed his intent.
Determined to break away, she tossed her head. “Yes, if that’s all right with you, Chief Hughes.” At his deepening frown, she added snarkily, “I understand that we are supposed to do everything as a team. I didn’t know that included bathroom breaks.”
Rather than smile, as she’d been sure he would do, he narrowed his gaze further. “No, Sergeant, that won’t be necessary. However, I planned to use our lunch break to discuss the requirements for your meeting with Torres.”
Viviana shook her head. “Sorry, Jax. I’m not hungry. Besides, I need a break from all this camaraderie. I’m going for a walk.”
Jax shot her a quizzical look, then pressed his lips in a hard, straight line, clearly deciding how he would respond to her cheekiness. She felt a streak of unease surge over her when he nodded and a smile curved his lips. To say it was a mirthless smile was an understatement.
“While having lunch with your team members or group bathroom breaks are not required, dealing with me after-hours is. As opposed to your assertion to Mr. Mendes that you are always alone day or night, tonight you will be very much with me. At that time, we can pick up where our discussion last night left off.”
With that implied threat hanging in the air, Jax joined Mick and Greg at the conference table and began doling out the sandwiches on the food cart. Viviana didn’t miss the concerned expression on her partner’s expressive mug or her commander’s troubled frown as they both made an obvious attempt not to comment in the fact that she was bailing.
****
Indicating that he had another meeting, Jax closed their afternoon planning session. As she was gathering her materials and preparing to leave, Viviana’s phone buzzed. Not recognizing the number on the caller ID, she moved away from the conference table to take the call. A cheerful voice she didn’t recognize introduced himself.
“Good afternoon, Sergeant Moreau. I hope I’m not interrupting you. This is Enrique Vega.”
Startled that the man she’d briefly met was calling her, she moved farther away from the others. With a slight stammer, she replied as nonchalantly as possible, “Uh, no, you are not interrupting me. My meeting just ended. How can I help you?”
“Please forgive me if I seem too forward, but I was hoping we could meet for a drink. I’d like to pick your brain regarding my platform on child prostitution and human trafficking. In that you are the acknowledged expert in the field, I’d appreciate your insights.”
Acknowledging that Vega’s request was a thinly veiled attempt to see her, Viviana made a quick decision, one she hoped she wouldn’t regret. She tossed her head. Given the choice between a certain happy hour with the team at Flemings and connecting with Vega, it was an easy decision. Confirming the time and place where they would meet, she clicked off her phone and turned to see Mick’s searching gaze.
“You are coming to Flemings with us, aren’t you hot stuff? We have a lot to celebrate today.”
Knowing that Jax was listening, Viviana said casually, “Maybe some other time, Mick. I’m leaving now for a meeting with Enrique Vega.”
Mick blew out a surprised whistle. “That hot shit guy running for governor? Damn, Vivi. I thought you hated politicians.”
She shrugged as she headed to the door. “Not all of them.”
Jax followed her out of his office and reached for her arm. “What’s this about, Viviana?”
“Nothing that concerns you, Jax.” Tugging her arm loose, she met his hard gaze. “Unless I’m still on duty.”
His voice was as taut as his expression was grim. “No you’re not. But my question isn’t a professional one. It’s a personal one, which makes it more than my business.”