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Jack abruptly stood and stomped out of the room like a man throwing a temper tantrum.
Fuck.
Now I needed to talk Jack off the ledge he found himself on with the beautiful Catarina.
“What’s his problem?” she asked.
For as smart as she was, she was blind to Jack.
“He’s not fond of men taking advantage of women.”
“Is he fond of women taking advantage of men? Because that’s what’s happening here.”
Jack was too far gone for the woman to rationalize what she was doing.
Which would’ve been interesting if I wasn’t in the middle of rationalizing my feelings for a woman in the middle of a dangerous operation.
* * *
I expected to see Jack’s name on my phone screen, not Joan Heffner’s.
They’d arrived at the third property Atlee was scouting twenty minutes before. Jack should’ve called me by then to tell me they were on their way back to the city. Jack picked up Asher and Atlee’s tail the moment Asher had pulled off of the Boulevard.
Cat had been correct with her latest assessment. Dale was going to be her biggest problem. I had no doubt it was Dale, not Martin, who had ordered Gavin to follow Atlee. Fortunately Gavin was shit at it and didn’t know he was being tailed himself.
I picked up the call before it went to voicemail.
“Joan,” I greeted.
“Catarina’s checked in,” she started. “I’m uncertain I like her plan.”
“As a whole or is there a particular part you don’t like?”
“The part where she’s offering herself to the wolves. Any number of things can happen once Martin has her alone.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Cat was throwing herself to the wolves.
“In this situation, any number of things could happen to her in a room full of people,” I grimly reminded her. “She knows the risks and from what I’ve seen she’s smart. She has a panic button should she need it.”
Catarina had the same watch Atlee had.
“Obviously you don’t know Catarina as well as you think you do. She wouldn’t blow the operation by using the panic button.”
Joan was correct about that, too.
“I’ll be at the party—”
“You won’t be in that bedroom,” Joan snapped. “I admire Catarina. She’s smart, brave, and has the best instincts of anyone I’ve ever worked with. I disagree with Tyree’s assessment, I’ve voiced this to the chain, but Ty has one valid point—she’ll go her own way if she thinks her way is better than the parameters of the mission. I’m not saying her way isn’t often times the better way. What I’m saying is, I’m worried she’s putting this operation before her wellbeing.”
I happened to agree with Joan’s point of view.
Catarina was all in to take Martin down.
“I’m not sure what you want me to do here, Joan. I agree with you, but Catarina is already in with Martin. The only way you’re going to get her to deviate is if you pull her.”
Joan blew out a long, frustrated breath.
