Page 75 of Tracking Wolfe

“What? Of course not. Don’t be creepy.”

There was a pause over the line before JJ’s warm laughter rang out. “Tell me the truth, bud. Because I know you better than that.”

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the worn vinyl booth as the breakfast diner bustled around me. “I considered it,” I admitted. “But Wolfe’s an adult. There’s no reason to track him other than…”

“Wanting to know where the man you love is at all times?” he suggested, his wide smile clear as day in his voice.

I blew out a breath. “Yeah. That.”

“If you’re willing to admit it, things with you and my cousin must be looking up.”

JJ could fish all he wanted, but I wouldn’t confirm anything until Wolfe and I were ready to make things official.

“Knew it!” JJ crowed. “Guess this means you weren’t calling to see if I dug up more dirt on your competition, huh?”

“Jake’s not my competition! Wolfe and I are perfectly—” I broke off, swearing under my breath as JJ laughed victoriously.

“For your information,” I continued, “I called to see how you were doing. When we talked, it seemed like some shit was going on with Whitney. I wanted to make sure you knew I was here if you want to talk about it.”

There was another pause on the line, which didn’t surprise me. JJ Marian was known for being easygoing and happy. If the extended Marian family had a golden retriever personality in the bunch, it was him. The guy never got upset, or angry, or moody. He was friendly and pleasant. Steady and kind. Not the kind of guy who’d feel comfortable spilling his dirty laundry in plain sight.

So it was surprising when JJ let out a breath and admitted, “We’re separating. But don’t tell anyone, especially my parents. They will salt the earth and destroy Whitney simply for not being the perfect partner to me.”

I snorted. “Was she ever the perfect partner for you?”

He sighed, and I realized it was even earlier in California than it was in Colorado. “Probably not. But I wanted it pretty badly. The whole white picket fence thing. Kids and a chaotic household.” He hesitated. “Which was bullshit. Is bullshit.”

JJ made it sound like Whitney had thought it was bullshit, and I hated that for him.

“Not bullshit,” I said. “Your parents have it. So do your grandparents and pretty much all your uncles.”

He groaned. “Don’t remind me. Do you have any idea what it’s like to have the first divorce in the world’s most perfect fucking family?”

“JJ, your family loves you. They only want you to be happy, no matter what government paperwork is involved in making that happen.”

“I know. I just… I’m not ready to tell them.”

“I won’t say a word. Do you need a place to stay? Wolfe would probably let you use his place for a while since he’s not there.”

“I’m, ah… staying at Aunt Tilly’s house in Nob Hill.”

I played the words back to be sure I’d heard right. His great-aunt was the world’s biggest shit-stirrer and not great at keeping secrets. “Tilly? And you don’t think she’s going to send a group text giving assassination orders on the Whitney target?”

Thankfully, his laughter came over the line again. “Nah. Tilly’s a vault when it comes to important things. She’s probably carrying CIA secrets and the door code to Fort Knox. She sent Harold to Texas to visit his grandkids. Every night, she forces me to share a bottle of wine and binge-watch some reality show called Below Deck. I guess she heard about it from Cal Wilde when she was in Hobie for the holidays, and now she’s obsessed.”

I loved knowing she was looking out for him. There wasn’t a more fierce defender and lover of the Marian family than Matilda Marian, its matriarch.

“Good. I’m glad you’re not alone and she’s forcing you into some downtime.”

JJ and I both had a tendency to overwork, and I wondered if that had been part of the problem with Whitney. Even if it had, he deserved to be with someone who shared his vision of the future.

“Not sure how long I’ll be able to indulge Tilly, though,” he said. “I landed a huge new client who’s trying hard to get me to be hands-on.”

This was surprising. JJ didn’t take bodyguard assignments anymore, now that he was in the process of taking over the company.

“You gonna do it?”

“It’s Juni Mezzo,” he said, like this answered the question.