Page 51 of Death is Familiar

“Suurree.” I smiled. “Care to explain how they are soooo different?”

We both looked to Todd, hoping he’d choose one of us to back up, but he shrugged, “Go on.” Which at least meant Jack was on his own.

“Stalking is unsanctioned.” Jack ran another hand through his hair. I wasn’t used to seeing him this flustered over something so trivial. It must have been from lack of sleep. Part of me wanted to run a thumb over the knot between his eyebrows to smooth out the tension, another part of me enjoyed seeing him out of his element. “We had approvals to surveil, and our time was paid.”

My body rejected the idea of sitting still any longer, it itched to move, so I uncrossed my legs and started bouncing on the bed, like I was testing the springs. “Sounds the same to me.”

My intent to lighten the mood was working.

Todd followed my bouncing, then averted his gaze. “Point goes to Delilah.” With an abrupt shove, he got off the bed and started fiddling with the coffee maker in the corner.

“See?” I beamed, still bouncing.

Finally, a smile cracked through Jack’s on-the-job demeanor, even though his words were all business, “We are getting way off track here.” The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried to regain control over his face. It wasn’t working very well. “If there is something pertinent to a case, including your past connections, we need to know about it.”

Moving on from our discussion, Todd lifted empty mugs in a silent ask on whether or not either of us wanted coffee. While Jack accepted, I gestured my decline. “And I need to know if there are any more ‘no punching Todd while the ear pieces are on rules’.”

To be fair, Jack hadn’t been upset at the thought of me punching Todd per se. It was having evidence I punched an FBI agent on record. Which could be considered assault of a federal officer if it ever got pulled out of context and into the wrong hands. So, we’d been careful to also catch on the record that, of course, I, Delilah James, had only been kidding about hitting Special Agent Galt, and would never consider harming a federal officer.

“I thought that was pretty self-explanatory.”

“And I thought it was self-explanatory that I had a life before the FBI was involved.”

Both amused and confused, Jack’s eyes tracked me as I bounced. “Having fun?”

“I’m being pro-active.” The agents exchanged a look. They had no idea what I was talking about. “I was feeling restless. Figured it was better to get it out before were left for Cincinnati.”

Jack took hold of the coffee Todd nudged in his direction, and watched me over the lip. “Eavesdropping? Or are you now planning to tell us that you read minds?”

It only made sense that we would be on the move after we gathered what we could from the vamps. Lenore’s willingness to share whatever we needed, including video footage, meant Huntington was tapped out. For now. This freed us up to unpack what was found with the other agents, while continuing to collect evidence where the murders took place.

“Neither.” I hopped off the bed and padded across the floor to my motel room. “You two are just predictable.”

But what I couldn’t predict was how the agents were going to react to my other secrets—or surprises, as Todd had called them.

To reveal the matter involving Mads and the clues left by my brother, I’d need to pick my moment. It was no secret that both Jack and Todd had overprotective tendencies. And I wanted a controlled reaction.

Not an explosion.

†

Cincinnati was just like I remembered. Unremarkable. It could have been anywhere in the continental United States—at least when talking about the skyline or navigating the streets. Nothing stood out. But it still held a soft spot in my heart because of its food. Chilli. Everywhere. Served on spaghetti? Yes, please.

“But there aren’t any beans in it.” Fawzy was looking at a takeout menu she picked up from the ‘local eats and activities’ display in the hotel lobby. And where we were staying was a hotel, with elevators and everything.

And on this special occasion, all six FBI agents, and I, were crammed into a space meant for three people. All because Jack had encouraged us to get some face-to-face time. He thought it would help with team bonding and streamline communication on the vamp case.

Though it was hard to tell if Jack’s plans had the intended effect, since the only audible conversation was between Fawzy and me, and we weren’t discussing the vamps.

“You have to order it five-way if you want beans.” I spoke from experience. My first time ordering a bowl of chilli in Cincinnati people looked at me like I had two heads. Chilli here was a sauce. It came on spaghetti, or hot dogs, not by the bowl. “You’ve been here three days and haven’t tried it yet?”

“We’ve been busy.” Zhou flashed a glare at me from her spot on the couch, before returning her attention to her phone. “We haven’t had time to enjoy the sights, or attend parties, like some people.”

Jack cleared his throat.

“Sorry, Hess.”

I still didn’t know what I did to make Zhou dislike me so much. Beyond her speculation a few months back that I was sleeping with either Jack or Todd when I hadn’t. Yet.