“Oh, hell no,” I declare, pushing him away from me. “You’re nuts.”

  “JJ,” he implores.

  “Don’t JJ me,” I say, wagging my finger at him. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “It’s for your safety,” he says, sounding very logical. “And don’t you want your mom and Thea to be safe?”

  “They can go with Kellen to California, but I’m not leaving.”

  “You can’t come to Miami,” he says, exasperated. “I can’t have you distracting me.”

  “Then I’ll stay here,” I say, lifting my chin defiantly. “And that’s my last offer.”

  “We’ll talk about it,” he says sternly.

  “You can talk all you want,” I say, turning on my heel to leave. I look over my shoulder at him one more time. “But I’m not going to California.”

  And with that, I move to the door and jerk it open to make a very dramatic exit.

  Except the door’s locked.

  I don’t even bother to look back to Dozer but grit my teeth. “Let me out.”

  He sighs, but I hear him on the keyboard, then the door clicks open. I storm out, intent on hunting down Bebe to figure out how I can get down to Miami. I’m sure as hell not staying here, even though I told him I would. That was just to get his focus off me going to California.

  CHAPTER 15

  Dozer

  “Looks like we have a plan,” Kynan says, slapping his palm on the table. “We’ll fly to Miami tomorrow morning, and the FBI is going to hold a press conference at noon.”

  Exclamations of determination and excitement to get this mission done echo around the room. Joining me in Miami will be Kynan, Cage, Jackson, Griff, and Malik. They’re all going to risk their lives for me—and for Jess.

  The only person sitting at this table not looking gung-ho about our game plan is Bebe, but then again, I wouldn’t expect anything different. She’s obviously supporting the mission because that’s her job, but she still wants me to change my mind about it.

  She’s also pissed because Kynan won’t let her come with us. He wants her running the tech and communications from here at headquarters because here is just as good as there, and he thinks Bebe will be a distraction due to her personal ties to me.

  Jess is also a thorny issue. After our conversation yesterday down in the lab, she came to a grudging acceptance of the plan to dangle me as bait. This is because she’s decided to trust my teammates the way I trust them.

  But there’s thorniness because Jess still wants to come with me to Florida, which I’ve absolutely prohibited. I cannot worry about her and myself at the same time. She’s flatly refused to go to California with Thea and Claire, so for now, she’ll stay at Jameson. At least she’ll have Bebe to look out for her.

  Surprisingly, Claire is in full support of the entire strategy. It’s not that she doesn’t love me, because she does. And it’s not that she’s unconcerned, because she’s very worried. But she doesn’t have the same connection with me that Jess does, and she’s able to keep her emotions in check and accept the risks. She and Thea will be leaving with Kellen tonight, staying at Joslyn’s house in Santa Barbara until this is all over.

  “Griff,” Kynan says, looking across the table, “if you don’t mind, make sure everything is ready tomorrow for the press conference.”

  “Will do,” he says.

  This press conference is how we’ll lure Borovsky’s men into taking me. I’m going to be on camera with the FBI agents in Miami, and we’ll run it twice daily. The newspapers will print articles with my picture, and I’ll make it easy for Borovsky to find me. I’m hoping within a day or two, he’ll make a move.

  Kynan turns his attention to me. “You’re good on the tech?”

  “It’s perfect.”

  “And we have redundancy?” he pushes.

  “Of course.”

  He’s talking about using GPS and GNSS receivers to track me. The GPS, or global positioning system, uses one satellite to, among other things, fix the location of a specific radio receiver. They’re commonly found in our smartphones or watches, and I will be wearing a specialized watch that looks quite ordinary on the face but has a GPS chip inside. The downside to this is that if the Russians are smart, they’ll take all electronics away from me. In fact, we’re hoping they do this because if they take my watch and find the GPS chip within, we’re hoping it will lull them into a false sense of security.

  The redundancy is that we’ll also be using a GNSS chip to track me. The global navigation satellite system is a constellation of satellites that can track location. Using multiple satellites versus just one with GPS provides more accurate information. While there will be agents watching me at all times and who’ll follow surreptitiously once I’m “kidnapped,” we have to plan for the worst.

  The module we’re using is only four millimeters by four millimeters and will be sewn into the hem of my clothing. My hope is that they don’t strip me, and as long as I can keep my clothes, my Jameson teammates will be able to find me.

  Of course, this all depends on me getting to Borovsky. If the team storms in to rescue without Borovsky being there, all of this will have been for nothing.

  We’ve decided there will be no immediate storming. Rather, I’ll be followed and once my signal stops, they’ll watch for a while. It could be a day. Maybe two. Hopefully no more than that. Without knowing where Borovsky is, we can’t begin to guess if I’ll be taken to him or if he’ll come to me at some point.

  The waiting will be the most dangerous part because they’re going to push me to spill information on where Jess is.

  That will never happen, of course. I’m prepared to die first.

  “It appears we’re all set. I suggest everyone get a good night’s sleep. We’ve got what might be some long and stressful days ahead of us.”

  It’s our cue that the meeting is over. We all stand to move out of the conference room. My mind is already on Jess and spending the evening with her. I don’t even want it to be alone, but with Claire and Thea as well. I don’t know if this is our last night together, but if it is, I want to spend every bit of it with these three women who are my family.

  Before I even move from my seat, Kynan says, “Dozer… hang back a minute.”

  I sink back down and once the room is cleared and the door closed, Kynan gives me a pointed look. “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

  “No offense, boss, but that’s a stupid question.”

  The corner of Kynan’s lip curls and he nods. “We can get another agent to do the press conference. Be the bait.”

  “It’s not enough of an inducement. It’s me he’ll want because I was last seen with Jess.”

  “And you shot one of his men,” Kynan points out. “You and I both know there will be repercussions.”

  I nod. “I can handle it.”

  I’m going to have to handle whatever they throw my way. I need to survive so I can have my life with Jess.

  “I know you can handle it,” he replies, and I can hear the truth in his words. He has faith in me. “But I honestly don’t like to think about the worst that could happen.”

  “The worst that will happen is I die, and I made this choice.”

  Kynan shakes his head grimly. “That’s not the worst thing that can happen to you.”

  He’s trying to scare me, and I respect him for it. He genuinely cares for his people, but he knows that despite the training I’ve done the last year, I’m still the most unqualified for this mission. The agents here at Jameson are former military, Special Forces, FBI, CIA, and other law enforcement.

  “Anything else we need to go over?” I ask, indicating that there’s nothing more he can say in this last-ditch effort to change my mind.

  Kynan doesn’t answer my direct question but instead says, “We’re going to get him. No matter what happens in the process, I promise we’ll bring him down.”

  “As long as you can make sure Jess is safe, that’s all that matters to me.”

  Kynan’s smile is sad, slightly forced. But as much as he worries about me, he’d do this a million times over for his wife. Hell, any of these guys would without a second thought.

  As an afterthought, I say, “I already talked to Joslyn this morning to thank her for the use of her house, but thank you for sending Kellen with Claire and Thea. I can’t concentrate if I’m worried about Thea’s safety.”

  “I’ve been watching you with her the last few days,” Kynan says as he drums his fingers on the table. “She’s far more than a goddaughter to you.”

  “In my heart, yes.” Thea is every bit as important—maybe even more so since she’s a child and vulnerable—than Jess is. “Her father was killed when she was so young, I’ve been the only male role model in her life. I wish I could’ve been there more, but…”

  “But until you decided to come out of the friend zone with Jess, that wasn’t up for discussion. I’m glad you’ve moved past that.”

  I blink in surprise. I haven’t told anyone specifically that Jess and I crossed over a line, changing our relationship and our future. It’s not something you walk up to your boss and say, “Hey, Kynan, finally had sex with the love fantasy of my life, and now we’re together.”

  Kynan laughs. “Joslyn has eyes and has seen the way you two are acting. And Bebe told me that Jess had a meltdown yesterday about the plan. I’d say things between you are different.”

  “Which is why it’s so important we get Borovsky off the streets so I can start my life with her and Thea.”

  A frown flickers across Kynan’s face. “Should I prepare to lose you as an employee?”

  “I don’t know,” I reply truthfully. “I know I want to be with Jess and Thea. I just don’t know where it will be.”

  “So I’m basically putting all my agents at risk, using expensive resources, letting you potentially get kidnapped, tortured, and maybe even killed, and then you might leave Jameson.”

  He’s teasing, of course. I chuckle. “I don’t want to leave. I’m hoping I can talk Jess into coming up north and living here. But she’s got strong ties to Florida.”

  “Maybe you could work part time remotely from down there, part time here?”

  “Maybe,” I reply noncommittally. For all I know, Jess might want to move to Aruba, and I want her to be happy. We have a lot to discuss and plan, but now is not the time.

  We have to be sure we actually have a tomorrow.

  “What about you and Joslyn?” I ask curiously, since he brought up Thea. “You two going to have children?”

  He shakes his head. “It’s not something we really want. We love just being together and doting on all the Jameson kids. But I’ve learned to never say never.”

  “Funny, but I never saw kids in my future either. I guess because I had Thea, and I never wanted anyone but Jess. I figured I’d always be Uncle Dozer, and that would be enough.”

  Kynan laughs as he rises from his chair, and I follow suit. He claps me on the shoulder. “I’m going to make a prediction that you and Jess will be giving Thea more than one sibling in the future.”

  “Not sure I can handle more than two or three, but if it doesn’t happen, Thea is really all I need. We’ll leave that in God’s hands.”

  There’s a sobering pause before Kynan says, “I’ll pray God has his hands on you through the next few days. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

  “Amen,” I reply.

  Amen.

  ♦

  I wasn’t expecting Jess to get so emotional as we make our goodbyes to Claire and Thea. I know she fully supports the idea of them leaving for safety, but she’s never been away from Thea like this, and it’s hard on her.

  We’re down in the parking garage. Their luggage is already in the back of a Suburban with dark, tinted windows. Kellen stands by the back passenger door, ready to open it for Thea and Claire. He’ll be taking them to the airport where they have commercial tickets to fly west.

  While Jess goes down to her knees, hugging Thea hard, I move over to Kellen and hold out my hand. “I appreciate you doing this. It’s taking a lot of worry off me.”

  “I’m glad to help,” he says as we shake. “Stay safe, brother.”

  “You too,” I reply as we release hands.

  I move to Claire and give her a tight hug. She kisses my cheek and pulls her head back. “You better come out of this okay. I’m going to be very angry with you if you don’t.”

  “Don’t you worry about me, Claire.” I smile encouragingly. “We’ve got this under control. It’ll be fine. We’ll take Borovsky down.”

  She can’t help the doubt in her eyes any more than I can help the tightening of my gut when I think of the million things that could go wrong. But she kisses my cheek again and moves to her daughter.

  Touching Jess on the shoulder, she says, “We need to get going, honey.”

  Jess pulls Thea into her again and buries her face in her daughter’s neck. When she pulls back, she keeps the tears to a sheer mist in her eyes, but there’s a slight quaver to her voice. “You’re going to have the grandest adventure in California. I want you and Gigi to take lots of pictures and videos for me, okay?”

  “Okay, Mommy.” She glances over to Kellen and then back to Jess. “And Kellen is going to introduce us to Bubba.”

  Jess laughs and nods. “That will be so much fun. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  One more hug, and Jess has to tear herself away. She falls into her mom’s arms and quietly weeps on her shoulder. To distract Thea, as well as get my own hug goodbye, I take her arm and lead her a few feet away. Turning her so her mother is to her back, I squat in front of her.

  “I got you a little present,” I say mischievously.

  “You did?” she asks, eyes glowing with excitement, her little toothless grin beaming.

  I nod and reach into my back pocket, pulling out a watch I had Joslyn swing by a store and get for me. “This watch has lots of fun features, and I’ve given the instruction book to Gigi, but the most important thing is that you can call me or your mom anytime you want on our cell phones right from the watch.”

  “Wow!” she exclaims and then demands I teach her how to use it.

  I tap on the watch screen, show her the contacts, and she presses my name.

  My phone rings and I stand up, fishing it out of my other pocket.

  Answering, I say, “Hello, world’s greatest uncle speaking.”

  My voice comes through clearly on Thea’s watch, and she giggles. “Hi, Uncle Dozer. It’s Thea.”

  “Well hello, Thea. How are you doing?” I ask jovially.

  “Going on a trip to California with Gigi.”

  I stare at her as she holds her watch up to her mouth, and a rush of love and affection courses through me. “I hope you have the best time.”

  “I’ll miss you, though,” she says after a pause.

  “Going to miss you too,” I assure her. “And don’t tell your mom I told you this, but when you get back, we’re going to Disney World.”

  Of course, Jess hears that and turns to shoot me an exasperated look.

  Thea giggles and whispers into the watch. “It will be our secret.”

  Stepping toward her, I hold out my hand, my smallest finger curled. “Pinky promise.”

  “Pinky promise,” she agrees, latching her tiny one to mine.

  Disconnecting the call, I shove my phone back in my pocket and pick Thea up in my arms. I hug her tight and carry her to the Suburban.

  Jess pulls away from her mom, runs a hand over Thea’s head, and once again with tears threatening to spill, says, “I love you, baby.”

  “Love you too, Mommy.”

  Kellen opens the door, Claire scoots in, and then I place Thea in the car seat. I buckle her belt for her, then step back to let Jess push her way in to kiss her daughter one more time.

  When it becomes apparent that Jess is struggling, I pull her back by the shoulders and Kellen shuts the door. She turns into me and rests her head on my shoulder as Kellen puts the SUV in gear.

  I wrap my arm around her waist and hold her tight, hearing her sniffle. “They’ll be fine.”

  “I know,” she says. “But now it starts to get real.”

  “Now it starts to get real,” I agree. “But Thea and Claire are safe, you’re safe, and I promise… I’ll be back safe to you soon.”

  Jess tips her head to me, eyes glistening, and I can’t stand to see her in pain. For a second, I reconsider my plan. Maybe I should just take Jess, Claire, and Thea, and we go live in another country with new identities. We could leave Borovsky behind and start our lives over again.

  “I have faith in you,” she whispers, lifting to give me a soft kiss. “If there’s anyone in the world I’d pick to protect me and my family, it’s you and only you. You’ve got this.”

  I’m surprised that she seems fully accepting of the plan, but it fortifies my resolve to see it through.

  “Come on,” I say, the taillights receding from view as Kellen heads to the exit. “Let’s go upstairs for some dinner and a nice bottle of wine. I think we both need it.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Jessica

  Dozer has been gone less than an hour—flying to Miami with the Jameson team—and I’ve practically worn the carpet thin with my pacing. I was not prepared for the surge of emotion that hit me as we kissed goodbye down in the garage, the same place that Kellen left with my mom and Thea just last night.

  I thought I would be okay. I thought I could handle it.

  Last night after Kellen left, Dozer was able to take my mind off things. It wasn’t with hot kisses or blistering orgasms. We had a simple dinner in his apartment—sandwiches and chips—and shared a bottle of wine. We tried not to talk about all the heavy and scary things hanging over us. We even found reasons to laugh.

  After dinner, I half expected him to lead me to the bedroom, but instead he led me to the couch. He picked a movie—one of my favorites—and we cuddled together watching Thor: Ragnarok.

  I don’t know how many movies Dozer and I have watched together over the years. Sometimes at the movie theater, sometimes at my mom’s, sometimes at my house. We always sat near each other on the couch, sharing popcorn and making stupid commentary.