Hide & Seek - Nicole Edwards Page 0,9
former because the latter would mean she was a chickenshit. And JJ was no chickenshit.
She wasn’t. Really.
However, she knew Baz liked her, and as much as it pained her to admit it, she liked him, too.
Good thing was, they worked together, which made him off-limits. Of course, there were no rules regarding fraternization within the task force. If there was, Brantley and Reese would’ve been up shit creek from the get-go. No, this was more of a personal decision. JJ was no dummy when it came to relationships. Statistics showed they didn’t last, certainly not between co-workers. Not that she’d looked it up or anything; her data was based solely on personal experience. And what she’d seen in others.
Did she think it was possible for those relationships to survive? Sure. Just not one that involved her.
The outside door opened, so she listened carefully. She knew Brantley was on edge, though she wasn’t sure why. It was rare for him, the man whose patience seemed endless. But she had witnessed a change in him a few minutes ago. Possibly for the first time in all the time she’d known him, Brantley’s countenance had reflected doubt.
Reese’s resonating voice penetrated the otherwise silent space. He was talking to Baz, although she couldn’t quite make out the words. Being nosy as she was, JJ got to her feet, carried her laptop back downstairs.
She arched a surprised eyebrow, pretending she hadn’t known they’d returned. “You’re back.” No sense giving away all her secrets.
The three men continued their conversation while JJ grabbed her cup, headed to the kitchen to refill it with water. She let the sounds of their voices relax her, listened to the inflection. Brantley’s tone was smooth and even, not quite as deep as Reese’s. Baz’s voice held less of the Texas drawl than Brantley’s and Reese’s, but there was a raspy quality to it she was fond of. She had to admit, it was rather nice to work with three incredibly hot guys. It meant she always had something nice to look at.
And no, that wasn’t her objectifying them. She merely had to find a way to pass the time or to clear some of the rather unpleasant images from her mind. After all, she had seen some of those crime scene photos, heard the horror story about them finding Kate Walker, and she’d dug deep enough into some of their suspects to know that the world was a very wicked place. No better way to stay positive than to check out hot guys who just so happened to be ridiculously smart and kinda lethal.
Despite the fact Baz was the only blond in the building, he fit right in with the perfection of Brantley and Reese. Perfectly contoured face, nice square jaw, beguiling blue eyes. And that body… She suspected beneath the jeans and polos there was a nicely chiseled rest of him.
Not that she was thinking about Baz that way. She simply suspected because she had danced with him at Moonshiners. They’d been up close and personal. Nothing romantic.
Well, except for that kiss.
Okay, not going there.
“What’s goin’ on?” she asked when she returned to find Brantley standing at the whiteboard while Reese perched on the top of Brantley’s desk.
Baz was in his own chair, leaned back, hands behind his head as he watched Brantley write something in what could only be described as chicken scratch.
“Nope,” she said, depositing her cup on her desk. “No way. We can’t read that.”
“You wanna do it?” he asked, spinning around and holding the marker out.
“So kind of you to offer.” She plucked the marker from his hand. “What is it that we’re writing?”
“A list,” Brantley said.
“Of?”
“All the things that’ll justify quadrupling the size of this team.”
JJ stared at Brantley. No way she’d heard him right.
***
Reese and the rest of the team spent the next few hours chiming in as to how they saw the team expanding and ramping up productivity in the process. The best use of time and resources was taken into account, as was travel now that Travis Walker had donated the use of his private jet and the helicopter. They documented what they’d done to date, from the cases they’d worked to the supplies and equipment they had acquired. JJ went so far as to draw up a new floor plan, which involved a couple of minor changes to the layout, mostly rearranging.
When they were finished, they had a three-page document prepared for the governor, which they decided would be presented by