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Wow.
The automated voice announced their stop and Jessica pulled herself to her feet, still reeling.
“You sure you’re okay?” Kelsey whispered.
“Yeah, just doing some mental gymnastics.”
She eyed Jessica cautiously. “Anything we need to know about?”
She linked her arm through Kelsey’s as they began shuffling toward the doors. Baruti was between them and Samuel, so Jessica leaned closer to the other woman.
“Do you remember the moment you realized you’d fallen for Logan?” she asked.
Kelsey stiffened and whipped her head around to stare at Jessica as if she could see into Jessica’s brain.
Jessica shrugged. “I’m just… Processing.”
“Wow. I mean, good for you. But you have to get your head in the game. Now.”
Jessica leaned so close she almost had her mouth pressed to Kelsey’s ear. “I know. I know. I can’t look at him anymore. Every time I do my brain is like hard-wired to think, climb him like a tree.”
She snickered and pushed Jessica’s face away with a palm to her cheek. “Stop. Please, stop. There are things I don’t want stuck in my head!”
They both laughed, doubling over a bit as they moved with the press of people out onto the platform while the recorded voice encouraged them to, “Mind the gap.”
“How much time?” Jessica asked.
Kelsey looked at her watch. “Fifteen minutes, so basically nothing.”
They followed close in Baruti’s wake through the throngs of people.
Jessica had gone over street views of the area and felt reasonably prepared should she have to stage a solo retreat. Hopefully. They’d devised several plans, and she’d memorized each. That didn’t give her any peace of mind now, though.
Very soon she’d have to leave the others behind and go the rest of the way by herself.
Oliver had been very clear about her coming alone. The others would be close and out of sight, listening in on the exchange thanks to the nearly invisible microphone Kelsey had set her up with. It was the size of a grain of rice attached to a clear, plastic sticker. Honestly, it was amazing. But it also had a very short lifespan.
If Oliver was late or something happened, they might be screwed.
They exited the tube station and went with the flow of foot traffic. It looked exactly like the street view maps she’d studied. Ahead of them was the small pizza joint that would serve as their meeting point if all went well.
Jessica blew out a breath. This was it.
She side-stepped the crowd with Kelsey, just like the guys ahead of them so they were out of the flow of foot traffic. The three FBI agents turned to face her, and she looked at each one in turn, saving Kelsey for last, because out of all of them Kelsey knew what it was like to be in her shoes.
Jessica’s head had to be in it. The personal stuff came later.
“You’re going to do great,” Kelsey said.
Jessica nodded and drew in a deep breath. Samuel took a half step toward her before he stopped himself.
His gaze bored into Jessica. “Get in and get out. Don’t take any risks. Understand?”
“Loud and clear.” She pasted on a bright smile. “Here I go.”
Baruti lightly smacked her on the shoulder. It was gentle yet she still staggered a step and chuckled.
Her gaze snagged on Samuel’s and it took everything in her to keep going instead of stopping and just staring at him. He was her comfort now. Where she wanted to be. And she didn’t know what to think or do about that. No man had ever mattered that much to her. No man had ever tried to understand her as well as he did. Not even her own father.
