By the time they’d reached the apartment, Steff and Cynthia were oblivious to his presence. He had no idea what Steff had told Cynthia, but they’d laughed a couple of times, so maybe they’d moved on from her stressful visit to Alliez and were talking about other things.
“Why don’t I set everything out and you can continue catching up?” he suggested once they got inside.
“Oh sorry, we kind of forgot that you were here,” Steff said sheepishly as she came up to where he stood. Cynthia remained in the living room, but he was aware of her watching them with a twinkle in her eye. She was clearly happy that Steff was reclaiming her life back by letting him in.
“It’s fine. I totally understand.” He touched her cheek gently. “You need this time with your best friend.”
“I do.”
They gazed at each other for a few more seconds before she smiled and went back to Cynthia.
Jag blew out a breath, grateful that Steff was getting more and more comfortable with him. He also loved seeing her confidence grow. The way Cynthia had dropped everything to come over to try and take Steff’s mind off the box showed the depth of the friendship between them.
As much as he wished the danger was gone, he had a feeling they weren’t out of the woods yet. He had nothing to suggest this was going to be the case, but he believed things were going to escalate, and when they did, he’d be ready.
“Are you finished?”Steff asked as she stood with her own plate in hand.
“I am.” He handed his plate to her as his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket. “It’s Fox.”
Steff nodded as he got up and moved into the living room, not wanting to stop the girls from talking if they wanted to.
“Hey Fox, what’s up?” Jag was hoping he had some news about the delivery man. Or anything else related to the mysterious parcel.
“Are you at Steff’s?”
Jag immediately went on alert at Fox’s tone. “I am. What’s up?”
He was aware that Steff and Cynthia were watching him, and he didn’t want to do anything to stress Steff out, but Fox didn’t use that tone unless something serious was going down.
“Can I come over, if that’s okay with Steff? I need to show you something.”
“Let me check.” Jag covered the bottom of his phone. “Fox wants to drop by. You okay with that?” He watched for Steff’s reaction.
Even though Cynthia was with Steff, he was still reluctant to leave her alone, but if she was the slightest bit uncomfortable with the idea of Fox coming into her personal space, Jag would suggest that he’d go over to Fox’s place instead.
“Sure, that’s fine.” Steff agreed, and there was nothing in her demeanor to suggest she was uncomfortable with it.
“Great.” He lifted the phone back to his ear. “Steff’s good with you being here.”
“I’ll see you in ten.”
Jag disconnected the call, his mind going to what could be so important that it couldn’t wait until the morning when they were in the office.
“Everything okay?” Steff laid a hand on his arm. He covered it without thinking, liking the contact.
“I think so.” He spoke the truth because he didn’t know if it was.
“Oh.” Steff went to move away, but he tugged her back against him and wrapped his arms around her. She melted into his hold, and he rested his cheek on the top of her head. He was aware of Cynthia in the other room smiling as she watched them.
After a few moments, he pulled back and hooked a finger under her chin, lifting it so that their eyes met. A hint of fear lurked in her eyes, but there was also a spark of defiance, as well. “Whatever Fox tells us, we’ll face it together. Okay?”
“I know.” Her fingers fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. “It’s weird that all this is happening now. It doesn’t make sense.”
“I know. But we will get to the bottom of it all.”
The buzzer sounded around the apartment. Jag tensed. Ten minutes hadn’t passed, so it shouldn’t be Fox at the door, but it was possible that he’d been close by when he called. Or he made good time.
“Let me get that,” Jag said.
