And whoever did this to her, was going to pay.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
A lingeringtiredness nipped at Jag’s heals as he made his way down the beach to where the rest of his teammates were stretching, ready for their morning PT session. He’d left Steff all curled up in his apartment. He hadn’t wanted to leave her, but she’d insisted that she was fine, and that whoever was after her probably had no idea she was living with him.
Considering how smart these people were, Jag wasn’t convinced, and he’d almost insisted she come with him, but she’d already fallen asleep, and he hadn’t had the heart to wake her.
The day before had been both wonderful and traumatic. Wonderful, because they’d made love for the first time, and he felt closer to her now than he’d ever felt toward a woman. Traumatic, because they’d started cleaning her apartment, and seeing her tears when precious mementos had been destroyed had been more than he could bare.
He’d had to coax her out after a few hours, knowing that the longer they stayed, the harder it would be. They’d cleaned up a fair bit, but there was still a lot to do.
After their conversation with Mrs. Baker, he’d called Fox to let him know that whoever had been in Steff’s apartment hadused music to mask the sounds of them trashing the joint. He’d spoken to the other residents around Steff, and they all said the same thing. They heard the music, were surprised at it because she never played loud music, but didn’t do anything about it.
Jag hadn’t understood why at least one person wouldn’t have knocked on the door to demand the music be turned down. Or off. Especially considering the building Steff lived in was one where the residents were of a higher socio-economic standing than some of the other buildings around Los Angeles.
What was it about the situation that didn’t warrant any investigation?
“Morning,” he said, as he dropped down on the sand and started to do some stretches. His friends greeted him in return, but there generally wasn’t much conversation between them when they first arrived, all of them getting themselves mentally ready for what was about to happen. Usually, about halfway through their run, they started to talk.
“Did you get any more information from the neighbors?” Fox asked as they pounded the sand.
“Nope.” Jag relayed his thoughts about the situation to his friend.
“I agree it seems strange, but maybe, with how things are these days, most people feel it’s safer to put up with it than complain. No one wants to get hurt.”
“If it was anywhere else, I’d think that, but we’re not talking low-life third tier drug dealers living in the building. To be able to afford the rent in Steff’s building, you’d need a decent income.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Fox said. “People prefer to keep to themselves these days, and out of trouble.”
“I guess. What’s on the schedule for you today?” They dropped in the shallows and started to do some pushups. Jag welcomed the coolness of the water rushing in and out.
“I’ve got a meeting with Zadie Nyx and her security team about a job in Texas. She wanted me to join her team exclusively, but I knocked her back. I would lose my mind if I followed her around from film set to film set.”
“Have to agree. At least we have variety here.”
“Not to mention the work we do with Julian and the FBI. I don’t want to give that up. Taking down sick fuckers needs to be done.”
“True. Will you do the Texas trip?”
They stood and started doing jumping jacks, making it a little hard to talk. “Not sure. I’d have to go in two days, and with all the shit going on, I’m not sure I want to leave Cynthia.”
Jag would feel exactly the same way about leaving Steff—not an option. “Makes sense.”
“Yeah, although if I know Cyn, and I’m starting to get to know her well, she’d tell me to go.”
“You know if you wanted to go, we’d keep an eye on your girl.” Jag was aware Hound and Deal had headed into the surf for the swim portion of their PT sessions.
“I know. I’ll make a decision after the meeting. Come on,” he canted his head toward their friends, “we’d better haul ass.”
“Can’t have them beating us.” He and Fox high fived before racing into the water. He blanked his mind and focused on battling the waves.
Jag had needed this session. A sense of normalcy about the routine settled him. The troubles with Steff didn’t disappear, but they were a little quieter when he got out.
“Areyou sure you’re going to be okay?” Jag checked with Steff.
She rolled her eyes before giving him a quick kiss. “I’m going to be fine. I’ve got my therapist appointment, then Cynthia and I are going to have lunch. I need to do this, Dalton. It’s part of not being constantly afraid.”
Jag heard what Steff was saying, but it didn’t make him any happier. It had been three days since the break-in, and they still didn’t have any concrete leads.
