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“I can go to the bathroom myself.”
“Humor me. I’m still trying to settle my mind about what happened to you. Bear with me while I deal with things. Until further notice, you’re with me.”
“I’m good with that.” Mallory snuggled in as his arm drew her close.
“Besides, you are practicing submission, and I must say, you need practice.”
Mallory laughed. “Yes, sir.”
“Brat.”
She slipped her hand in Monroe’s as they found the bathrooms. Jac had two bathrooms off the entryway because he didn’t want anyone to wander through his house that he didn’t invite to do so. When Mallory entered one room, Monroe went into the other and was outside when she opened her door to leave.
Monroe placed his arm around her waist to bring her close again, then slid it to the small of her back and guided her into the den, where most of the group assembled. A large screen emerged from the ceiling, and Monroe led them to a sofa in the front of where Jac was standing. On the other side of Mallory was Sharlee, who had a laptop on a small stand in front of her. Sharlee smiled as Mallory sat down. She reached over and squeezed Mallory’s hand.
Chapter 6
Sharlee leaned in closer and said, “These guys are the best at security. I promise they will not only keep you safe, but they will also help fill in the blanks. The guys will, if allowed, figure out the entire story and find closure for the families. They might seem like hard asses, and they can be when necessary, but to their family of which you now belong, there is nothing they won’t do. These men, these teams will have your back, always.”
Sharlee let go of Mallory’s hand and patted it before replacing her own back on the keyboard and typed at amazing speed. She nodded to her husband, and Jac began.
“First off, we got this gig from the FBI, but even if they hadn’t wanted us involved, Mallory is one of ours now, so we would have been smack in the middle of this one. It’s just nice to get paid for what you were already going to do.” Monroe patted her thigh. “Now, Rebecca is passing out an info packet on what we know and what we need to know.”
When Rebecca gave one to Monroe, she leaned down, smiled sweetly, and whispered, “I’m Becky, and I date that behemoth over there.”
“Carter said you were together. Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” whispered Becky before she continued to pass out the packets.
Jac waited until they had all received a packet before he continued. “Add to that anything you believe we have missed. I’m sure there are things. Garrett and Monroe, you take it from here. Get us started.”
Garrett walked to the front, and Monroe stood to the side, giving the lead to his teammate. “First off, this is what we have from the FBI. Our contact there is a man named Arturo Gutierrez.” They showed a picture of the agent on screen. “This is the local police officer, officer Whitley. This is our lovely Mallory.” The next slide appeared. “This is Craig Romaine, our suspect.” Mallory made a strangled noise.
“Shit.” Monroe had her plastered against his side in two seconds, hiding her face against his shoulder.
Garrett continued past the disturbing photo and came to several photos of identified women buried on Romaine’s property. Monroe kept Mallory tucked against him until the slideshow was over. “They have found three, but, likely, there are more, as the cadaver dogs are still getting excited. They must mark the spots and then continue. As the forensic team is able, they will uncover the bodies one by one.”
Carter spoke up. “What about the woman Mallory had with her?”
“Yes, she is still alive, but it will be a long, painful recovery, both physically and mentally. She isn’t out of critical condition yet. The family, which they found before we left today, told me it would be months. But they expressed their appreciation that Mallory had gotten help when she did because she saved their daughter.”
“I hope she can recover emotionally because otherwise, the pain won’t ever go away,” said Jessie.
Ivy said, “It won’t ever go away completely, but hopefully, she will get someone to talk to about her fears. It helps.”
Jessie got up to leave the room. Mark stood to follow her. “Pregnancy hormones make emotions hard to control,” he explained as he followed his wife out of the room. There were murmurs of sympathy, but none moved to follow them.
Jac stood up. “That brings up a good point. Unless you are an integral part of the process, it isn’t necessary to be here just because your other half is on the team. So, Ivy, you and Jessie are welcome to leave, and unless Mark or Kaden think you should be here, I’ll let them fill you in on what we decide on things with Mallory. I had thought that since you will spend time together, it might help to know what we’re doing. Jessie’s response reminded me it isn’t necessary.”
There were several more slides of the property site and the first place he lived, presumably alone. “This is where the FBI will start their investigation after processing the present location.”
“Are you okay, or do you need a break?” Monroe studied her face as he waited for her answer.
“I’m okay.” Mallory took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine. It was just a shock to see his face again.”
He studied her a little longer before nodding. Mallory noticed Mark and Jessie slip back in and sit down. Monroe moved to take Garrett’s place at the front. Garrett sat next to Mallory and patted her knee in platonic comfort. He really was a nice guy.
“Right, well, we need a game plan. Mallory and I will stay here for a few days until the press calms down over this story. Then, we can go to my house or a safe house. Not sure what would be the best option, so we’ll have to reassess then.”
