His eyes twinkled. “It’s important that we all take a break now and then, so we don’t burn out.” His teasing expression left no doubt the guy was making fun of her. “It’s healthy to relax. But slow down on all the drinking. Wouldn’t want you to get loopy.”
She stared at her water then looked back at him. “I should have known better than to think you’re a nice guy.”
“You really should have.” Of course, the insult rolled right off him.
“Jackass.” She left in a huff, hearing his booming laugh, and felt Agent Scott’s gaze on her all the way until she left the bar.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The weather had turned colder.Jane’s teeth chattered as she hurried around to the parking lot, needing heat in the worst way.
Had she known Rapp better, she might have laughed at his obvious attempt to annoy her. But then, she didn’t know him that well, and for all she knew, he might actually consider her inferior and hadn’t just been hazing a fellow agent.
He had helped her with Scott, who remained inside with a few men she recognized from the office. Not from her squad, but agents she’d seen around the building a time or two. So who had that man been in the parking lot? What had been in the envelope?
Lost in thought, she almost didn’t hear the shout of warning. She dove out of the way of a roaring car that would have mowed her down had she not flung herself aside, landing between two parked cars.
“Are you okay?” A woman asked as she and her friend hurried to help Jane. “That moron almost hit you.”
Falling as she had, face down on the ground, could have been worse. Jane hadn’t twisted or broken anything. But as she stood, her cheek started throbbing.
“Oh, looks like it’s going to bruise.” One of the women winced.
“I’m good. But I wish people wouldn’t drink and drive.” Jane’s thoughts raced.
“No kidding. You sure you’re okay? Why don’t you come inside with us and let us look you over?”
“Nah. I’m good. I’m going home to ice this.” Jane smiled. Her cheek would stop hurting soon. Probably.
The women nodded and wished her well. They waited until she’d climbed into her car and started it up before entering the bar. While Jane appreciated their help, she wondered what might have happened if they hadn’t called out in warning.
She’d been lax, not paying attention to her surroundings. Could it be a coincidence that just after tailing Agent Scott, and getting called on it, someone had nearly run her down? Or had some sloppy drunk, or distracted driver, just been behaving badly behind the wheel?
Not one to trust in coincidence, she paid careful attention driving home. She didn’t even think about calling Hal or Joe for help. She could take care of herself. Normally better than she had in the parking lot, but still. She felt like an idiot for not taking smarter precautions. She’d change that now.
After safely entering her apartment, she doublechecked her locks before settling in for the night. And that’s when the throbbing in her cheek turned painful.
She popped two ibuprofen and made herself eat the last of the raisin toast before it went bad. Adding a glass of tea and ice for her cheek, her night ended better than it had started.
Before she went to bed, she sent Sullivan a brief warning to keep on her toes. If someone really had come after Jane, they might have seen her with Sullivan earlier. No sense in them both being stupid.
With a sigh, she crawled under the covers. But as she fell into slumber, she had a bad feeling she’d forgotten something important.
The next day,Jane felt as if she’d been hit by a truck. Though she hadn’t felt it last night, she ached all over. Even worse, her cheek was purple. She must have hit harder than she’d thought.
She took a long, hot bath, doctored with Epsom salts, and felt worlds better. Later, after some eggs and bacon and a nice cup of French press made with decent coffee beans, Jane settled in with her computer, looking over older notes.Gina can kiss my butt about her nasty coffee.
She kept coming back to the Mazzucas and wanted badly to call Sullivan to see what the team had found about their new hideout in Tacoma. But one, she doubted Sullivan would tell her on a work phone, where others might hear, and two, it was barely past eight in the morning. Sullivan was not a morning person, and they likely hadn’t found a whole lot in that short amount of time.
Coffee in hand, she turned on the television and watched the local news, looking for anything that might jog her mind. She didn’t realize she’d been bobbing her knee like a jackhammer until someone banged on her door.
“Hold on, I’m coming,” she shouted at the aggressive knocker. Had to be Joe.
But when she looked through the peephole and saw her cousin standing there with a frown on her face, Jane didn’t know what to do.
“Open the door. I can hear you breathing,” Raine said with no small amount of snark.
“I’m not here.”
