Jon’s hand slid around to her hip. “Why offer that?”
Dennison tapped the star pinned to his shirt. “Because I’m not like those pricks. This means something to me, and it needs to mean something to the people we’re supposed to serve, too.” His arm fell and he shook his head. “But I’m still the new guy in the office, I don’t have a lot of influence.”
Jenna rolled her lips between her teeth, exhaled, and said, “If you aren’t like them, then I hope you don’t go down with them.” He met her gaze again. “We already have one.” She wouldn’t give him more than that, because she didn’t know him, let alone well enough to trust him.
Deputy Dennison smiled, revealing a dimple in one cheek. “Good.” He looked past them again. “You probably have a better idea who to call around here for that than I do, but”—he dug into a pouch, extracted a business card, then tugged a pen free from another pocket and scribbled something on the back before handing the card to Jon—“if you do need a badge in your corner, that’s my cell. Just because Misty Glades isn’t my beat doesn’t mean it’s not my jurisdiction.”
Jenna watched Jon take the card with his free hand, her gaze lingering on the emblazoned rectangle with the black ink across the plain side.Maybe he isn’t so bad…
Jon pocketed the card. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Sorry to dump on your already difficult morning.” Dennison inclined his head. “You two take care, and try and stay away from people named Parker.”
Jon held her still as the deputy walked away. She held her breath when he disappeared from view, until she heard the door close.
In the silence, Jenna was sure they both heard the sound of an engine rolling over.
She slumped against Jon, too exhausted to care how pathetic it was. “I can’t believe it’s not even ten yet.”
He made a huffing sound, somewhere between a grunt and a laugh, and turned into her so she was leaning entirely against his chest. “It will be in a few minutes,” he said, his hands tucking in at her hips.
Jenna dropped her head to his shoulder. She was going to have an emotionally frazzled day, there was no getting around it. That had been unavoidable from the moment her ex had hurled a rock through her window. That was too bad. They still had shit to do.Moreshit to do, because her window was still a mess all over her kitchen. “Can I have that coffee now, please?”
Chapter nineteen
Prep Time
“Let me get thisstraight,” Lance said, leveling a stare at Jon from his hospital bed. “We’ve got a Mexican cartel grabbing girls off the streets in fuckingOregon, and you called in three guys for back-up?”
Jon gave a faint shrug. “I don’t have the pull I used to. If you’d get out of this bed and make yourself useful, we’ll be up to six.”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Come off it, asshole. They’re talking about discharging me today, anyway.” He paused and a scowlbent his lips. “How the hell did you go from three to six? The two of us would makefive. Did you forget basic math?”
“Alex called this morning,” Jon replied, ignoring the rest of Lance’s declaration entirely. “Seems he was only manning the storefront while his older brother was away on vacation, and he wants to help clean up the community.” The call, and the offer, had surprised him, but Jon recognized the situation he was in. He wasn’t about to turn away real help.
Lance’s brows shot up his forehead. “Army Alex?”
“Army Alex.”
“Well, the six of us could make a difference locally, I guess.” Lance raised a hand and rubbed at the dark stubble that had grown on his jaw. The man hadn’t shaved since he’d come to the hospital and it was starting to show. “But there’s still the source to consider.”
“The Marines have live intel of an active threat on domestic soil from a foreign party. No way in hell that wasn’t passed along the moment they recognized it for what it was.” That didn’t guarantee the Corps would be the ones given the task of subduing the threat, but it did greatly increase the odds that plans were already in motion to accomplish the goal that mattered. Jon wasn’t arrogant enough to believe he could hop on a plane and personally overthrow a cartel that had apparently conquered an entire region of a foreign nation. He had to be satisfied with culling their influence from his own territory.
He tightened his arm around Jenna’s shoulders.
She gave his thigh a squeeze.
Mischief sparked in Lance’s eyes. “You two are freakishly cute,” he said with a grin. “You know, I’m pretty sure there’s a utility room behind one of the doors out there, if you need a minute alone…”
Jon narrowed his eyes at his pain-in-the-ass friend. “Fuck you.”
Lance laughed. “No, sir, the point is most definitely for you to fuck the beautiful lady next to you. Have you put a label on it yet? This is the longest relationship you’ve had since … before boot, right?” The glint in his eyes assured Jon Lance knew exactly what he was doing.
Jon grunted and stood, pulling Jenna to her feet alongside him. “Well, glad to see you’re still in good spirits. I think.” He gave a deliberate slap to Lance’s partially exposed foot. “Call me when they’re getting ready to let you out, I’ll come pick you up.”
Lance waved him off. “Nope, not doing that, thank you. I’m angling for a sympathy invite to crash on Lynn’s couch.”
Jon groaned.This jackass.
