He was right. They’d already gone off course simply finding Decker. They’d been pulled away from almost every case they worked on to focus their efforts elsewhere. Now that Decker was found, they had more important things to focus on.
“And if Brantley or Reese get wind of it…” JJ said softly.
She knew they would want to know how they connected. Allison Bogart had been with the task force for too brief a time to even resonate in their memory, so the fact her name was in the notes meant that someone had come across it while researching Decker. That meant there was a thread to pull, so it didn’t matter if it was now or a month or two from now, she would be able to pick up where someone else left off.
Baz put his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed.
“You’re right.” JJ stepped forward and closed the file. She went one step further and added a password lock so it couldn’t be accessed or deleted. If someone wanted to see it, they would have to find her.
In the meantime, she would do her best not to think about it.
Based on the expression on Baz’s face, she knew he realized the same way she did that that was impossible.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Did you notice the chill at breakfast?”
Brantley looked around, confused. They hadn’t even gone outside, so how would he have noticed it was cooler? “What?”
“The tension? Between Evan and Becs?”
Brantley smiled. “You know, one day, you’re gonna realize I don’t pick up on that shit like you do.”
“Sure you don’t.” Reese rolled his eyes.
“Fine. Maybe I noticed. But if you haven’t noticed, I’m doing my best to keep my nose out of their personal lives. I’ve got more important things to focus on. Like you.”
Reese’s chin tucked downward, and Brantley knew he was blushing.
“You enjoy that, don’t you? Makin’ me blush?”
Brantley responded with a grin. Damn right, he enjoyed it. Why wouldn’t he?
Reese shook his head and rolled his eyes playfully. “I’m gonna take Tesha to Central Park again. Figure I’ll give her a couple of hours to sniff around. You wanna come with us?”
“Of course I do.”
“If we go now, we’ll have plenty of time to check out before they come in and kick us out.”
Brantley fell into step with Reese, heading for the door leading to the street. “Do you think there’s a problem between Evan and Becs?”
“I don’t have a clue. I figure I’ll check in with her when she gets back from sightseein’ with Atticus. I told them to store their things with the concierge or in the SUV.”
“That’s why Atticus wanted the keys,” Brantley mused.
The walk to Central Park took twenty minutes. It was rush hour for a lot of people, so the streets were crowded with vehicles, and the sidewalks were crammed with bodies hurrying toward their destination. Thankfully, it wasn’t quite so bad when they reached the park. At least not once they’d made it into the park, past those looking to make a quick buck off unsuspecting tourists. They deviated from the main road and onto one of the secondary paths.
“Are you good with how this ended with Decker?”
Brantley was surprised that Reese asked but not surprised by the question. It was the same one he’d asked himself this morning after he explained what had happened to the team. The whole thing felt anti-climactic. It should’ve been a good feeling since Decker was alive and well, but Brantley still had reservations about how it all went down.
“No,” he admitted. “I think there’s somethin’ goin’ on that Z’s not telling us. I don’t appreciate being used to further whatever agenda they’ve got.”
“You think that’s what this is?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve got JJ lookin’ into it, don’t you?”
