Page 52 of Defenseless
Sabina glanced at Colton and Ryan, both of whom wore similar looks of amusement. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who’d picked up on a spark of interest between Kara and Ethan. Or at least on Ethan’s part. Unusually, she couldn’t get a read on her sister. Pushing aside that interesting observation, she turned to Chad.
“Are you ready to call Tess?” he asked.
She smiled. Like a shark. “You have no idea.”
CHAPTERTWENTY
The conversation with Tess,and subsequent follow-up, took longer than expected. They spent an hour walking through every piece of evidence and information they had. Then she’d asked them to package it all up into a coherent form and send it to her. Which meant they’d had to coordinate with the lab in DC before sorting all the information into discrete, logical categories with cross-references.
To Chad’s surprise, Collin’s skills weren’t limited to what he could do with a computer. He had an uncanny ability to lay out complex data in a way that made it easy to reference and cross-reference. He’d been a godsend in getting everything they’d collected in order and sent to Tess.
They finally arrived at the Dirty Boom close to nine. It was a Friday night, though, and the place was still packed. Angelica, the owner’s daughter, saw them walk in and gestured to Chad to head to the back room. He nodded his thanks and led the way to the room located to the left of the bar and accessed through a large sliding door. It was normally reserved for private parties, but it was the only place they’d all be able to sit together.
“Menus, everyone?” Angelica asked as she waltzed into the room, effortlessly carrying a tray with twelve water glasses on it.
“Please,” Sabina responded as she started passing waters down the table. Once the tray was empty, Angelica handed him and Sabina each a stack of menus, which they also dutifully passed down the table.
“And drink orders?” Angelica asked, taking out a notepad. A few minutes later, she exited the room, promising to be back shortly with the first pitchers of beer. The few folks who’d ordered cocktails would have to wait a little longer.
Within minutes, conversation flowed around the table. He smiled as Kara, Sabina, and Sabina’s team tried to get Ethan to tell them why the town was named Mystery Lake. Gina, Ryan, and the others were talking baseball. When it seemed appropriate, he tossed a comment or two into both discussions. But his mind was occupied with Kevin Jacobs. And more specifically with how this would all end.
Whatdidthe end state look like? Jacobs in jail? Dead? Admitting his guilt?
Jacobs meeting his maker was the easy answer. With the crimes he committed, Chad wouldn’t be sad to see him leave this earthly plane. It had the added bonus of being the surest way to guarantee Sabina and Kara’s safety.
Despite the extreme temptation, though, that wasn’t Chad’s plan A. Maybe it would be his plan B, or even plan A, version 2. But it wasn’t what he’d lead with. It was too easy a way out for the man.
Over decades, Jacobs had used his power not just for his own gain but to hurt others. And the idea of watching him lose everything—of seeing him stripped of his power and revealed for the man he really was—was perversely enticing.
Also, if Jacobs was dead, their chance of getting a confession died with him. Not that Chad was convinced they’dgeta confession. The man had lived with his sins for a very long time and didn’t seem bothered by them. But if possible, Chad wanted Sabina to have that closure.
Yes, humiliation and a confession seemed like the right plan A. They needed to bring about the man’s complete and utter downfall without giving him the luxury of death.
His mind jerked back to the room when Sabina’s foot brushed along his calf in a deliberate slide. She smiled at him from her spot across the table. Between that tempting tilt of her lips and her foot still rubbing his leg, a wave ofneedcrashed over him. His hands twitched with the urge to grab her and take her somewhere. Anywhere dark—or not. Anywhere where it was just the two of them.
She must have sensed the leashed desire coursing through his body, because she stilled. Everything about her froze. Except for the vein in her neck that pulsed with the same craving flowing through him. Unwilling and uninterested in pulling his gaze from her, he stared. Tension arced over the table until he was certain their heartbeats matched. She was the first to move, though not by much. She licked her lips and her eyes darted toward the door, as if she was contemplating the same thing he was.
His breath caught in his lungs. He was seconds away from asking her if she wanted to go for a walk, or anywhere. Then Kara, who sat at her side, lurched into her sister in what looked like an attempt to get away from something.
Chad’s adrenaline spiked at Kara’s familiar movement. His body tensed to defend the women, and his attention shifted from Sabina to assessing the situation. Leo was standing up, tossing napkins onto the table. Ethan was doing the same. Ava was laughing at something.
Water. Leo had knocked his water glass over, startling Kara and breaking the moment between him and Sabina. His body grumbled and complained about the abrupt end to the odd, and not entirely unwelcome, intimate moment. Given that they were in a bar with ten other people, it was probably a good thing, though.
He offered up his napkin as well, but Kara waved him off. Leo had the situation under control.
“Are you okay?” Sabina asked. He wasn’t. His body was still primed and wanting her, but he didn’t think that’s what she meant.
“You seemed a little lost in thought there,” she added, clearing up any confusion as to how to interpret her question.
He didn’t want to talk about the direction his thoughts had taken. There were confidentiality reasons, of course. More importantly, though, he didn’t want to shift the convivial atmosphere of the group. It wasn’t as if they’d been in the trenches for weeks or months. It had only been two days since all hell had broken loose. But he had enough combat experience to know that it was important to take breaks when they could. As the SEALs were famous for saying, the only easy day was yesterday. No one could predict what tomorrow would bring.
He shook his head and smiled at her. “I find it funny that you all are so obsessed with the name.”
She eyed him. “Okay, we’ll go with that, even though that was so obviouslynotwhat you were thinking. The name has to come from somewhere, we just want to know where.”
He shook his head and laughed as Angelica walked in with three pitchers of beer on a tray. Reaching to take one from her, he answered. “Are you this obsessed with other town names? Like Truth or Consequences?” he asked, naming the town in New Mexico.
“Named after a game show,” Sabina answered, pouring herself a beer from the second pitcher.
