Undercover Attraction (16 page)

Amy smiled secretively. "I think you are
wrong. But promise me that if the situation arises, you won't back
down."

Jenna nodded. "I promise. Even if it
probably won't work out."

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that
you learn that all men aren't the same. Yeah, you had one who left
a bad taste in your mouth, but because of that, you have closed
yourself off to all of them. Hell, I haven't even done that, even
though I know I will probably never find what I lost ever again."
Amy sat on the edge of her bed. "You have to
learn
to love
before you can find it. So just let go every once in a while. Even
if it isn't with your cop."

Wow
. Amy was just a much more mature
adult than Jenna thought she was. Well, when it came to this
anyway.

"Oh," Amy said, jumping up. "You need to
call Sam. He has left at least ten messages on your cell phone and
calls periodically every thirty minutes." She raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't answer when he called on your birthday, did you?"

Jenna shook her head, "No, I frankly didn't
want to talk to any of you. Sam just isn't as tenacious as you
are."

Amy laughed. "You're right. But now he is
driving us nuts. And I changed your ringtone."

"I will call him tonight when I get
home."

Amy suddenly moved to the window. "About
that… You aren't going home tonight."

She sat up straighter in the narrow bed.
"What?! I'm fine. I figured they would release me."

"They are. They are getting the paperwork
ready for Jacob to sign." Her eyes wouldn't meet Jenna's.

"But?"

Amy sighed. "You are going home with
Jacob."

"No way. I have to go home. Who will feed
Chuckles? And why can't I go somewhere else?" Jenna was
incredulous. After being forced to let a cop move in, then shot,
she was now being forced out of her house.

Amy turned to her then, her eyes filled with
mischief. "Well… I am going to stay tonight with you since Mac is
going to Shea's. Besides, your house is kinda too small for Officer
Hottie, so the Chief said Jacob was to take you to his home and
protect you there. Not to mention, you are going to have to have
someone help you shower and change your dressings on your
wounds."

"Amy, no way. I can't go home with him. My
house is my comfort zone. I will not be comfortable at his house.
Not to mention it will be awkward."

The devious wench chuckled. "You'll be fine.
I'm even going to come visit you every day."

"Every day?! How long am I going to
stay?"

Amy's chuckle turned into a laugh. "Until
the case is over with."

Jenna was on the verge of panic. "No. I
can't stay in the house with that… that…"

"Hunka-hunka burning-love?" Amy
supplied.

"No!"

Amy gently placed her hands on Jenna's
shoulders to calm her down. "It's okay Jenna. Would you rather stay
at his house or have these murderers find you at home? You are
listed in the phone book."

Level-headed Amy. Always the voice of
reason. She calmed Jenna down enough to let her think.

"Okay, but promise me you will come over to
help me shower and change."

Amy held her hand out. "Deal. And like I
said, I am staying tonight, maybe tomorrow night too, just to make
sure you'll be okay. But after that, you're on your own."

Just then, the door opened and Jacob stepped
through it.

Suddenly, Jenna was aware of how awful she
looked. She was sure her hair needed brushing, as well as her
teeth, and that her makeup had probably been washed off or had worn
off by now. Not to mention she was wearing a hospital gown
underneath the flimsy blanket. They weren't flattering to
anyone.

Her eyes met his over Amy's head, and if she
hadn't been lying down, her knees would have buckled. He was so
intense. She could read the stark relief in his face, along with
something else she didn't recognize.

"Well?" Amy said, breaking the spell.

Jacob broke his stare to look at her. "The
papers are all signed, and she can leave as soon as the nurse
removes her IV." Then he turned around and walked right back
out.

Amy sighed. "Yep. You both have it bad."

"Whatever. You're imagining things."

The nurse walked in on cue, and Jenna sat
still while her IV was removed and her bandages were replaced. She
took her last painkiller like a good girl, and let Amy redress her.
It was more difficult than she thought it would be. Amy gently
pulled a button up light blue shirt over her good arm, and left her
hurt arm inside.

"No bra?" Jenna asked.

Amy smiled while buttoning her up. "Not
tonight. The doc said to leave your arm in the sling for 24 hours
before putting on difficult clothing. And not to get your bandages
wet either."

"Well that sucks." Jenna eyed the shirt.
"Where did the shirt come from?" she asked, already dreading the
answer.

"Jacob gave it to you. Isn't that
thoughtful?"

Jenna just grunted in response, trying not
to catch the scent from the shirt. But it smelled so good. She
wondered what kind of cologne he wore to smell that good.

Finally, she was dressed, and an orderly met
her outside her room with a wheelchair to take her downstairs.

Within a few minutes she was tucked safely
into another Tahoe, headed to Jacob's house.

It
was well after nine before they finally made it to Jacob's, and
Jenna was hungry, exhausted, and grouchy. Who wouldn't be? But that
didn't stop her mouth from dropping open when they finally came
upon the house. It was a modern pad, with straight angles and a lot
of windows. The first thing she noticed about the outside was that
it was perfectly landscaped.

Roses bloomed around the circle driveway,
and azaleas happily danced along the edge of a bubbling fountain.
Hedges served as a fence along either side of the house, dividing
the front yard from the back. The driveway was paved with
cobblestone, and bleached to sandy beige, as well as a stone wall
that served as a blind halfway the length of a wall of mirrored
glass along one side of the house. A patio wrapped around from the
far side, and even in the dark, Jenna could tell it was a rich
mahogany color that contrasted well with the beige wall and
drive.

The house had a stone exterior, of various
blonde and brown colors put together in a mosaic of warm tones.
Rich mahogany encased the doors and few windows that weren't
oversized. Overall, the house just looked like some kind of rich
entrepreneur's dream home.

Jacob parked and came around the Tahoe to
help Jenna out. She let him, distracted by the house.

"You live here?" she asked, kind of
breathless.

He nodded, "Yep. Home sweet home." He pulled
out a set of keys from his pocket as he led them up the sidewalk,
behind the stone wall, and onto the patio.

Amy finally shook off her bewilderment. "How
on earth could you afford this? I mean, cops don't exactly break
the bank with their salaries."

Jacob smiled and pressed a button on his key
ring. The lights inside the house all turned on, illuminating the
interior with a soft glow. "I had a few investments that turned out
to be a good idea."

Amy snorted. "I can tell. Is your house as
high-tech as the car?"

He punched in a code on the keypad next to
the door. "No. It's much more technical than the SUV. I have a
friend who is a computer and electronics supplier for the
government. He hooks me up with a good bit of the electronics here,
and I test them then tell him if there are kinks before he sells to
big buyers. I'm simply good at figuring out how to fix the kinks,
so he basically just sends me the stuff for free as a thank
you."

Jenna raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that how
you had advanced electronics in the Tahoe that aren't available to
many of the other forces?"

He nodded and pushed the door open as a
green light blinked from the keypad.

"Good Evening, Mr. Nichols. I sense unknown
intruders with you," an electronic female voice pinged across an
intercom system throughout the foyer.

"Thank you, ESSA. My two guests will be
staying tonight, so I will need advanced armed security on
whichever rooms they retire to. Also, I want you to periodically
scan the outside of the house, as well as link to SAT image feed
and let me know if any vehicles seem suspicious or turn into the
driveway," Jacob gave orders to an invisible security system.

"Yes, Mr. Nichols. Should I arm the exterior
security as well as the interior?" the metallic voice chimed
up.

Jenna and Amy looked around for the source,
expecting to see a robotic machine somewhere, but the pristine
foyer had no such equipment.

Jacob thought for a second. "Yes, arm the
exterior, but only the interior bedrooms. I want our guests to have
free roam of the house without the alarm sounding. But I also want
to know if anyone other than one of us tries to get in."

"Of course. Please ask your guests to remain
still while I obtain a profile of them."

That was no problem. Jenna and Amy had not
moved beyond the door step. A few seconds passed then the security
system beeped.

"Done, sir. Please have your guests state
their names."

Jenna and Amy obeyed, both speaking in
bewildered voices.

"How long would you like me to retain the
records?" ESSA said.

"Until I delete them. Oh, and Amy may come
and go as she pleases during the day, but Jenna is to remain inside
unless she leaves with someone who is a program administrator."
Jacob looked over at Jenna, who put her hand on her hip in stubborn
frustration. "Alert me if she tries to leave." He added, raising an
eyebrow at her, as if in challenge.

"Orders taken, sir."

"Enter sleep mode," Jacob said as he kept
his eyes on Jenna, trying to guess her reaction to the inside of
his house. He wanted her to like it, to be comfortable for as long
as she stayed.

"Entering sleep mode." A beep signaled the
system was no longer active.

"Holy flying monkeys, you're freaking
RoboCop, only with the house, instead of a suit," Amy gushed
out.

Jacob turned from Jenna to Amy. "You can't
reference two completely unrelated movies in the same sentence. And
I am far from being RoboCop. My equipment is much better."

Jenna let them argue over the movies and how
big- er, better- his equipment was than RoboCop's, and took the
chance to wander around the foyer. She could easily tell that
straight back led to a set of stairs, and to the right of that was
what looked like the kitchen. She peeked into an open walkway to
her left, and her mouth dropped open at the elegant living room. It
was huge, almost the size of half of her entire house, with lush
ivory carpet, and navy leather sofas.

A giant TV was mounted to the left wall,
with two smaller ones mounted on the opposite wall, where another
sofa and matching recliner sat. The outside wall was nothing but
glass, and Jenna realized that this was the room that could be seen
from the outside, even though she was unable to see through the
mirrored glass. She could see now that each glass section had its
own set of curtains, sheer navy organza that didn't hinder the view
to the courtyard, while still adding a sense of elegant beauty to
the room.

Matching glass end tables sat on either side
of each sofa, decorated with vases of fresh flowers that lent a
sweet scent to the air. Two matching media cabinets stood along the
sides of the larger TV, with a media table beneath it, holding two
DVD players, two game systems, a laptop, and a metal briefcase.

The walls were the same ivory of the carpet,
with a navy strip along the floor on each wall, and modern
paintings and photographs hanging in various places. It looked like
a picture straight out of Better Homes and Gardens, or something
fancier, and she was almost ashamed of her small house with just
enough room for herself.

"Do you like it?" Jacob said from directly
behind her, making her jump.

"It's beautiful. Who was your interior
designer?"

His lips lifted in a pleased smile. "I had a
company from London come in and decorate everything before I moved
in. I chose my colors, and they went from there, even though I just
wanted a bachelor pad."

"They were underpaid. They did a gorgeous
job. And it still looks like a bachelor pad. Just a mature one,
instead of a college bachelor. I didn't see any pink anywhere, so
you can't complain." Jenna knew she was rambling, but her nerves
were strung tightly.

"They were well paid, actually. A fortune,
in fact. And you haven't seen the rest to determine if I have pink
or not." He led her from the living room down the foyer hall,
careful to avoid touching her injured arm.

Amy walked behind them, peeking into the
living room as she passed. "Yes! Ps3. What games you got for
it?"

He peered back at her. "You'll have to check
the media cabinets. I keep it here for my brother to play when he's
in town."

"How old is he, like thirteen?" Amy asked,
expecting a young kid who only had crappy G games.

"He's 27. I know he has football, and a few
army games. But I'm not sure beyond that because that's all I see
him play."

"Is he single? And hot?"

"Amy!" Jenna cut in.

Amy looked at Jenna with an innocent look,
"What? Girl's gotta try."

Jacob laughed, making butterflies flit
around in Jenna's stomach. "Come on. I will give you the tour, and
then you can get cleaned up for bed while I fix us something to
eat."

They followed him through the remainder of
the house. Every room was perfectly decorated, even the office and
the laundry room. All with neutral calming colors combined with a
darker color.