Undercover Attraction (22 page)

His dad already had her orders also. "We are
putting her on surveillance. Hopefully one of the guys was working
with Mike and will try to contact his boss. Then we'll be able to
trace his lines. We already have most of their lines bugged, but so
far, nothing."

That figured
, Jacob thought. He'd had
the stripper's lines tapped once Mackenzie had come in for her
interrogation, and either any accomplices were smart enough to not
call their boss using their cell, had an alternate way of
contacting him, or Mike had acted alone. Maybe Dobbs could find out
something from surveillance that they hadn't found before.

"Alright, let's go over these a bit more
closely, now." Stewart held up the printed documents. "Maybe
there's something we missed." He arranged the papers out on the
coffee table individually, turning them so all of them could read
them, and looked pointedly at Jenna.

"What? I'm not leaving. I already know
what's in them anyway, so it shouldn't hurt for me to be here."

Shrugging his shoulders, Jacob conceded she
had a point.

"Alright then. But from now on, you do
everything we tell you to. Your safety is priority, and if we give
you an order, it is to be obeyed immediately," Stewart said,
narrowing his eyes on her to drive his point home.

She nodded, swallowing audibly, and they all
turned back to the papers.

"We have weapons, drugs, and slaves. First
the weapons. There are no less than seven transactions from
different individuals filed here. Four listed in the states, and
three in other countries. Some of them are also linked to drugs and
slaves, but first we need to put each one into an individual
profile."

Jacob went and retrieved notebooks and pens
for his dad and himself, and sat back down next to Jenna, making
sure his leg rested alongside hers, mainly for his own benefit
because he craved the connection, needed to touch her somehow.

Jenna watched as they began categorizing the
individuals, using codenames related to the individuals' countries,
and writing the details of the data in tables on the notebook. She
remembered much of what was in the data, and quickly added other
attributes to the individuals as they worked.

"I think Russian B is also involved in the
slaves, as well as the weapons and drugs." When they both looked at
her in surprise, she explained her logic. "B is listed in several
areas within the data, both as a trader and as a buyer. The same
individual statistics are listed as a seller under slaves, as well
as listed as a buyer under weapons, then yet again as a buyer under
drugs. I am fairly certain it's the same person because the code
for each was the exact same on all of them."

"You're brilliant!" Stewart whispered in
amazement, causing Jenna to blush and Jacob to swell with pride.
"How many different individuals do you think we are dealing with
here?"

"Counting only the ringleaders?" she asked,
continuing when he nodded, "Five."

He raised an eyebrow. "How can you be
certain?"

"Well, the coding had an exact definition
for each individual, basically, the countries and how the formula
was written. Part of the formula within the code would appear in
specific areas, linking the transaction to the individual without
actually saying that it is the same person each time. It's similar
to using an entire name first in a document, then initials for
other places where the same name would appear."

Stewart looked at Jenna in a whole new
light. She was very intelligent, evident in the fact that she had
nearly categorized the information in her head down to the most
minute details. It would have taken them weeks to sort through the
data to determine how many people were involved.

"Can you do that for all of the
transactions? Link them to the specific individuals?" Jacob asked,
truly curious if she could skim through the data and have this
entire case thrown in a different direction. They could have a real
shot at finding the people then.

Jenna nodded. "It isn't too difficult. As I
said, Russian B is into drugs, weapons and slaves. Iran A buys
weapons and sells slaves. The slaves on all of these are listed by
the place they are from and the date purchased, price-" her voice
wavered at the next thought- "and also a death date if they died
prior to being sold to a bidder. US 1 sells drugs to 'Ace', but
buys weapons, it could possibly be a trade, though. US 2 buys
slaves and drugs, and US 3 buys only drugs."

She looked from one of them to the other,
raising her eyebrows when neither spoke, only looking at her with a
dumfounded expression on their faces. "What?" she asked, when the
silence stretched for long seconds.

Jacob's father recovered first, shaking his
head in wonderment. "I just don't know how you did it. Do you think
you can have all of this typed up as a report for me to take to the
station tomorrow?"

"Of course. It shouldn’t be too difficult.
I'll also get the transaction amounts and dates printed. You might
be able to find the amounts transferred within a bank somewhere,
which should also give you names."

Jacob started laughing.

She looked at him as if he had lost his
mind, but then his father began a slow chuckle himself. Seconds
later, they were both laughing so hard, they had to wipe their
eyes. She felt childish, as if she was the butt of an inside joke
they had failed to tell her. Growing tired of it, she stood,
glaring at both of them. "I'm sorry I said anything, but I'm glad
you both got a laugh at my expense." She turned to walk away, but
Jacob caught her hand.

It took him several deep breaths before he
was able to talk.

"We aren't laughing at you, Jenna. We're
laughing because you almost completely did our job for us. And it
only took you a few hours. Jenna, you have almost rendered us
useless."

She blinked up at him, her green eyes slowly
losing the hurt that had previously filled them. "Oh", she said
quietly.

Jacob looked at her proudly, and she finally
smiled back at him slightly.

His father had finally caught his senses and
stood. "Well, my girl, I gotta say, that is some fine work you did.
I don't understand the logic, but I'm sure glad you did." He turned
to Jacob, "I'll be back tomorrow before your shift. I'm leaving the
papers so she can work on getting this mess in order. Good night,
you two."

They both watched as he let himself out. As
soon as the door closed, Jacob turned to her. "Hungry?"

"Yeah," she said, turning to him. "Um, did I
do anything wrong?" His dad had left in a hurry it seemed.

Jacob chuckled. "No. Dad just doesn't like
to be shown up. You basically just knocked him on his ass by
solving all that jumbled data so easily, when it would have taken
us weeks to do so. He's just surprised that you have done the work
he would’ve slaved over for a while. Nothing personal."

She understood. Her brother was the same
way. "It shouldn't take me long to organize the data. I could
probably finish it within an hour tonight."

"Nope. You are done working for today. We
have plans for tonight, remember?"

How could she forget? Especially when his
eyes were smoldering at her. She felt her body answer to his
unspoken hint, and her panties grew damp instantly.

"Let's eat." Jacob broke their deep stare
and led her to the kitchen.

Jenna sat at the island and watched him move
about as he fixed dinner. His powerful muscles moved elegantly,
even at such a mundane task, bunching and tightening as he
stretched and glided about the kitchen.

He reminded her of a tiger, caged and
domesticated on the outside, but within, full of predatory power
that could easily consume a weaker creature.

And every bit of that power was held
carefully in check each time he took her. She had noticed earlier
that he was holding back, and had asked him as they lay in bed. He
had not wanted to hurt her arm and shoulder was his excuse, and the
claim worked him a little further beyond the wall she had built
around her heart.

The truth was, she rarely noticed the ache
in her arm any longer. He had seen to it that she took her
medication, whether she was hurting or not, and after he cleaned
the injuries was the only time she even felt the twinge of
pain.

In a few more days, she was to go back to
the doctor, hopefully to remove the blasted sling that Jacob
wouldn't let her take off.

When that happened, she was determined to
make him lose control of all that pent up power.

The
next few days passed in a blur of worry and pleasure. Worry when
Jacob had to go undercover at the strip club, pleasure when he
returned home in the early morning hours.

He had asked her to sleep in his bed while
he was working, and each time he woke her up when he came back, he
was rock hard, easily sliding between her thighs, making her cry
out in pleasure before exhausting their lusts and falling back
asleep.

Amy and Mac had stayed the past few nights,
and they had all played chess with Jacob's father, who turned out
to be a calculating adversary. He had opened up a bit more towards
Jenna and she liked to think that they had become friends.

He had reluctantly told her about Jacob's
mother leaving him, how he'd had to raise two teenage boys alone.
She had felt his pain through his words, understood that it had
completely devastated him, and she understood why he devoted
himself so fully to the city.

Her sling was finally removed, thankfully,
and her arm was almost healed completely, leaving no telltale signs
of the wounds other than bright pink scars that the doctor had
assured her would eventually fade.

Jacob had brought her work to do,
understanding that she would go crazy if she sat idle for too long.
Different types of codes and data had been printed from the station
for her, and they were amazed each time she decoded them and
translated it all into an understandable document.

Mike's homicide had somehow relinquished no
clues as to his murderer. They figured that the same kind of
professional as the BMW's passengers was also sent out on a hit for
Mike, which meant that there would be no clues if the man was a
pro.

Tonight, though, they were changing the
rules. Jacob was going in, alone. Jenna would once again be babysat
by his father, who she was beginning to enjoy spending time with.
But she was still afraid for Jacob. She felt as if something was
drawing nearer, as if the happiness that she had been cocooned
within with him would suddenly be brought to an end very soon.

She kissed him passionately as he left,
promising a taste of heaven when he returned that morning. It was
time for her to make him lose his control.

#

Jacob looked at his watch as he left the
club. Two thirty in the morning. Another waste of time. He hadn't
had any hits on the info he had dropped at the club at all. Now, he
had a quick stop to make before he went back home to Jenna.

Jenna
. The person whose presence in
his life made him feel like a better person. She made him laugh
without him instantly looking around to see who had seen or heard
him. She made him feel as if the world was his to explore, giving
him strength to climb mountains or swim oceans. She was his
sunshine, and every day he thanked God that nothing had been
cracked in the case.

As soon as the case was over, their
relationship would be also, and he couldn't bear to think of her
walking out of his life for good.

That was what he was doing tonight. A
surprise. She had been melancholy about her demonic critter, and he
was going to get the little barbaric cat and bring him home to
her.

Home
. Jenna had done that. His empty
house now felt like a home, instead of just a house. He had always
felt so alone there despite the advances in technology that he
added wherever he could.

He had never been comfortable expressing his
feelings to women. In fact, there had never really been any feeling
other than lust that he wanted to express, but with Jenna, he found
himself wanting forever. It might not be love, but he was
comfortable enough with her to ask her to stay if the case had a
breakthrough. Not if, but
when
.

Jacob was sure he could love her, given time
and the opportunity. He was already sure enough that he wanted to
spend years getting to know her, and even longer showing her how
much his body yearned for hers.

He turned into her driveway, taking the
extra key he had made the first time she had sent him for some of
her things, and unlocked the door.

Stepping in cautiously, glock in his palm,
he closed the door quietly behind him.

Of course, he should have known it was an
ambush. The force drove him back against the door as he clenched
his teeth against the pain.

Try to do something nice, and get
attacked for it
, he thought. The damn critter that he had come
to rescue and reunite with his keeper had all claws and teeth
delved deep into Jacob's chest. Its vicious back legs shredded at
his stomach and abdomen, as a hellishly frightening sound rumbled
from its chest.

Jacob felt like putting a bullet in the
demon's skull, as hateful as the beast was, but he couldn't do that
to Jenna. It would break her heart. Not to mention, the devil was
just protecting its territory.

He holstered his weapon and grabbed the cat
behind its head, pulling it off of him, wincing when claws ripped
his chest. Holding it at arm's length, he narrowed his eyes on the
vicious animal.

Of course, it had its eyes narrowed on him
also.

You are testing my patience
, he
thought to the cat.

To which the cat conveyed,
You aren't
even worth my time, human
, and gave the feline equivalent of
rolling his one good eye.