He glanced from her to the screen, still filled with the image of the enlarged tattoo next to the Seneka logo, then frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Um, I don’t . . .” She shook her head. “This can’t be happening.”
Icy dread snaked down Jeremy’s spine. “What, Jess?”
Ike appeared on the far side of the desk. “What’s going on?” he asked.
It was right then that Jeremy saw something he’d never seen before—-Jess’s cheeks filling with a bright pink heat. What the hell would make her blush, of all things?
“I, uh . . . I hooked up with a man who had a tattoo like that,” she finally said.
“What?” Ike nearly roared. “When?”
Jeremy’s stomach made a slow slide to the floor. Please say it was a long time ago. Please say it was—-
“Friday night,” she said, the words nearly a whisper.
Chapter 4
CHARLIE’S STOMACH KNOTTED as Jeremy groaned. In the time he and Jer had spent together, Charlie had heard a million stories about Jess—-about how she and Jeremy had met, pranks she’d played or that he and Nick had played on her, and countless funny hookup stories. He talked about her enough that Charlie had at first assumed that Jeremy had something going with her, but when he’d asked, Jeremy had laughed and said he thought of her like a sister. Nothing more.
But that was a little hard to keep in mind when he hugged and held her like he had a few minutes before, and when he pulled her into his arms, like he was doing just now.
“Jesus, Jess,” Jeremy rasped. “There’s no fucking way this is all a coincidence.”
“I didn’t know,” she said, her voice tight.
“Of course not. Don’t you worry. Hey Nick?” Jeremy said, beckoning him with a wave.
Frowning, Nick cut through the group to them. “What’s wrong?” Nick asked.
“This is so freaking embarrassing,” Jess said, burying her face in Jeremy’s neck. And hell if Charlie didn’t feel like a little bit of an ass for the jealousy slithering into his gut. But, damn, what he wouldn’t give to stand in the tight embrace of Jeremy’s arms . . .
Nick, Ike, and Jeremy formed a circle around Jess, such that Charlie couldn’t hear everything that was being said. But he heard enough to get the gist that a guy with a Seneka company tattoo had hit on her at a local bar on Friday night, they’d had a few drinks and talked, and then she’d brought him home. Which was how she’d seen his tattoo.
“So, you could identify this guy if you saw him again?” Nick asked.
“Of course,” Jess said.
“Which was probably why they came looking for her last night,” Ike said. “In the wake of the attack on Hard Ink, they were tying up loose ends.”
A rock slid into Charlie’s gut, and he felt even worse about his jealousy from moments before. Jess was in real trouble.
“Jesus.” Nick tugged a hand through his hair. “Sure as fuck what it sounds like.”
“I’m getting her out of here,” Ike said after another moment.
“But she’ll be safe here,” Jeremy said. “With all of us.”
Ike shook his head. “You’ve got enough noncombatants here as it is. And they’re actively looking for Jess. I’m not taking any chances.”
Charlie knew exactly what it felt like to be targeted, pursued, chased. After he’d hacked into the Singapore bank where his father had an account worth twelve million dollars and tried to learn who or what the depositor WCE was, he’d realized someone was searching for him in return. He’d packed up that night and went on the run. He’d spent the better part of a week moving from one hole--in--the--wall motel to the next until they finally caught up with him, stuffed him into the back of a van, and dumped him into hell.
“Shit,” Nick said. “Maybe it’s time we face this question once and for all.”
“What question?” Jeremy asked.
Nick dug his hands through his hair and blew out a breath. “Whether or not to send all the civilians away until this is over.”
“What?” Becca said, coming up behind Nick. “If I fall into the ‘civilians’ column, I don’t want to go anywhere.”
Her words drew attention, because the room quieted all of a sudden.
“What’s going on?” Shane asked, his arm around Sara’s shoulders. With the help of the whole team, Shane had rescued Sara and her sister Jenna from the clutches of the Church Gang a little over a week earlier, and now Shane and Sara were inseparable.