Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 143382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 717(@200wpm)___ 574(@250wpm)___ 478(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 717(@200wpm)___ 574(@250wpm)___ 478(@300wpm)
Briefly.
They left.
I put the strap of the night vision binoculars around my neck and Eric warned, “It’s strange at first, Jess. You gotta get used to it.”
I went to the grimy window, and I could see, even in the mostly dark and through the aforementioned grime, it had a full view of the encampment. I put the binocs to my eyes.
Yes, it was weird, but it was also easy to get used to.
And when I got used to it, I noted all was quiet on the camp front. Not a creature was stirring.
Eric had his own binocs, and he came up beside me and had a look.
Then he turned to me and said, “Have a seat, sweetheart. It doesn’t take both of us to keep an eye. The way this goes is shifts within shifts. That means, on our shift, I’ll take the first half hour. You spell me. And so on.”
“Right,” I replied, thinking this made sense.
I let my binocs drop to my chest and sat down in one of the camp chairs to sip needed coffee and hork down a Bismarck.
I kept my eyes on Eric as he stood off to the side of the window, binoculars held to his eyes, scanning.
I munched into the cream-filled, chocolate-covered dough thinking I really loved the length of his body, how he naturally held himself so straight, and the width of his shoulders.
Okay, so I could forgive him the Kind bars.
“How was surveillance room duty?” I asked.
“Over, and good I don’t have to do it again for another week.”
I heard that.
I didn’t even know what surveillance room duty was, but if what we were doing now was anything close, I wanted no part of it.
“So, Javi and Harlow shared about a half dozen moments in the ten minutes he was in the Sportage with us tonight,” I informed him.
Eric’s head turned to me and he dropped the binocs. “Moments?”
“Instant attraction,” I explained. “Though, I think he might have blown it by going all he-man, macho alpha on her and questioning her ability to be an Angel.”
I couldn’t be sure. It was dark and we had zero light up in our little station (for obvious reasons), but I still thought I caught his smile.
“Not the way to go with you women,” he remarked.
“Totally,” I agreed.
“Somehow, I feel this is a good thing, at the same time I’m not so sure,” he stated.
“My thoughts exactly,” I agreed.
I munched more donut, chased it with coffee, and through this, he’d turned his attention back to the camp, before I asked, “Are you okay? You’re not running on much sleep.”
“I’m fine, honey,” he murmured to the window.
I finished my donut and decided to let him concentrate, thankful I’d been smart enough to wear warm clothes, because it was damned chilly outside.
While I did this, my body decided to go back to sleep.
I knew this last part when I jerked awake, the coffee still in my hand sloshing, because I felt my phone vibrate against my ass.
I looked to Eric as I slid my coffee cup in the holder in the camp chair’s arm and leaned forward to grab my phone.
He was looking at me, and I hoped I was only asleep for a couple of seconds (though, I could tell my coffee was no longer warm), thus, I hoped he didn’t notice I fell asleep approximately five minutes into my first stakeout.
“You in dark mode?” he asked.
He meant my phone.
I nodded.
I mean, I was me. I was dark mode through and through.
I pulled my cell out, quickly processed the fact that Eric had to notice I fell asleep, considering my screen told me it was after 5:00 and I’d way missed my turn keeping my eye on the camp (which meant, along with processing that, I had to process how sweet it was he let me sleep), and then I focused on the number.
It was one I couldn’t identify.
Not even marketers called at this time, and with all the shit going down, I couldn’t ignore the call.
So I took it.
“Hello?”
“Jess?”
It was Jeff.
My heart skipped a beat.
“Jeff, are you okay?” I asked.
“No,” he answered. “I’m at the police station. Javi and me have been arrested.”
My eyes zipped to Eric.
Fuck!
No one ever thought racing to a police station because their brother was arrested was fun and games.
But let me confirm. It was not.
Matters were worsened because Eric had to make a call to someone to relieve us, which meant we had to wait to leave our stakeout until they arrived.
And once Liam showed, we then had to race down the stairs and jog to the Denali, and I’ll take this moment to remind you I didn’t do official exercise. So jogging what amounted to probably seven blocks (because, again, we had to avoid lights and not be seen on a direct trajectory of heading back to the SUV, or at all) made me reconsider my philosophy that living a generally active life kept me in shape.