Kennedy sat forward in a rush. “I care about you, damn it!”
She fell a little more in love with Reyes when he raised his hand. “And me. I’ll take it as a personal affront if anything happens to you, Jodi. So we’re not going to let it.”
“Terrific,” Jodi said. “I have a plan.”
Knowing the way Jodi thought, Kennedy groaned.
Reyes, being a little more diplomatic, said, “I’m open to ideas. Let’s hear it.”
“We use me as bait.”
“No,” Kennedy said.
“How?” Reyes asked at the same time. “Because losing you can’t be part of the plan.”
“You’re a hotshot, right?” Jodi smirked. “You and that big, quiet bro of yours. And, hey, let’s not forget the badass chick he’s with.”
“Er, that would be his wife,” Reyes said, then conceded, “although she is pretty badass.”
“So I’ll trust you three to keep me safe. You can handle that, can’t you?”
“Probably.”
“No,” Kennedy said again. “Out of the question.”
Still slouched in her seat, Jodi swiveled her head around to smile at her. “You’re my best friend,” she said. “My only friend. You matter to me a lot, Kennedy. Always know that. But I can’t do this. I can’t sit around and wait to see what will happen. This place might be nice, but the waiting... It makes me feel like I’m back in that damned cellar, not knowing what will happen or when.”
“Then we’ll stay somewhere together.”
Reyes went on the alert, but she couldn’t let Jodi feel alone now. “If I’m with you—”
“I’d still feel like I was crawling out of my skin. It’s the waiting, you know?” She gave a small, sad smile. “It’s not so much my surroundings. Not anymore. It’s that I’m not in control, and I flat out can’t stand it.”
“They’re working on it,” Kennedy tried to assure her, but Jodi was already shaking her head.
“Sorry, but I can either confront things head-on, or I can take off again. Those are the options I can live with. If I can get this over with sooner, while also having some really good backup, then hey, that’s the route I’d prefer.”
Desperate, Kennedy reached for her hand. “It’s too risky.”
Jodi slipped over to lean against Kennedy’s shoulder in an uncharacteristic show of affection. “Sorry, girlfriend. Really. But it’s not your decision.”
Kennedy looked from Jodi’s trusting expression—a sight seldom seen—to Reyes’s enigmatic gaze. He was leaving it up to her, she understood that, but he wasn’t objecting. “Reyes?”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I wouldn’t want to do anything unless you’re okay with it.”
“But?”
“I get what Jodi is saying.”
Jodi grinned. “Damn, maybe I like you as a pal.”
Before she could get too excited, Reyes added, “I’d need time to plan, so we’re talking at least a few days.” In a sterner tone, his frown aimed at Jodi, he said, “In the meantime, I’d expect you to stay put.”
She crossed her heart. “No problem. I just need a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Kennedy felt as though the air had been compressed out of her lungs. She didn’t want to come off as a coward, but someone had to inject logic. “There’s no conceivable way to plan for every possibility.”
“No,” Reyes agreed, “and that’s something Jodi should consider.”
Jodi hugged Kennedy’s arm. “Don’t be a pill, okay? I need to do this. And just think, if we pull this off, I’ll be free.”
Temper flaring, Kennedy demanded, “Free to do what? To continue risking yourself? To continue chasing trouble?”
“Hiding from the world,” Reyes added. “Living half a life, all in the shadows.”
“Hey!” Sitting up in a huff, Jodi poked Reyes in the shoulder. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I’m not taking sides, doll. But I have a solution that might please you both.”
Kennedy really didn’t want to hear it, but what choice did she have? She nodded.
Jodi shrugged. “Out with it.”
“We need some assurances.” Sitting forward, one elbow braced on his knee, Reyes pinned Jodi with serious intent. “We need your cooperation. We need you to want to make a better life for yourself.”
“You want to take over? Be my boss?” She started to rise. “Screw that.”
Kennedy caught her elbow. “Can’t you at least hear him out?”
Jodi was resistant, then finally flopped back in her seat. “Sure. Whatever.”
So. Damned. Stubborn.
And so hurt. It seemed Jodi was part anger, part open wound and part fear, with attitude holding it all together.
Reyes didn’t let it bother him. “My father funds some great initiatives for helping women who’ve escaped trafficking. We can go over the nitty-gritty another time, but the gist of it is that we can set you up with legit employment that you’ll enjoy, plus help you with a place to stay, any additional education or training you might need, and financial assistance to keep it going until—”
Already Jodi was back on her feet and angrily stalking away. “I don’t take charity.”
“Wouldn’t be charity,” Reyes said, “unless you choose it to be. A smart person would see it as an opportunity for a leg up. A way to improve her life. Plus, you could always pay it forward. The task force needs good people pitching in.”
Kennedy stood. “Jodi, please. Can’t you take that chip off your shoulder long enough to accept well-meaning help?”
She stood at the big windows looking out. “Then what? You’ll be rid of me?”
Catching on to one of Jodi’s worries, Kennedy softened her tone. “Then you’ll have a regular job with days off. We can spend time together—lunches, a movie. Shopping.”
“I don’t shop.”
“You’ll shop with me,” Kennedy insisted. “The point is, I want you in my life. I want a reliable relationship that’s based on mutual respect and affection, not worry or fear.”
In the smallest voice Kennedy had ever heard, Jodi whispered, “You can’t respect me.”