“She’s former military,” Adam said.
“If that’s your way of saying she should have known better, I would agree. After talking with her, I can confirm she’s very intelligent. I also got the feeling that her concerns for Maggie overrode her good sense.”
“What I was wondering was if we can use her,” Adam continued.
“Use her?” Carson bit out, aware that his voice was little more than a growl. Clearing his throat, he took another sip of coffee, hoping to hide his irritation at the thought of involving Jeannie.
“Yeah,” Rick nodded. “She’s already got a way to get in with the family. She could make visits with Maggie—”
“Only in the middle of the day, not in the middle of the night,” Dolby joked.
Carson battled the desire to lean over and punch Dolby, simply growling instead.
“She could keep an eye on things that are going on. Things that the family might let slip,” Poole agreed.
“No fuckin’ way. She’s not a fuckin’ asset,” Carson said, working to keep his voice steady.
“Why not?” Adam asked. “She’s a nurse, so she’s got the perfect cover. As you said, she’s intelligent.”
Leaning back in his chair, Carson crossed his arms over his chest. “Since when do we Keepers need a civilian to do our work for us?”
“Boss,” Leo said, his voice soft and drawing Carson’s gaze over to him. “We all did special ops, including a lot for the CIA. Using civilians as assets was an everyday occurrence.” Carson opened his mouth, but Leo quickly put his hand up, shaking his head. “Don’t get me wrong, Carson, it’s obvious this is not something you want to do, and that’s cool. I’m not crazy about the idea either, and that comes from not being willing to put her at risk.”
The room stayed silent for a moment, and Carson sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before scrubbing his hand over his face. He nodded and uncrossed his arms. Leaning forward, he now planted his forearms on the table. “You’re right. We could use her as an asset, and that might make sense. Except she’s already been on the radar of both the California and Mexican Garzas. If they’re keeping Maggie under wraps, I think they’d be suspicious of Jeannie.”
The others nodded as Rick announced, “That’s it then. It’s not the right time, and she’s not the right person to use as an asset. Okay, boss, we get it.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to admit to the others that the reason why he felt so strongly about keeping Jeannie out of the investigation was that she reminded him of someone—and that he was interested in her. What the hell was ever going to happen with that interest? He doubted anything would progress. I’ll probably never see her again. Hell, her life is in Los Angeles and mine is here. And that thought didn’t help his mood.
Seeing the others stare at him, ready for the meeting to continue, he tapped on his tablet and said, “Okay, Dolby and Rick, what have we got from last night?”
Jumping in, Dolby began, “We were suspicious when our surveillance cameras picked up trucks that would go into one of the winery warehouse buildings on the estate. Later, another truck would leave, which, to the casual observer, would not be a big deal. But, since we have cameras and the ability to forward on a continuous feed, it appeared that while the trucks were inside, license plates and panel writing would change. This would be enough to confuse anyone watching the comings and goings from the outside.”
“Probably why the DEA hasn’t picked up on all of the maneuverings,” Jeb said.
“Were you able to get eyes on the inside of the building?” Leo asked.
Shaking his head, Rick said, “Not yet. From the outside security that we tapped into, that building has workers in it twenty-four-seven.”
Carson nodded, typing quickly into his tablet before looking up. “We may need a diversion tactic to get eyes on the inside.”
Bennett grinned. “Hell yeah, that’s right up my alley.”
The others laughed at the former Ranger sniper as he rubbed his hands together.
“If they’re using that warehouse as a drop-off place for the drugs that come through, where do those trucks originate from? We need to follow the trail back to see where it picks up the Mexican Garza wine and whatever drugs the cartel has hidden inside.”
“DEA has randomly checked their trucks coming from Mexico and found no drugs,” Poole reminded.
“Well, the drugs are coming in somehow. We need to dig deeper,” Carson instructed.
“I’ll see if I can go back through traffic camera feeds to see where the trucks come from,” Jeb said. “But I gotta admit, it’d be good to get eyes on the inside.”
“Let’s see what we can handle first, and then that may be our next step in this mission.” He projected a screen from his tablet up onto the wall, outlining a few other upcoming missions. Discussion and assignments followed, then everyone moved to their tables to begin work.
Carson discovered he wished for the private office that he’d always said he didn’t need. The desire was almost overwhelming to separate from the others so that he could deal with the multitude of thoughts flying at him. Thoughts of the danger Jeannie had been in the previous night. The idea that he did not want her going back to the Garza estate, fearful that she would want to investigate, and terrified that they would find out what she was doing.
Then, more thoughts hit him: the feel of her body close to his, her hazel eyes staring up at him, and the desire to shove his fingers into her thick hair to see if it was as silky as he imagined. He’d only had one other immediate reaction to a woman, and that was years ago and probably due to being drugged out of his mind.
But hell, he’d met plenty of beautiful women over the years. Maybe it was the way Jeannie defended her actions in wanting to look out for a friend. Maybe it was the way she easily admitted her folly. Maybe it was the way her intelligence and quick wit sparred with him. Maybe it was just the spark that seemed to fly between them, giving his imagination a workout at the fire that could ignite if they came together.
Rachel stepped into the room to see if she could place a lunch order for everyone, and he startled, unable to believe that it was already halfway through the day. Calling out his sandwich choice, he looked back down at his computer and focused on the LSI-WC missions, doing his best to bury thoughts of the enigmatic Jeannie. He managed to be successful in focusing on the business but was unsuccessful in keeping her from his mind.
“Hello?” Jeannie answered the phone tentatively, uncertain who was calling. The caller ID showed Maggie, but considering the events of the previous day, she had no idea who might be using Maggie’s phone.
“Jeannie, hello!”
“Maggie? Are you okay?”
“Yes, my dear, I’m feeling a bit better today.”
Brow scrunched as she held the phone to her ear, she was glad that Maggie had called, and yet her friend’s voice sounded unusually perky. Maggie always seemed to be in a good mood but never quite so exuberant. “I’m glad. I was worried about you.”
“It was the strangest thing. I felt a little dizzy and sick to my stomach. I tried to take a nap, thinking that would help, but it didn’t.”