Chapter 27

A crash smashed through Jazz's dream, jolting her upright in bed.

Flash sprang to his feet, snarling, and raced out of Nev's guest room.

Jazz snatched her Sig from its holster on her nightstand. Rushed after him.

A large blur nearly crashed into her in the hallway.

Alvarez. The K-9's barks stung her ears as he sprinted past.

Pop-pop-pop.

Shots. Near the back door. An AR-15?

Nev dashed up behind Jazz in her pajamas and satin cap.

Jazz stopped, gave her a look. All they needed to communicate the plan. Jazz would lead high, Nev would follow low. They hurried forward, weapons ready.

Snarls and barking. The intensity meant Flash and Al were charging to attack.

More pops cracked through the house.

If whoever it was hurt Flash…

Jazz pressed forward around the corner to the kitchen, trying not to let her rising emotion force her to rush into an ambush.

Yells and screams brought a smile to her face. The boys had caught their targets.

Jazz and Nev cleared the kitchen quickly and hurried to the short hallway that led to the mudroom by the back door.

She hit the mudroom fast, confident of what she'd find.

Flash had a man's arm in his jaws, pinning the squealing thug to the floor near a fallen AR-15.

Al controlled another guy, latched onto the man's hand and pulling hard.

Jazz glanced at Nev who stood a few feet from Jazz's side and aimed her gun at the intruder closest to her.

Nev nodded.

"Flash, Alvarez—out." Jazz kept her Sig aimed at Flash's prey as the K-9s released their holds and returned to their partners. "Good job, boys. We'll take it from here."

"Got zip ties on you?"

Jazz didn't take her eyes from the men to answer Nev. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't sleep with them."

Nev snorted. "Too bad. I'll cover while you get some."

"Roger."

With a gun in hand, two K-9s, and six feet between her and them, Nev's PTSD shouldn't be triggered if Jazz left her alone. Especially now that Nev was doing so much better coping.

Commanding Flash to stand guard, Jazz dashed to her room, grabbed zip ties from her backpack, and returned in seconds. She had the men's wrists tied behind their backs shortly after.

"What do you think?" Jazz gestured to the gaping dark opening that revealed the night outside. The crash that had woken them had apparently been the thugs kicking in the door, which now lay on the floor. "It's seamless indoor/outdoor access."

A cool breeze drifted in, along with the sound of crickets.

"Yeah, so chic." Nev rolled her eyes. "Cover them while I call everyone." Nev lowered her Sig and disappeared, reemerging soon with her cell phone.

She wasn't kidding about everyone.

Jazz moved to sit on the short bench along one wall while Nev phoned Phoenix, the police, and then Branson. At least all the calls were short.

And so was the wait for the first arrival. Which both Nev and Jazz predicted would be Phoenix.

Sure enough, the boss beat the police. One of the greatest mysteries about Phoenix was how she managed to never get a speeding ticket. Then again, Sof seemed to avoid them, too, even though she raced through the streets like a stock car driver. Some people had all the luck.

Phoenix walked up close to each thug where they sat on the floor, wrists tied behind their backs.

They looked none too comfortable, thanks to their bite wounds.

She crouched in front of one, then the other, staring into their faces until they looked away. She was so creepy, she even freaked criminals out. Not sure that said anything good about Phoenix Gray.

Sirens seemed to sound the end of Phoenix's silent interrogation of the intruders.

Nev went to open the front door and came back with a couple uniformed police officers and Sof, who must've arrived at the same time. She'd brought Raksa with her, and the German shepherd gave the bound thugs a warning growl as soon as he looked at them. Good judge of character.

Sof glanced at the kicked-in door, then smirked at the bad guys. "Little overconfident, don't you think? Next time, try not announcing your arrival."

"And pick an easier target." Nev added the critique as she swung her gaze to Jazz and winked.

Jazz smiled. So awesome to see Nev's spunk and courage back in full force, even after facing her worst nightmare. But she'd survived. And nearly a year later, she was thriving like she hadn't for years. No denying the PK-9 team and Branson had been good for her.

"Ma'am?" A tall policeman stopped by Jazz. "I'll need to get your name and your take on what happened here."

"Sure."

As Jazz described the night's events, Nev did the same with a different officer on the other side of the small room.

The rest of the PK-9 team members filed in as Jazz and Nev finished their accounts.

A couple EMTs also showed up and managed to work their way through the crowd to reach the injured men.

"Let's go to the living room." Nev pointed back up the short hallway as she glanced at the PK-9 team. Though not all of them were there. Phoenix had disappeared again. "I'll put on coffee."

"No, I'll do that." Cora touched Nev's shoulder as she gave her that maternal, concerned gaze that was pure Cora. "You and Jazz sit down and rest." She cast the look at Jazz, too. "We'll take care of everything."

Nev smiled. "Thanks." She caught up with Jazz and looped their arms together. "Guess we get to take it easy now."

"I won't fight it if you don't." Jazz grinned.

"I never refuse the royal treatment."

"Uh-huh. You remember you still have this on?" Jazz touched the edge of Nev's satin cap.

"And Branson's coming." Nev's eyes widened as a note of alarm infused her voice. "Though he wouldn't care, you know."

"Oh, I know." Jazz smiled. It would only be a few seconds before—

"I'm just gonna pop in the bathroom."

"Of course." Jazz laughed.

Nev pushed off of her with a grin, leaving Jazz to enter the living room alone.

But Bris was the only one there.

"Where is everyone?"

Bris tucked her hands into the pockets of her navy blue PK-9 windbreaker. "Sof went outside to find Phoenix. Something about checking the premises for evidence."

"Nevaeh?" The deep voice of Branson Aaberg preceded his giant body through the front door. He glanced wildly at Bris and Jazz. "Where is she?"

Jazz held up her hands in a calming gesture. She hoped. The man looked like he was ready to attack someone. "She's fine. She'll be out in a sec."

"Branson?" Nev burst from the hallway like a ball out of a cannon, her arms outstretched.

Branson caught her in his muscled arms and smushed her against his chest. "Thank God you're okay." He buried his face in her mass of curls and closed his eyes.

It was kind of over the top, these head-over-heels lovers. But a lump formed in Jazz's throat anyway. And a hint of envy curdled in her stomach. She'd probably never have a man in her life who cared about her that much.

Unless…Would Hawthorne act like that if he knew Jazz had been in danger? There was no denying the electrifying chemistry between them in the parking lot tonight. Or last night, since it was now technically morning at nearly three a.m.

He'd had a hard time walking away from her. At least for a moment. She'd been pretty sure he had felt as drawn to her as she had to him.

"You two love birds going to let each other go long enough to catch your breath?" Bris brought Jazz's attention back to the present and the brunette's amused smile at the lovey-dovey couple. "Or at least to talk about what happened?"

Nev leaned back with a smile that didn't hold a trace of shyness or embarrassment. "Where's Phoenix? I figured she'd want to do a debrief or something."

"Outside with Sof." Jazz shrugged. Just like Phoenix to disappear without explanation to anyone.

"We're back." Sof flashed a grin as she entered ahead of Phoenix through the front door, their K-9's with them.

"Did you find anything?" Cora appeared from the hallway, carrying a tray of chocolate chip cookies—the prepackaged variety Nev kept on hand that Cora must've dug out of the cupboards.

"Black SUV parked a block away behind some trash bins." Sof stalked to the tray and grabbed one of the miniature cookies. "Stolen plates."

How did they run the plates so quickly? Without the police even being out there with them? Jazz itched to ask. But she'd just look dumb or like she was challenging Phoenix. The boss had probably phoned one of her mysterious police sources. Or maybe Agent Nguyen, her buddy at the FBI.

"We'll have the police search the vehicle interior and see if there's anything helpful." Phoenix stood near the closed front door with her feet in a wide stance, Dag sitting beside her leg.

Must be nice to be able to tell the police what to do. Though Jazz still wondered how Phoenix seemed to have that kind of power over…well, everyone.

"I'd like to know who these characters are, and why they broke into Nevaeh's house." Branson guided Nev to the sofa with a hand on her back. "Do you know what they were after?" He looked toward Phoenix.

"Jazz has a hit out on her." Nev lifted her adoring gaze to Branson as he sat beside her, filling nearly all the rest of the sofa with his large frame.

"And you didn't tell me that?" Surprise, but no irritation, shaped his voice.

Nev lifted one shoulder under the red terry robe she must've thrown on when she went to the bathroom. "It was Jazz's business." She glanced at Jazz.

Glad to know Nev didn't tell Branson absolutely everything. Jazz hadn't been sure. Now that they were about to get married, she knew Nev would want to share everything with him, and she'd wondered if that would include the private conversations Jazz and Nev had kept secret since they were seven. She should've known Nev wouldn't go that far.

"Well, now it's our business, too." Branson put an arm around Nev's shoulders. "I'm going to stay on the sofa here until I know you're out of danger."

Nev opened her mouth to protest, but Jazz beat her to it.

"I'll just leave."

Everyone's attention swung toward Jazz.

"Seriously. I'm obviously going to go back to my apartment. Or a hotel or something. I'm not going to keep bringing hitmen to Nev's door."

"You're welcome to stay with me at my house, Jazz." Cora's offer sent a jolt of surprise through her. Did Cora really want Jazz to stay with her? The woman was one of the sweetest people Jazz had ever met. She probably took in every stray, needy person she came across. But Jazz wasn't that needy.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. I have Flash."

"Oh, no, you don't." Nev pushed off the sofa to stand, glaring at Jazz. "You are not going off somewhere to die alone." She planted fisted hands on her hips. "We can handle this together. We just did."

Jazz's mouth quirked as amusement interfered with her desire to be firm. "I hadn't really planned on dying, but…"

Nev relaxed her arms with a chuckle. "Good. Then you'll stay?" She glanced down at Branson, then returned her gaze to Jazz. "We'll need a chaperone anyway if this big bodyguard insists on sleeping on the sofa."

"Oh, yes. We can't have you sullying your Christian good girl reputation." Jazz rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Glad that's settled." Bris perched on the arm of the love seat that faced the happy couple. "But if we want it to be temporary and not have another night like tonight, we need to figure out who's behind this."

Cora nodded, standing near the coffee table as she transferred her gaze to Jazz. "I've been looking into the family ties, and your father's background appears clean. Lawrence Lamont had an impeccable service record, as I'm sure you know. He seems to have been well-liked and highly respected by his fellow servicemen that I've spoken with, as well. No one knows of any enemies he could have had."

Impressive that Cora even talked to friends of Jazz's dad. She'd known Cora was thorough but not that thorough.

"So I'm afraid I haven't found anything useful yet. There is one possible anomaly that I needed to request more information on, and I'm waiting for that to come through."

"An anomaly?" Did Cora mean about Jazz's dad or something else?

"More of a curiosity at this point. I'll keep you informed as soon as I know more." Cora's mouth pinched. Was she holding something back? She'd said she was going to look into Jazz's mom, too. But Jazz wasn't about to ask. Not in front of all these people. And probably never at all. She'd already been rejected enough.

"Nothing from Ramone either." Sof walked closer to the love seat. "I'll check with him again now that a new pair of goons were hired."

"How did they even know I was here?" Jazz voiced the question that had been bothering her since they'd captured the hitmen. "I check for tails. There haven't been any. And I'm checking for trackers, too. Every time I take my SUV anywhere." She braced herself for someone to challenge her ability to find the tracker or spot tails.

"They likely watched your apartment until they concluded you weren't staying there." Phoenix finally spoke again, still standing guard by the door. "They would have then checked the addresses of your known associates from the agency."

A sinking feeling trickled downward to Jazz's stomach. "Which would've led them to my SUV in Nev's driveway." She should've thought of that and parked her SUV in the garage instead of Nev's pickup. Now she probably looked like an idiot to Phoenix…again.

"Do you think it's safe for Jazz to stay here?" Cora turned her blue eyes on the boss.

Jazz was wondering the same thing. The bad guys knew she was there. And even though they'd been caught, they could've first passed along the info to whoever had hired them. No way was she going to put Nev in danger, no matter how much her BFF insisted Jazz stay. Nev had been through enough hard times.

"With Nevaeh, Branson, and two protection K-9s, the results of any attack will likely end the same way." Phoenix's cap turned in Jazz's direction, like she was fixing her gaze on Jazz. "It's safer here than elsewhere alone."

But Phoenix didn't offer her own home for Jazz to stay in. She'd invited Cora in and let her stay at her house overnight when Cora's life was in danger. As far as Jazz could learn, no one else on the team had ever seen Phoenix's house. Everyone knew the boss had done that because she thought it was the safest place Cora could stay.

And Cora was her favorite. No one on the team seemed to know why, but they all knew it was true. Jazz just wished she knew what it took to be Phoenix's favorite. Or simply to get on her good side.

Phoenix clearly didn't want to get involved with Jazz's protection at all. By the time their impromptu meeting disbanded, Phoenix still hadn't even set up nightly patrols outside Nev's house. Wasn't that the norm when someone on the team was threatened? She'd done it for everyone else.

But not for Jazz. No matter how hard she tried, Jazz would never be part of the agency that Nev called a family.

Didn't matter. If Jazz was right about Hawthorne's feelings for her, and if Uncle Pierce really meant all he'd said, she might have a real family of her own soon.