Page 13 of Exhale (Out for Justice #8)

J ordan was still snickering when he found an old rock and roll station on the radio.

Danner’s mom came out of the house around an hour later to lift the groceries delivered off the front porch and disappeared back inside.

“Let’s see if the kids are there,” Jordan said and slipped out of the vehicle.

“Jordan!” Owen hissed and quickly followed.

Jordan jogged across the street and walked down the sidewalk.

It was broad daylight, and Jordan was walking like they belonged there. Owen shook his head and dropped into step.

When they reached the top of old lady Danner’s porch, Jordan knocked.

She answered right away like she’d been close by. With gray hair in a fuzzy mess around her head and a house dress with washed out pale pink flowers on a white background, she looked like a mom from one of those family sitcoms.

“Can I help you?”

“Hi, we’re looking for Billy. Is he home?” Jordan said.

“He doesn’t live here.”

“Ah, okay.”

“How do you know Billy?”

“I don’t know if you remember me, but Billy and I went to grade school.”

Apparently, Jordan had done his homework, and Owen shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was fucking impressed.

“Oh?” She peered at Jordan

“Yeah, I was one grade below him, but Billy stuck up for me. I don’t know if you remember a Jimmy Cook?”

“Jimmy Cook!” She smiled wide and opened the door, gesturing them inside.

She closed the door to keep the Arizona heat out and walked into a large kitchen.

“Come sit at the table, I have some iced tea ready.”

“We can’t stay long,” Jordan said, “but I’d love some. This is my friend Sam.”

“Hello,” Owen said quietly and smiled.

“Hi, Sam,” Mrs. Danner said and made her way to the refrigerator.

“Can I use your bathroom?” Owen asked after exchanging a glance at Jordan.

“Of course, it’s down the hall, second door on the right.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

She beamed, it seemed manners went a long way with her.

When Jordan slipped into a chair at the table, Owen walked out of the kitchen. He did a thorough search of the house, but there was no sign of the kids, and as far as he could tell, there had never been any kids there.

Half an hour later, he and Owen left the Danner’s house and returned to their SUV.

“I can’t believe you know all that stuff you were talking to her about,” Owen said.

Jordan could tell that Owen was astonished, and he grinned, glad he could show off a little bit.

“Stuff that I read stays in here for a long time.” He tapped the side of his temple.

“So, like photographic memory?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I can retain a lot of information at once and recall it not long afterwards. I just needed to get my hands on records from Danner’s past.”

“You’re amazing,” Owen said.

Their comms chirped, and Ace’s deep voice came through.

“Any leads with the mother?” Ace asked.

“According to her, she hasn’t seen him in almost two years. She didn’t like his lifestyle and he didn’t like her meddling, so she asked him to leave.”

“Go, Mama,” Dalton chimed in.

“It’s a wash here, the druggie we were tailing is camped inside of a crack house,” Ace said, the frustration clear in his voice.

“What now?” Dalton asked.

“We can sit on this all night,” Ace said.

“I’m good with that,” Dalton replied. Dalton sounded content even though he was on an all-night stakeout. Which wasn’t all that surprising because his husband, Adam, was there with him. You never saw one without the other.

“Owen?” Ace said.

“Copy,” Owen said.

“Take Jordan and get some rest. You both are on shift starting tomorrow morning.”

The comms went quiet, and Jordan turned in his seat.

“So, what now?” Owen said.

“Since we know that Danner is not coming here, I want to take you somewhere.”

They were so close to the Richardson’s home, and he really wanted Owen to meet Zoey.

Owen gave him a surprise look. “Where?”

“A friend’s house.”

Jordan called Zoey, and she answered on the first ring.

“You home?” he asked, telling her he wanted to bring Owen over.

“Hell yes,” she shouted so loudly that Owen heard and shook his head with a smirk.

“We’ll be there in an hour,” Jordan snickered and hung up.

The Richardsons were once again waiting on the front porch.

They welcomed Owen and him into their home as if they were family.

Zoey went over how they had all met, and Owen kept darting glances his way.

It wasn’t until dinner was over and Zoey was off to the movies with her friends that Jordan was able to have a quiet word with Owen.

He sat outside on the back deck alongside Owen when the man finally spoke.

“You did a good thing.”

“About?” Jordan frowned in confusion.

“Rescuing Zoey.”

“Thanks,” he said with a slight smile. “I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off that day.”

“Don’t ever ignore that feeling,” Owen said. “It’s your sixth sense. Mine has saved me more times than I can count.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm, when I was stationed overseas and also on the job with Pegasus.”

“I know you have extensive knowledge and expertise in explosives,” Jordan said. He was dying to know about that part of Owen’s life, but as of yet, they hadn’t talked about it.

“I do. I was trained as a bomb and explosives expert in the Army.”

Jordan had known that part, but he was still curious about one thing.

“Why didn’t you go into that field after you served?”

Owen shook his head. “Law enforcement isn’t my thing.”

“Mine either.” Jordan gave a half smile.

A silence settled between them. It was comfortable and Jordan was loathed to break it, but he wanted to know something else.

“So…what are you going to do after this job with Danner is over?”

“Head back to California,” Owen said.

Jordan’s phone buzzed, preventing any further questions, and he checked it before tucking it away.

“Noah again?” Owen asked.

“Yeah, he wants me to access the surrogate agency he and Mac are going through.”

“Don’t they already have Robert Patrick Mackenzie junior?”

Jordan snickered. “Yeah, and he’s a handful, but they want to have another boy and a girl.”

“Have you cracked access to the agency yet?” Owen asked.

“I haven’t tried.”

“Why?”

“You know how you buy something really good at the store and you’re reluctant to open it and eat it because it will be over?”

“Huh?” Owen looked at him like he was nuts.

“Hacking into something new is like a cookie to me. I want to savor it.”

Owen chuckled, the sound warm and rich, making Jordan smile.

“Seriously?” Owen said.

“No.” Now it was Jordan’s turn to laugh. “But I had you thinking, didn’t I?”

“You suck,” Owen said with a laugh, using Jordan’s term because it was fitting.

Jordan was full of surprises.

Like this place filled with a small family that loved Jordan dearly. Owen could tell, it was noticeable in the way they doted on Jordan.

He wanted that for his kids.

Badly.

His throat tightened up.

“Hey…” Jordan reached over and linked their fingers together.

Owen tugged gently on Jordan’s hand, pulling the man increment by increment closer.

Jordan’s brilliant blue eyes were locked on his lips.

His breath stuttered and skipped out of his throat as his own lips parted. Closer, he tugged until Jordan was half out of his chair.

Owen’s head dipped down, his whole mind and body consumed with kissing Jordan.

“Hey, you two, want some coffee?”

Marsha’s voice floated from the kitchen and hit him like a dash of cold water.

Jordan jerked back into his chair, and Owen released the techie’s hand before he sat upright in his seat.

“We should probably hit the road soon,” Owen said, clearing his throat.

“She’s already made us up a bed in the basement spare room,” Jordan said.

Owen’s blood pumped, and he stood so that he could call in through the open kitchen window.

“I’ll take a cup,” he told Marsha.

“Planning on staying up late?” Jordan whispered, and Owen heard the laughter in his voice.

“Without a doubt,” he murmured.