Page 5 of Missing Pieces (Brantley Walker: Off the Books #12)

“So how’d they get on Brantley and Reese’s radar?”

“Violet introduced them on Friday night when we were all at Moonshiners. Now they’re comin’ here to talk more.”

Hmm. JJ needed to have a conversation with her best friend because clearly, he wasn’t giving her all the details. Was that on purpose? Because Brantley didn’t want to burden her with undue stress? Or was he simply not thinking about her because she wasn’t there?

Considering the emotional roller coaster that was pregnancy, JJ decided not to jump to conclusions. At least not while Elana and Holly were looking on.

“I’ll try to catch up on the podcast tonight,” she promised. It was about the only time she could get any peace and quiet. Which she needed if she was expected to pay attention to a podcast.

“Don’t forget, I’ll be up there in a coupla hours,” Holly promised. “Want me to bring you anything?”

“I’m good.” And she was. Despite her complaints, she had pretty much anything she could possibly need next to her bedside.

Although she hated to end the call, JJ said her goodbyes before hitting the button to cut the connection. She stared at the darkened screen with a frown.

“I miss them,” she muttered.

“They miss you, too,” Baz said from his recliner in the corner of her hospital room.

She looked over. For a brief moment, she’d forgotten he was there.

If only she could forget it was a hospital room, perhaps she could relax a little.

From the inside, with the exception of the monitor that was currently keeping track of her contractions—which she was having sporadically, despite her denial—the place had very little resemblance to a medical facility.

It was spacious and bright. Not quite homey, but she’d give them credit for trying.

And yes, it was comfortable. More so than she expected when she agreed to stay there. It sure as shit beat having strangers traipsing in and out of her house. No way was she doing that. No way, no how.

So this was her concession.

“I think Brantley’s holdin’ out on me.” She cut her gaze to Baz. “Did you know Simon Jennings was comin’ to talk to them today?”

She studied him hard, waiting to see if he would lie.

“They mentioned they might have someone in mind for the open investigator position, but they didn’t tell me who or when they’d be coming by.”

“You and I both know Simon Jennings is not lookin’ for a job.”

Baz looked sincerely confused. “Do we?”

Dang it. The man was too honest for his own good. If he’d lied, then she’d have a reason to blast him with some of her pent-up frustration. Since he didn’t, she needed to come up with a different tack.

Ah.

“Maybe I could get a day pass,” she told Baz, offering up her best puppy dog eyes.

“Not gonna happen.”

“You are no fun at all.”

He chuckled, his gaze lingering on her as he set aside his iPad.

JJ had to admit Baz had been a good sport about it all.

For the past nine days, ever since they brought her in, he’d been by her side almost every minute of every day.

If she were him, she would’ve gone home every night to sleep in their bed, where it was possible to get decent rest. Here, with nurses coming in to check on her, it wasn’t conducive to sleep, no matter how comfortable he claimed that recliner was, since no amount of coaxing on her part would get that man to sleep in a king-size hospital bed. His words.

Granted, the nurses didn’t come in as often during the night as she imagined they would have if she’d been in active labor.

As it was, she was having contractions, but they weren’t severe, and they weren’t regular.

According to Dr. Tinder, keeping her in bed as much as possible was the key.

Now that her cervix was beginning to dilate, she’d noticed the good doctor was getting a little more worried about the situation.

“You should go to HQ,” JJ told Baz now. “Check on things.”

“You just talked to them. Sounds to me like they’ve got it covered.”

“They were lyin’,” she told him.

“Were they?”

She shook her head at the same time she said, “Yes.”

There was no reason for her to believe they were pretending that everything was fine.

From what she’d seen with her own two eyes, no one was bustling around the office.

Evan and Slade were the only ones actively working on a case.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Charlie and Jay were still looking into the social media scam, but despite their efforts, that one was slow going.

Everyone else seemed to be preparing for the new hires coming on board next week.

“I’ll swing by there when Holly gets here.”

That was what he always said, although he inserted a variety of names into the sentence.

For whatever reason, Baz didn’t want to leave her alone.

JJ didn’t want to admit that she was grateful for that.

While there were nurses and doctors all over this place, she still felt more comfortable when someone she knew was around.

That was likely a result of the traumatic events she’d endured this past year or so.

Which was precisely why she didn’t want strangers coming and going from her house.

That was her sanctuary. No way was she letting a stranger inside and risking them coming back to do her harm.

Been there, done that. The T-shirt didn’t fit anymore.

“I think I should shower,” she told Baz. “Before Holly gets here.”

“I can help with that.”

She flashed a coy smile. “Promise?”

“JJ…”

“What?”

“You heard what Dr. Tinder said. No sex.”

Her eyebrows slammed down. Yeah. She’d heard that part. And she’d never despised a person as much as she despised him in that moment. Darn those doctors and their medical nonsense. No sex because it might cause her to go into labor at this point.

“What does he know?” she countered without heat.

Baz laughed, just as she hoped he would.

It was the little things that kept her going, and this man’s laughter was part of it.

She hated that he felt he needed to stay at her side night and day.

At the same time, she loved that he was there because she needed him now more than ever.

JJ didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but she was scared.

Not so much about being kidnapped or any of that. Not anymore.

No, at the moment, the one fear she couldn’t seem to tackle was becoming a mom. It both terrified and thrilled her at the same time.