Page 79 of Ride the Lightning

The room was duller without her in it. Jonah absently rubbed a hand over his chest as if it could somehow make the pang in his heart go away.

“Wow,” Felix said, grabbing his attention. “Jonah looks so much better today, doesn’t he, Major?”

Rocky glared at Felix. “Don’t start with me, or I’ll eat your favorite donut and spit in your coffee when you’re not looking.”

“Don’t the two of you have something better to do on a Friday morning than babysit me?” Jonah asked as he looked inside the bakery bag of donuts. “Do I spy caramel icing and bacon crumbles?”

“Nothing but the best for you, big guy,” Felix said, pushing a drink carrier toward him. “Here’s your caramel syrup, milk, and sugar with a splash of coffee. It should still be warm.”

“You guys are the best,” Jonah said before taking a massive bite of his donut. God, he loved the combination of sweet and salty things.

“You feel up to working a little?” Felix asked.

“God, yes,” Jonah replied.

“Are you answering Felix’s question, or are you having a foodgasm over the donut?” Rocky asked.

“Both,” Jonah said, sitting in the chair across from them. “What’s on your mind?”

Rocky and Felix exchanged a quick glance, and it made him nervous. He knew he wouldn’t like what they were about to tell him.

“I figured out how your attacker knew to find you at the bar and storage facility even though you didn’t tell anyone where you were going,” Rocky said, glaring to show his displeasure about the last part.

“The goon didn’t follow me on both occasions?”

“How would he have known when and where to start?” Felix asked. “You didn’t broadcast your intention to go to The Dive Bar to anyone outside our inner circle.”

“And besides, I drove for most of the day. We only split up after I got the call from Pete. So, it’s possible someone staked out your house on the off chance you might investigate the case on your own while under suspension. They could’ve followed us around all day long and continued to tail you after we split up, or—”

“They put a tracking device on my car,” Jonah said.

Rocky and Felix nodded.

“Your office is also bugged,” Felix said.

“But your house is clean and so is Avery’s car,” Rocky added.

“Fuck.” Jonah set the rest of his uneaten donut on the table. “How do you know about my office and Avery’s car?”

Rocky’s grimace was all the answer Jonah needed. He stood up fast, and his chair scraped against the floor before tipping over. The pain shooting through his brain reminded Jonah he hadn’t fully recovered yet. He placed both palms on the table to steady himself.

“Careful, big guy,” Felix said gently.

“How could you involve Avery?” Jonah asked.

Rocky kept his eyes locked on Jonah’s. “He wanted to know how he could help you. I knew there was no way in hell he’d be able to get me inside the space so I could sweep it.”

Jonah swallowed hard. “I asked you guys to keep him safe, not put him at greater risk.”

“Jonah, Avery was going to insert himself into the situation regardless of what you or anyone else said,” Felix pointed out. “He cares about you a lot. It’s safer for him to work with us than go off half-cocked by himself and stumble into trouble.”

“I let him borrow a sweeping device and showed him how to use it,” Rocky said. “I’m not sorry. You could’ve died, Jonah.”

Felix nodded. “The bullshit ends now.”

“We know who’s behind this,” Jonah groused.

“Proving it might be harder than we thought,” Rocky said. “I’ve been unable to find any dirt on Trexler. The man doesn’t have so much as a ticket for jaywalking, and I cannot connect him to Ison or Cahill.”