Page 115 of Last Chance
“What about our bodyguard?” Max asked.
“Chris went back into the hospital to monitor things from a different waiting room. If something happens, we’ll know within minutes.”
“Anything else we need to know?” Brody asked.
“Zane sent a message a few minutes ago. There’s a lot of chatter from the Vatos Locos organization about a VIP arriving in Hartman.”
Logan grunted. “That’s the last thing we need. Any idea who this person is?”
“Zane is still chasing down leads.”
“He needs to chase them faster,” Max muttered. “I want a name yesterday so we know who we’re looking for.”
“Same,” Sawyer said. “At the moment, everyone is a suspect.”
“What else is new?” Brody quartered the parking lot. “All right. Logan, follow Sawyer and Janie to the house. Make some calls. See if one of your contacts has more information. Zane and Simone have their hands full. The Phantom team is in a hot zone with Shadow unit, so the tech wizards are tied up for the next two hours at least.”
“I need to take care of Goose,” Jesse murmured.
“Go,” Sawyer said. “Thanks for coming to the hospital.”
Janie hugged the medic. “I appreciate you interpreting medical jargon for me. I’m sorry Maria didn’t see the value of having you near.”
He patted her back. “I’m glad I could help.” Jesse glanced at Brody and Sawyer. “Keep me updated.”
Forty minutes later, two Fortress SUVs parked behind the safe house. Sawyer motioned for Janie to stay inside, then exited the vehicle and met Logan.
“I’ll check the perimeter.” His friend moved into the shadows.
Sawyer locked his SUV and headed to the safe house. Within minutes, he returned to the SUV, where Janie and Logan waited. “We’re clear.” He escorted Janie inside the house.
“I’ll be in the security room,” Logan said and left the kitchen.
After resetting the alarm, Sawyer went to the coffeemaker to prepare another pot of coffee. “Are you hungry, Janie?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not really, but I know I should eat. Something simple sounds good.” Janie opened the refrigerator to peruse the contents. “We have the ingredients for a pasta salad topped by grilled chicken. How does that sound?”
“Like heaven.” Sawyer started the brew cycle. “How can I help?”
“You up for sous chef duties?”
“Oh, yeah.” He walked toward the refrigerator. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll go to work.”
Janie told him the list of vegetables she wanted chopped, then searched for a large cooker, filled it with water, and scoured the pantry until she found pasta. “Yes!” She did a fist pump and opened two boxes of dried noodles.
Once she poured noodles into the boiling water, Janie returned to the refrigerator, grabbed a block of cheese, and cut the cheese into bite-size chunks.
Sawyer finished chopping vegetables at the same time Janie cut the last of the cheese. “Now what?”
“As soon as the pasta is ready, we’ll drain it, add the dressing I’m making, and mix in the rest of the ingredients.”
Huh. This recipe didn’t look too complicated. Perhaps he could learn to make something simple like this. “Show me how to make the dressing.”
The next few minutes passed in a blur as he created the dressing following Janie’s directions and grilled chicken breasts to slice for the pasta salad.
Soon, they plated the food, and Sawyer carried a plate plus a mug of coffee to Logan in the security room. Since his teammate was engaged in a phone conversation, Sawyer set the plate and mug on the computer desk and left the room. If Logan had anything to report, he’d let them know.
He returned to the kitchen and joined Janie at the breakfast bar. His first bite elicited a deep groan. “Janie, this is fabulous.”