“Okay.” She let it go, realizing he was never going to believe the worst of his fellow officers. And maybe she was off base. She admired his loyalty, even if she didn’t share it. To be fair, she would never suspect her fellow army teammates to be involved in anything crooked either. Her phone buzzed. Glancing down, she saw a text from Rex. “Looks like Rex has secured a house for us. We can head there after we arrange for a rental car.”
“Works for me.” Jarek drummed his fingers on the table. “After that, we’ll try to find out where Stewey’s and Levine’s phones were purchased.”
“Along with that, we should search for Pablo Hernandez. With Stewey and Levine out of the picture, we might be better off going straight to the top of the food chain.”
He sat back, seriously considering her idea. “It’s time to connect with Bond and Schnor, those narcotics officers you mentioned. They may have a lead on Hernandez.”
“I agree.” She liked knowing they had a plan for the next few hours. Sitting around a safe house with Jarek would only drive them both crazy. Their server returned to fill their coffee mugs. A few minutes later, she brought their meals.
“Looks great,” Jarek said with a smile. “Thanks.”
The woman managed a wan smile in return and left them to it.
Di picked up her fork, then froze when Jarek said, “I’d like to say grace.”
“Ah, sure.” She dropped her fork and bowed her head. To her surprise, Jarek prayed in a soft voice loud enough for her to hear.
“Dear Lord Jesus, we ask You to bless this food we are about to eat. Also, we ask You to keep us safe in Your care. Amen.”
Feeling her face go hot, she mumbled, “Amen.”
He smiled gently. “Don’t look so uncomfortable. We need all the help we can get, and I know God is watching over us.”
She wasn’t sure how to respond. “I’m sure God is watching over you, Jarek. But He has never been there for me.”
“Really?” He frowned, his blue eyes searching hers. “Not even during that disastrous exfil from Afghanistan?”
She lifted a shoulder, wishing she’d kept her big mouth shut. “I don’t know. I guess He was there for those who believe.”
“God is there for everyone who needs Him,” Jarek said. “And that includes you, Di. All you need to do is open your heart and your mind and choose to accept Jesus as your Savior.”
“I—uh . . .” She had no idea how to respond to that.
“Trust me, Jesus died to forgive our sins.”
Her sins? Not likely. “I’ll think about it.” She highly doubted God would forgive her for the things she’d done. Yet she wasn’t going to confess about her past to Jarek either.
Not now, not ever.
She picked up her fork and dug into her meal. “Tastes great.”
Jarek continued to look into her eyes as he took a bite of his eggs. Then he, thankfully, changed the subject. “Where is this rental house Rex obtained for us?”
She tapped her phone screen and bent over to unlock the device with her face. “Hmm. The address isn’t far from your place.” She frowned and looked at him. “Is that too close do you think? I can ask Rex to try something else.”
“No, it should be fine.” He took a bite of bacon. “Being close to my house might work in our favor. Whoever is behind this may assume we’d go farther away, like the other side of the city.”
“Okay.” She picked up her phone and tapped out a reply to her boss. “We’re all set.”
“Good.” They ate in silence for a few minutes. She tended to eat fast, something she’d picked up in the army. As the silence stretched between them, she hoped Jarek wouldn’t start in again on his faith. Obviously, he was comfortable praying, but she wasn’t convinced God even existed.
He certainly hadn’t protected her when she’d needed it the most.
“Do you have contact information for Bond and Schnor?” Jarek asked, interrupting her troubled thoughts. “Or should I call dispatch?”
“I have Bond’s number. He was my point person.” She tapped her phone screen again, then brought up Bond’s name. “I’ll share his contact with you, but I need your phone number.”
Jarek rattled it off. She typed his name and number into her contact list, finding it a bit ironic that they’d spent close to an entire day together without having each other’s phone numbers. These days that was unheard of. She quickly sent him a text with Bond’s information.