The Road to Justice/Sins of the Son combo pack - A John Fowler Novel (John Fowler (Books 1 & 2)) (25 page)

Jessica
was standing in the FBI building in New York,
look
ing
at her phone.  John
’
s call had ended five minutes ago.  She had been leaning against a desk talking to John.  She stood up and walked out the door to the elevator.  She rode the elevator upstairs.  She got out of the elevator and paused.  What she was about to do might very well end her FBI career, but she had to though.  She had to follow the proper protocols and tell what was going on.  Whatever happened; she would deal with the consequences.  She summoned all her courage and walked down the hall and into Trip
’
s office. 

“
Trip, I may be about to enter into a relationship with anoth
er FBI officer.  W
ell, he
’
s not technically a FBI officer
now
, but after this case is over, I think he will be.
”
 
Jessica was mad at herself.  She was rambling.  No one made her ramble, especially not that John Fowler.  She smiled inside.  Yes he did.  She got herself together and continued. 
“
I have no idea what all it is going to entail, but I need to report this.
”
 
Jessica stood there waiting for Trip
’
s response.  Trip continued to work on paperwork, oblivious to Jessica
’
s presence.  Trip looked up and seemed startled to see her.

“
Jessica,
”
Trip said. 
“
I
’
m so glad you
’
re here.  I
’
ve been meaning to talk to you about something.  I was reading some things out of Washington the other day.  Do you know that if no one reports a relationship between two people I cannot get in trouble if they were to continue to work together?  So
,
say someone was to date someone.  Let
’
s say you and John, if he were a FBI agent
,
were to date.  Let
’
s just say
,
for
fun
,
you two date and I never, ever, EVER was told about it
.  D
o you know there wou
ld be nothing I could really do?
  I mean
,
if I found out on the day of the wedding
,
I guess I could come to the ceremony.  At that point
,
I really don
’
t see how I
could
tear apart their
team.  In other words, AGENT, if you were to enter into a relationship with someone
,
I don
’
t want to hear about it, especially since I never heard you might be in a relationship.  ARE WE CLEAR?
”
 
Jessica nodded.  She started to leave.

“
Jessica,
”
Trip said quietly.  She turned around to see a smile on his face.  
“
Good luck.
”
 
Jessica smiled and left Trip
’
s office.  Trip smiled thinking it was good that things were looking up around the office.  A shadow darkened his door and there was a knock.  Bruce stood there.  Trip felt his smile leave. 

“
Bruce.
”

“
Trip
.
  E
verything alright?
”
a
sked Bruce.

“
Everything is fine
,
Bruce,
”
said Trip.

Bruce smiled. 
“
That
’
s good to hear.  Thought I heard shouting
.  G
uess I was wrong.  Have a good day
,
Trip.
”
 
Bruce waved and headed down the hall without waiting to see Trip
’
s reaction.  Bruce walked down the hall.  So John had a new girl.  Bruce had hoped that John would drink himself into a stupor and walk out into traffic after Sam had died. 

“
You can
’
t win them all,
”
Bruce thought to himself.  He patted his breast pocket as if feeling for something.  He found what he was looking for and smiled. 
“
I
’
m going to
have to
keep an eye on this situation
.
”

John stood outside of Jessica
’
s apartment building.  If it wasn
’
t as co
l
d
as it was outside, he would have been sweating.  John took a deep breath and walked inside.  He went to the elevator and took it to her floor.  As he got to her door, he heard music from inside.  He recognized the song as something that Sam had listened to.  John knocked on the door and there was no answer.  He waited a minute and tried the knob.  As he opened the door, what he saw surprised him.

On the screen was that blond singer that John could never remember, dancing with some snake.  The bass of the song was shaking John.  What stunned him was Jessica dancing to the music.  She was amazing.  John wasn
’
t normally a fan of dance, but Jessica was very good.  John felt his heart pounding in his chest.  Jessica saw him during one of her moves.  She smiled and kept dancing.  John sat down in a chair that was near the door, mesmerized by how good she was. 

When the song ended
,
Jessica grabbed a towel and was drying
herself off.  She was sweating,
profusely.  John thought he was going to begin sweating as well.  She wasn
’
t dressed provocatively; she was wearing a pair of spandex shorts and a tank top.  Her hair was put up in a bun on her head.

“
I didn
’
t know that about you,
”
said John. 
“
I didn
’
t know you could dance;
that
’
s real dancing!
”

“
I have been dancing since I was five
,
John,
”
Jessica replied. 
“
I love it.  It keeps me in shape.  I have learned hip-hop, ballet, jazz, and tap,
”
Jessica smiled. 

“
Jess,
”
John said. 
“
That was absolutely amazing.  I mean all I know is that little four step thing I learned at the school dance in middle school.
”
 
Jessica laughed. 

“
I
’
m sorry
,
John
. 
I lost track of time,
”
she said. 
“
Would it be ok if I took a shower before we talked?
”

“
Sure
,
Jess, take your time,
”
John responded.

“
I can trust you not to try and barge in, right?
”
 
Jessica asked.  John looked hurt and did a
“
who me?
”
motion.  Jessica wagged a finger at him warningly. 

“
Mind if I watch TV?
”
John called after her.

“
Knock yourself out!
”
 
She called back.  John flipped on the TV and found a college basketball game. John started to engross himself into the game, trying to forget how nervous he was to talk to Jessica.

“
John,
”
Jessica called from her bedroom. 
“
Are we planning on going out?
”

“
Huh
?
”
said John, engrossed in the game.  Jessi
ca walked out of her bedroom,
picked up the remote and turned off the TV.  John was snapped back to reality and why he was here.  He turned toward Jessica.  She was dressed in a tee shirt and a pair of sweatpants.  It was probably the most dressed down John had ever seen her.  He thought she looked as beautiful as ever. 
“
Oh crap,
”
he realized
,
“
I
’
m staring.
”
 
Jessica wasn
’
t going to let this one go easily.

“
John,
”
she said as sweetly as she could.  She sat down beside him and took his hands. 
“
John
.  S
weetie, we need to set some ground rules.  I have no problem if you drop your jaw when I
’
m dressed up and looking my best, but it really hurts your credibility when you drool over me in a tee shirt and some sweats.
”
 
Jessica was really enjoying this.
John looked into Jessica
’
s eyes.

“
I
’
m sorry
,
Jessica.  You
’
re just beautiful no matter what you
’
re wearing.
”
 
Jessica dropped his hands.  Jessica
’
s mind started racing. 

“
Jessica,
”
she thought to herself. 
“
This guy means what he says.
”
 
She was looking directly into John
’
s eyes.  Her heart was about to pound through her chest. 
“
Calm down, calm down,
”
she thought.

“
John,
”
said Jessica. 
“
I don
’
t know what to say.  I
’
ve had guys tell me that before, but they were only after one thing.  You seem to be honest and mean it.  I
’
m flattered.  Thank you.
”

“
Jessica, you realize if you and I are to try this thing, it
’
s going to be harder than most relationships you
’
ve ever been in.  I mean, we could work together.
”

“
Oh really
?
”
Jessica said slyly. 

John ignored the comment and continued. 
“
You have to think of the pressure it will cause me.  I mean
,
can I handle an adult relationship?  I didn
’
t fix the problems at the end of my last relationship.
”
 
Jessica raised her eyebrows as John rambled.  John didn
’
t seem to notice and rambled on. 
“
I mean we have to seriously ask, will I escape this relationship with alcohol if things start to go bad?
”
 
Jessica leaned across the couch and kissed him.  John
’
s mind exploded.  It had been a long time . . . well, since Sam . . . that he had been kissed like that.  In fact, he was pretty sure Sam had never kissed him like that.

Jessica tenderly pulled away from John.  Jessica had to admit that was one of the best kisses she had ever had in her life.  Heck, it may be THE best kiss she ever had in her life.  John couldn
’
t believe what
just happened.  He had to remind himself to breathe.

“
Thank you,
”
he muttered.  Jessica burst into laughter.  John couldn
’
t help himself and joined in.  They laughed for several minutes; the tension in the room easing. 

“
I don
’
t ever think anyone has ever thanked me for kissing them before,
”
Jessica stated between laughs.

“
I don
’
t think anyone ever kissed me well enough to thank before,
”
said John.

“
Even Sam?
”
 
Jessica asked.  She kicked herself after asking that.  It was wrong of her on several levels for asking that.