The three women shared a look before Marie shrugged. “They found one. That’s how my friend heard about the forced labor.”
“Yeah, but the girl who was taken could be lying to cover up something she doesn’t want us to know,” Shawna pointed out.
Jenna glanced at the blonde. “Like what?”
“My guess? Sex trafficking.”
Sweet Jesus.“Seriously, why haven’t we heard about this before now?”
“Would you still be here if you knew ahead of time?” Amy directed the question to Jenna.
Jenna didn’t hesitate. “Hell, no.”
An agency that not only lost two women—one possibly permanently—but then swept it under the rug? No, thank you.
“Exactly. Taylore and the others want to keep the incidents hush-hush so it doesn’t hurt their business. But you didn’t hear any of this from me.” Shawna gave Jenna and the others a pointed look.
“Me, neither.” Marie joined in. “I need this job.”
“Same.” Amy nodded. “As quiet as they’ve been about the whole thing, Taylore would probably ship our asses back home if she caught wind that we were even talking about it.”
Stunned by the revelation, Jenna returned her focus back to the woman at the front of the room. Taylore looked nice enough but looks could be deceiving. Actions, too, for that matter.
Her thoughts turned to Adrian, and how his actions while serving as an undercover government agent greatly contrasted the man she knew existed deep inside. The world may not have seen it, but Jenna did.
He was a good man who’d done some not-so-good things. However, the not-so-good had been government sanctioned, and he’d single-handedly rid the world of many horrible, evil human beings.
As she always did when thinking of the frustratingly sexy man, Jenna felt conflicted.
On the one hand, Adrian was a killer. Something she—a nurse who’d taken an oath to do everything in her power to keep people alive—struggled with.
On the other hand, by taking the lives he had, Adrian hadsavedcountless others. Innocent men, women, and children. He’d nearly died saving her best friend’s life, so how could she not see the good in him?
I wonder if he sees it.
But that still didn’t excuse the way things went down between them. Leaving before she woke up? That wasn’t cool. Not cool at all.
Clapping erupted around her as Taylore had finished her spiel. Jenna looked around, realizing she’d completely zoned out the rest of whatever the woman had said.
Damn it, Jenna. The man got what he wanted and moved on. Knock him off that freaking pedestal you put him on and do the same!
The annoying voice was right. She’d already spent way too long pining away for a man who didn’t want her. And aside from his profession—one straight out of an action-adventure movie—Adrian Walker was no different than any of the other jerks she’d dated.
Keep telling yourself that.
Ready to smack her subconscious into next week, Jenna spared a quick glance to her right. Marie stared back at her with a knowing gaze.
“Don’t worry.” Marie smirked. “A friend of mine is part of the staff we’re replacing. I’ll fill you in on all the B.S. rules and policies over dinner.”
Jenna frowned. “Dinner?”
The Kansas City native chuckled. “Did you hearanythingTaylore said?”
“Not really,” Jenna admitted.
Shaking her head, Marie chuckled. “We’re all having dinner in the hotel restaurant in a couple of hours. I’ll come down early and make sure the four of us get a table together.”
Feeling chagrined, Jenna nodded. “Thanks.”