“Pull yourself together,” she told herself in between the shower’s streams of water.
Lawson and his group weren’t just a what-if anymore.
They were real and they were already here.
JJ didn’t dillydally after that. She dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple tee, braided her wet hair and only applied light makeup. She had grown used to not putting perfume on, afraid that she would make herselftoomemorable while trying to stay beneath the radar, though she paused next to her jewelry box.
There were simple things in it. A few necklaces, rings and earrings that also weren’t all that memorable. JJ picked up the only thing inside with color.
It was blue, square and had an almost-worn-away flower painted on its surface. Two smaller circle beads sat on top and beneath the square. It was a hanging earring, dangling the beads on a silver wire, clumsily knotted and glued at its end.
There was only one.
JJ was feeling nostalgic. She slipped it in her right ear and smiled.
Then she was down to business.
She wasn’t the only one.
Price had his hands on his hips and was staring down at the dining room table when she found him. He wasn’t in a suit, but his profile screamed that he was definitely a man who took a few trips to the gym. She remembered landing a hit against those same muscles at Josiah’s. She wondered what he would feel like in a more ideal position.
A butterfly dislodged in her stomach.
That butterfly went back and grabbed a friend.
Price turned to her, brows drawn together and oblivious to the encroaching blush pushing up her neck.
“I’m guessing you’re not the kind of person to write down important information you want to keep secret, huh?”
JJ tucked her chin a little and went around to stand opposite him. He had a piece of paper and pen on the table. It had three names on it: Josiah Teller, Jamie Bell and Marty Goldman.
She tapped her temple.
“I don’t like leaving a trail, no,” she said. “Riker used to joke that I would make a good super villain if I ever felt so inclined. I tend to do everything as analog or off-the-books as possible. Ironic, considering I’m going after a group who employs some of the same values.”
Price waved a hand dismissively through the air between them.
“But you’re using your powers for good, not evil, so I’ll say it evens out.” He pointed to the list of names. “Me? I need to see some ink to think. And, yes, I know that rhymed.”
JJ held in a smile. Price’s expression had gone sharp again.
He wasn’t trying to be charming.
He was trying to work.
“Okay, so you found these guys through adoption records you may or may not have used your computer powers to get,” he kept on. “You said there’s two more names you found that fit the bill? The same age, adopted, and living in Seven Roads? I’m honestly surprised there’s more than one with that description, let alone five.”
JJ took the paper and pen and spun both around.
“Well, apparently, Marty Goldman didn’t count,” she reminded him. “As you were smart enough to throw out to Lawson—even though you had no idea what was going on, by the way—Marty’s adoption was a lie. One his parents came up with after realizing his mother had an affair and then ended up working it out and staying together. His record of adoption was less a record and more a collection of posts I found mentioning it.” She tapped Josiah and Jamie’s names. “These are the only two I actually found official documents for, though I couldn’t find the specifics like when they were adopted. That’s why I needed to get into their homes to see their official paperwork. Or something that might convince me they were my brother.”
She wrote down two more names.
“These last names aremostlybased on hearsay and, I had been hoping, two names I wouldn’t have to check in person yet.”
Price leaned over.
She watched his eyes widen at one of them.
