Both the man who’d attacked Jenny and the rude one who’d taken on the air of a big shot were nowhere to be seen. Neither were Connor Talbot or Mel Richardson.
Parker spotted one man he needed to speak to right away. He approached Marcus Jessop, with Jenny’s hand still in his left, and extended his right. “Thank you. We owe you, big time.”
“I never saw anyone move so fast,” Dale said as he shook Marcus’ hand, too. “Thanks for protecting our woman.”
Jenny looked up at the man. “Yes, thank you, Marcus. By the way, you’re solid.”
Marcus chuckled. “You’re welcome. How’s the burn?”
“Not too bad.” She gave him a smile.
Parker noticed that Marcus appeared slightly distracted. He was talking with them but casting looks at that new waitress—no, investigator—and then flicking quick glances at Jeremy.
Jenny seemed to notice it, too, and smiled. And then she put her full attention on the woman. Before she could say anything to Nancy/April, Peter Alvarez-Kendall was right there in front of her.
“You said you weren’t going to go all G.I. Jane in his face. That’s a direct quote, damn it!” He reached for her then pulled his hands back. He obviously wanted to hug her but didn’t want to risk hurting her.
Jenny tugged on her hand. Parker let her go, and she wrapped her arms around Peter and gave him a quick hug. She stepped back and looked up at him. “I’m okay, Peter. And I didn’t go all G.I. Jane on him. I think that was more like pure Flo the waitress—you know, that old sitcom, Flo’s Diner?” Then she sighed and stepped back from him. “I don’t know what came over me, I really don’t. I didn’t even think. It was like my arm reacted all on its own, and that was that.”
The couple Adam had been interviewing approached, told Jenny they were glad she was okay, and left.
“It’s this town,” Adam said, clearly having heard her. “The die was probably cast when Jenny and Ari became bff’s, which then brought her into contact with all the other kick-ass women of Lusty.”
The stories the guys had told him and Dale had sounded surreal at the time and maybe even a little funny. Parker didn’t think they were funny any longer.
Jenny turned to face Adam. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on? Who was that guy? Why did he grab me? How was it there were so many armed people in this roadhouse? Why were the paramedics on standby out in the parking lot? And who the hell is Marissa Jayne Featherstone?”
Instead of everyone looking at Adam, as his woman was, the men turned their attention to the newest member of the roadhouse waitstaff. She’d told Jenny that her name wasn’t Nancy, but April, and that she was a private investigator. Whatever had happened, she clearly was key.
When Jenny realized where everyone’s attention was, she turned to face her new friend, too. She put her hands on her hips. He saw the slight wince when she moved her shoulder but, more, saw the temper flashing in her eyes.
His woman had reached the end of her patience, and he, for one, would do whatever he could to see to it she got some answers.
Unabashed, the woman holding everyone’s attention stepped forward and nodded. “Yes, you do deserve answers. I’ll tackle your last question first because it’s the easiest and the hardest and at the heart of everything. Jennifer Collins, you are Marissa Jayne Featherstone.”
Chapter Nineteen
Jenny blinked, gave her head a little shake, and stared at Nancy—no, April. I couldn’t have heard that right.
She looked at her guys, and then she looked around the room. Angela appeared as surprised as she felt, but the others—Peter and Joe, Adam and Kat, hell, even Marcus, Jeremy, and Grandma Kate—they didn’t look surprised at all. There were other people she didn’t recognize present who were standing as if they were a part of whatever had just happened. Those people were looking at Grandma Kate.
“Why don’t we all settle in the back?” Angela stepped forward, taking charge. “We’ll bring out some food and some drink, and then we can all be brought up to date at the same time.”
“Thank you, Angela.” Kate’s eyes gleamed. “Everything happened so fast Jake and I didn’t even have a chance to order our lunch!”
Jenny mentally tapped her foot as everyone got comfortable, chatted amiably, and more or less bided time as if no one had anything more pressing to think about.
She looked up, surprised to see Laci and Bailey come into the roadhouse, along with Braeden Carter. The two women hadn’t been scheduled to work, but Braeden was on time.
“We’re taking careful mental notes,” Parker, on her right, said. He spoke close to her ear so no one else could hear. He had hold of her right hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“If we ever see that look on your face directed at us, we’ll know we’re in big trouble.” Dale, on her left, held her other hand. He bent and kissed the side of her head.
“Jenny, you look a bit…off. Are you in pain?” Jake’s frown indicated his concern.
“She’s not in pain. She’s pissed. I think she wants those answers now.” Parker looked around the room. “And frankly, so do we.”
Just then, Angela and Patrick came out of the kitchen bearing trays of sliders and wings. There were baskets of fries and chips with salsa. There was sweet tea and coffee and beer, all delivered with great speed.
Jenny wasn’t particularly hungry, but she accepted a cup of coffee. She wrapped her hands around the cup, hoping the heat would help ward off the chill she was feeling.
Angela had left them but was back moments
