Faces of Evil [2] Impulse by Debra Webb Page B

blinked, looked taken aback.
    Okay, maybe he hadn’t deserved that. As miserable as he was making her sister just now, Jess wasn’t so sure. Nashville? Seriously?
    “I think,” Burnett chimed in, “what Jess is trying to say is that it’s far better to be safe than sorry.”
    Blake sucked in a harsh breath as if he’d only just awakened from a deep coma. “All right. I’ll make the arrangements with my brother in Pensacola. We’ll go there and stay a few days, get some time on the beach.”
    Blake Junior looked up. “That’s what I’m talking ’bout!”
    Alice made a face at his loud voice and turned back to her reading.
    “Good.” Jess felt a wee bit relieved. “How quickly can you be packed and on the road?”
    Blake Junior jumped up. “Five minutes, Aunt Jess.” He grinned as he hustled out of the room. The kid – man, actually – was as tall as his dad, a little over six feet, and every bit as handsome.
    Lord, she felt old.
    “We can be on the road by noon tomorrow,” Blake said, visibly braced for battle.
    “Tomorrow?” Well, hell. The relief she’d felt faded. “Why not now?” It was summer. No school for the kids or Blake. What was the problem here?
    Blake cleared his throat and met Jess’s glare with surprising determination. “I have an interview in Nashville first thing in the morning, but I’ll be back before noon. Lil and the kids can be ready to go and we’ll head out immediately.”
    The professor had some balls after all, even if he was wrong. What idiot put his job before his family? “Every minute you delay,” Jess warned, “increases the risk to your family.” But then, how could she fault Blake when Lil hadn’t even been willing to compromise.
    “I get my braces off in the morning, Aunt Jess. I can’t miss that appointment.”
    Jess turned to Alice who was now frowning at her in that wish-you-would-go-away manner only teenagers could pull off. Great. Now Alice was mad at her. “That’s great, sweetie.”
    “Deputy Chief Harris,” Special Agent Nora Miller spoke up, “I know you’re concerned for your sister and her family, but I assure you we have things under control. I’ll be here all night. In the morning I’ll personally escort Lily and her daughter to the appointment.”
    The news of the career shift had certainly traveled swiftly. Probably by text. Jess hated text. Although she had enjoyed getting Gant’s goat with her resignation text.
    “We’ll be fine,” Miller added when Jess didn’t immediately respond.
    Jess stared at the agent. She was thirtyish. Probably four or five years’ experience. She seemed capable enough. Tall, athletic build. Brown hair coiled into a conscientious bun. Her made-for-comfort slacks and blouse were neat, conservative. Her shoes were the same; practical, well-polished leather oxfords.
    She didn’t have a clue either.
    Jess couldn’t fathom how to respond to her comment without offending the agent and upsetting Lily’s family. “Noon tomorrow,” Jess confirmed, resigned to their decision, “not a minute later?”
    “Not a minute later,” Blake promised.
    Jess shot him a skeptical look. “You’ll square that with Lil?”
    “Before the kids and I are done, she’ll believe it was her idea,” he promised.
    This was the best she could do, Jess supposed.
    “Thank you for the coffee,” Burnett announced in the ensuing silence.
    Jess gave her niece and nephew a hug and warned them to be extra careful. Under different circumstances she would have hauled her brother-in-law out back and demanded some answers. Nashville? What the hell was he thinking? Instead, she gave him an unenthusiastic version of the hug she’d given the kids and, with a pointed glance in the agent’s direction, walked out.
    Burnett followed Jess out the front door as did the agent who had, thankfully, picked up on Jess’s subtle invitation.
    Also sensing Jess had something to say to the FBI lady , Burnett jerked his head toward his officer