“Okay,” she said before she could reconsider.

His eyes widened briefly before he grinned, playing it off as if he’d always known she’d give in and take him up on his offer. Somehow, that brief startled moment made him seem less like a rival and more…sweet—a term she’d never thought she’d use in reference to John Carmondy.

Pushing away from the side of the bus shelter, she headed back toward the parking lot in front of Barney’s office. The closer they got, the more her thoughts tangled and turned. They’d reached the edge of the lot, a scraggly hedge separating them from the few vehicles, when Molly put a hand on John’s arm, silently bringing him to a halt. His forearm tightened under her light touch, and the movement, for some stupid reason, made her insides buzz like she’d swallowed a whole hive of bees.

Reminding herself firmly that this was not the time for any of that, she shoved those thoughts away and focused on the reason she’d stopped. Barney was bent over, retrieving something out of his car. John took his cue from her and went still, his gaze scanning the area as if he was searching out potential threats.

Although such careful perusal wasn’t necessary in their current situation, she still appreciated it. Molly usually had to be the responsible and cautious one, so it was nice to have someone else to watch her back for once.

She watched Barney as he found whatever he was looking for and slammed his car door. As soon as he’d disappeared back into his office, Molly moved out from behind the hedge that had been giving them cover. “Thanks for letting me avoid him,” she said, giving John a quick glance.

“No problem.” He steered her toward his SUV with a hand hovering just over her lower back—not quite making contact, but near enough that she felt the heat of his palm. “I get it. If I can manage to not talk to Barney, I do it in a second.”

Molly huffed out a laugh. “Me too—obviously. Plus, we just had a not-so-friendly conversation, so I didn’t want to have to start that up again.”

He studied her out of the corner of his eye in a way that shouldn’t have been cute, since he was a huge, built, tough-as-nails bounty hunter, but it was cute—adorable, even. “Can I ask what you talked about?”

“You can ask, but I probably won’t tell you.” He seemed to accept that with just a small dip of his chin as he unlocked the doors and opened the front passenger side for her, so she relented. “You already know Barney wrote Jane’s bond.”

He didn’t respond, just waited for her to continue, and she wondered how much of what she was about to tell him he already knew. John’s network of informants put Molly and her sisters’ connections to shame. He always seemed to have information before anyone else. It was a bit infuriating, and Molly secretly wished she had access to his sources. Today, though, there was something freeing about knowing that John already had all of the information she had—and probably more. She didn’t have to hide anything about the case from him, since that would’ve been futile. It was a sign of how desperate she was to talk to someone about what was happening, someone who wasn’t one of her sisters, since she had to protect them. John, though, could take care of himself.