Since it was now after midnight, they found an all night diner in Westwood and sat in a booth in the back. Sam ordered coffee, but Jack was famished and ordered a full breakfast with eggs and pancakes.
Jack had many questions for her, but sensed that she had something she wanted to say. He sipped his coffee and waited for her to begin. She opened her mouth to speak just as the waitress delivered his food. She closed her mouth and took another gulp of coffee.
Sam tried not to stare at Jack while he ate. Knowing what she knew about him didn't help, how could this man go through so much and still manage to do this job. She knew about his wife, daughter, his drug problem, everything. She felt a stirring of compassion for him, but knew she had to put that aside and focus on the job. Finally, she blurted out, "This is my task force and I'm in charge."
Jack put his fork down and stared at her intently. "Then tell me why I'm here, Sam."
His stare made her uneasy and her heart began beating rapidly at the way he said her name. This was not going as she had planned. She intended to remind Jack that this was her investigation and he was here only in an informational capacity. Instead, she was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush. "Information. I need to get Jose Salazar and you are the closest I have to an inside source."
"Tell me what you have, and I'll try and fill in the gaps."
She shook her head. "Can't do that. It was made clear to me that you are strictly on a need to know basis. Right now, you don't need to know."
He leaned towards her, lowered his voice and pointed at her, "Listen, I gave up over a year of my life going undercover to get the Salazars. I'm sure you're aware that I ended up with a nasty habit and a hotel full of dead people. So don't talk to me about 'need to know.'"
Sam tried to act unmoved by his words. She could not let him push her around, although just being this close to him was affecting her brain. She chose her next words carefully, she wanted to pierce that hard exterior. "Oh, I know all about you, Jack."
He leaned back in the booth and frowned at her. He said quietly, "You don't know anything." She opened her mouth for a retort, but nothing came out. Instead she picked up her coffee and sipped it. This was not going well.
Jack studied her while she drank. Although not blatantly beautiful, she was attractive in a natural way, with her long brown hair pulled into a ponytail and her face not overly made up. She was slender with an athletic build, something he noticed while he lay on top of her earlier. Her best feature was her bright blue eyes, which contrasted with her dark hair and made them shine.
He quickly shook off the thought; he didn't want to admit to himself that he had felt an instant attraction to her in that alleyway. Jack had no desire to go down that road again. He was better off alone, as his failed relationship with Kate could attest to.
"Jack?"
He snapped back to the present, "Yeah?"
"Are you done?"
He looked down at his plate; it was empty. He nodded. "Come on, I'll drop you off at your car." She got up, threw some money on the table and walked out of the diner. He followed, trying to keep his gaze off her back.