The Laughing Assassin [Assassin's Diary] (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

The heaven-sent break, courtesy of Kris, was perfect for her to do a bit more digging. She let her laptop do most of the work, and even with the triple sorting features in her programming, still unearthed more questions than answers. When she finished her lunch and propped up her feet for a few, she was antsy. What if he had come back?

But when she went to find out covertly for herself, he was conspicuously absent. Jaden was a bit elated that she didn’t have to feel so self-aware, as he was out of sight, and she conversely felt disappointed that she had to go without the view of him all at the same time.

The evening came quickly, only now Jaden cleaned. Kris helped unload their supplies from the truck delivery after the lunch rush, so the dusting was the only thing left to do, save the fondant. It was nearly closing time, with just fifteen minutes until she shut down. But no sooner than she looked up did she see him open the door. Jonah was absolutely devastating. She had butterflies tickling her belly, and the prickle of nerves told her that she was about to get answers for the questions that ate at her during unoccupied moments.

But even worse, she knew that she didn’t want to know whatever it was that he was about to reveal. His face was heavily lined, as if he had a major weight that pressed on him from all sides. As he sauntered to the counter, she cleaned so heavily that she could feel intense heat radiating from the spot beneath her hand from too much friction. But she couldn’t stop. She felt paralyzed, as if he mesmerized her.

When he stood before her at the counter, she still buffed away the circles paced faster and faster. His hand covered hers, the heat from his palm burning hotter than the nearly spit-shined countertop. But the flame scorched her when his fingers wrapped around her wrist, and he tugged at her arm. This time he made her give in and bring the space between them to a close.

Truth, Consequences, & Social Security

“Lock the door, Jaden.”

“Why?” She knew why, or at least she could guess.

“Because I need you to.” The word
need
was the only thing she heard. The rest was drowned out by the sound of her own heartbeat. She did just as he asked and locked the door quickly before she walked back toward him.

What did he want?
The only thing that could cross her mind was his lips and how they would taste. But she shook the thought off as if the query were toilet paper stuck to her shoe.

“You asked me to close my shop fifteen minutes early. How much is my time worth to you?” she asked teasingly, although she didn’t really know what answer she wanted in response.

“It’s worth more than you would ever guess.”

“Really? Well, I would like to know.” She quirked her brow, the left one because she wanted him to see the motion, and the right one was hidden beneath her bangs.

“Jaden Bishop, it would depend on what the fifteen minutes are for. I would pay every dollar in my account for a quarter hour inside you right now.” She was floored. If she had only minutes left on earth, being able to have him inside her would be the only thing left on her to-do list. Although, Jaden thought, she would prefer more time than a measly partial hour.

“How much is in your account right now?”

He laughed. “Depends on the account. The smallest balance is incidental spending, and only has a few thousand in it.”

“Tempting…but that isn’t why you are here. Is it?” She cocked an eyebrow at him, which spurred another chuckle.

“No, but I think you knew that the moment you saw me.”

“Pretty much. But I think it’s time you told me the truth.”

No sooner than she asked for the truth, Jonah took her to the same small table he sat at earlier in the day.

* * * *

“I’m going to give you this file. I want you to read it and then call me when you are done.” Jonah was sure that he was going to shoot himself in the foot with his choice. But she was too smart for him to try and get away with anything less than full disclosure.

“You’re going to leave it here?” Jaden appeared surprised, as if she assumed he would try and bombard her with information to trick her into giving up whatever he wanted.

He wasn’t that stupid. “I may as well. I don’t want you to be influenced by my thoughts. But I do need your help.” Jonah hated the idea of asking for aid, but that was why he was here in the first place. If anyone could help him wipe this particular scum off of the face of the earth, it was Jaden.

She was beautiful enough to make any man look twice, and many a man had been disarmed by lovely women throughout history. But she was also smart enough to be dangerous in every way and no one would ever see her coming. Her stature was perfect. Jaden was so small that no healthy red-blooded man would consider her a threat until their throat was slit from ear to ear.

That was why he needed her. He wanted to go to a slave auction and use the information he found to disband the group altogether. But he needed someone with him that could assist him without appearing to do so. It was a classic maneuver, but the reason it was a classic was because it was a solid plan that worked more often than not.

Jonah stood up and pulled her to her feet.

“I don’t want you to think that this”— and he flicked two fingers in the space between them—“has anything to do with that.” Jonah pointed at the dossier on the table.

She looked perplexed at his gestures, but before she could open her mouth to retort, his lips met hers. The first emotion he felt was relief, but quickly the spark of gratitude was burned away with the taste of her. Her mouth had a faint heat, as if she’d just eaten habaneros. Her tongue tasted of pure sugar and rasped over his eagerly.

Jonah fisted one hand in the enticing ribbon that belted her apron closed, and the other slapped the wall behind her back. Her ankle ended up crooked around his calf, and both her hands fisted greedily in his shirt fabric. He wanted more. So much more and Jaden’s desires seemed at one with his. She smelled amazing and homey. He never imagined that the scent of baked bread with vanilla would be his undoing. Or his romantic fall from grace.

Jonah was hard as a stone pillar. He shared the agonized length with her in a sensual grind against her belly and enjoyed her shudders against him. Her breaths were his, then vice versa, and he was lucky that breathing was an autonomic function or he would have died twice already.

It was at that point that he knew that he would take her here and now if he didn’t walk away.

It only took a moment for him to come back to reality when he realized where they were and what he was nearly about to do to her. They were too close to the point of no return, and he didn’t want their initial coupling to be against a wall. Jonah certainly planned to take her against many surfaces, with walls being on that list also, just not their first time.

Irritated he had to let go of her, Jonah took a deep breath that flared his nostrils painfully. Now wasn’t the time to indulge in more, no matter what her body asked for. They both needed a clear head for the decisions to come.

His release of her flesh was tortured, and she shivered brusquely as if cold from the dearth of contact after the prior surfeit of interaction with his flesh. Jonah’s gait on exit was stiff from hard cock and no place for the erection to call home. As he left, he could feel her gaze bore into his back, and he knew that she felt the chemistry the same way.

When he was inside of his room, Jonah paced half of the night away and wondered if she would come to same conclusions that he had with the information he gave her. It took her until eleven to decide to call him. Every minute he searched for her and then waited for her to take this chance would hopefully pay off.

He didn’t even get as much as a hello when he answered the phone. “So what you’re telling me is that you need me to be your slave?” But she did call back, and she already surmised what he wanted, so he wasn’t going to complain about her lack of social niceties.

“Basically. But I think we should save the full breakdown for later when we are a bit more secure.” His phone was a secure line and unable to be tapped or listened in on in any way. But what about hers?

“My line is secured, and I would assume you wouldn’t have given me the number if your security was lacking either.”

“All right. I know you are a smart lady, Jaden, and I assumed you would have gotten the gist of my plan.”

“Yeah, Jonah, I think I already know what you are looking for. If I’m correct, and I usually am”—she stopped for a moment then continued—“you want me to play your slave at the coming auction. I can’t go as anything else because these events are for men only. The few women present will be the ones on sale or already owned. You want to make a purchase and then use the information you get while there to find out who is behind the slave trade. But I do have one question.”

“Yes, Jaden?”

“Why me? You had to burn through many a resource to figure out who I was. I know that it had to take at least five months, and that’s with a lot of skill combined with finesse. In that time you could have found a candidate who could fill whatever requirements you are looking for. I’m not the only female capable of meeting your needs, and yes, there are not that many with the exact same skill set, but still…” She let the words trail off as if she really didn’t get it.

“I work with a group called HIT U. Our teams were created for these types of jobs. Most governments won’t touch the sex slave trade or human trafficking because no one in power cares about a few missing women. Not enough to spend the extensive resources that can be saved for other issues or until the problem beats them in the head. You are perfect for several reasons, Jaden. First, you are combat trained in multiple forms of fighting styles. Second, your talents with computer hardware are bar none. Third, your appearance is perfect to play this role. I knew I wanted to work with you from the time that I learned about your involvement with the Jourdain job. And lastly, you have not been involved in government espionage at any level, so your profile has not been leaked anywhere as yet. That anonymity is very important.”

He took a moment to deliver the kicker. “And by the way, it took me ninety-eight days.”

She appeared intrigued. “Really? Next time, I have to use more proxies. When I established my presence, it was many years ago, and I really haven’t done much in that time. Plus, I’m getting too old to be doing this sort of thing. Was it just you?”

“Really? Since when is thirty-something too old? And yeah, just me.” He was pretty sure she wanted to know if her preferred identity was leaked or not.

“It has been for a while. You haven’t heard? Thirty is the new fifty.” He couldn’t help the laughter that barked out of his throat unbidden. If thirty was the new fifty, then he was damn sure close to social security.

I wonder if that excuse would work with Uncle Sam if I went in to file a claim?
The errant question made him chuckle slightly before he quelled the laughter to respond. “But I don’t
think
that matters. You’re going to do this job anyway, aren’t you?”

“I can’t say right now. I think that I need to sleep on it.”

“No, you don’t need to sleep on it. Jaden, you are the kind of woman that makes her decisions in a split second. You know what you will do in any given situation, but you like to plan how it would be carried out. I know that you have your answer already. What you are unsure of is if you want to work with someone else. Or rather, work with me.”

“That’s not the case. If you haven’t noticed, I have a life here. I have a business with obligations, and I can’t just waltz away from those to help you.”

“I assume you read and researched the entire packet, right?”

“Of course, but I don’t see what that has to do with the price of tea in China.”

“I have an operative who can take your place for the next few weeks. He is an expert and trained in France by—” Jonah then named a renowned pastry chef with several Michelin stars. Of course, Jaden was slightly starstruck. She did well for an untrained chef. “And I will personally help with your paperwork. Johannes will bring his wife with him, and she will help out also.”

“And I’m supposed to trust complete strangers because you say so? And what about Kris? She is in the middle of her training.”

“Jaden, I don’t want you to take offense, but Kris will never be a tenth of what you are. She just doesn’t have the ability to be you.” She was silent for so long that Jonah was sure she was pissed and he had negotiated his way out of a sure thing.

“I know that. But I promised her as long as she was willing, I would teach. She has potential, just not on the front end of this line of work. But she is good with intel. I have used her data on several occasions.”

“I’ll give you that. But if you want, I can have Dayna work with her. She isn’t as skilled as you, but she does know her head from a hole in the ground.”

Jaden huffed. The breath sounded as if the owner were irritated. “At least give me the night before I commit.”

“I can do that, but you already know what your answer is going to be. So you may as well save yourself and me a whole lot of time and speak on what you want to do. The choice is yours.”

Jaden was still silent, but this time she seemed hesitant instead of thoughtful. “Yes… I’ll do it.” The words were punctuated with a sigh, as if she envisioned working with him was going to be a headache and a half.