Jade (The Kings of Guardian Book 9)

by Kris Michaels

  Nic glanced toward his mother who was talking with a uniformed officer. "Yeah, that will work. I'll take over my mom's office. Send me the equipment I need?" Someone needed to install secure phones and computers plus shielded connections.

  "I'll get Jewell and Zane on the tech first thing in the morning. Hey, wait. I do have a PSO I could probably reach out and tap. She's in the New York as we speak. Jade's supposed to be off, but if I know her, she'd be happy to step up and take the case until we can get someone else in."

  Nic swallowed hard. Something in his gut told him he'd regret involving Jade, but it made sense to have her take over his mom's downtime security. She was damn good at her job and his mother's security outweighed his mixed up, emotional quandary about his supposed unemotional hook-up with Jared's sister. God, he needed a drink-or twenty.

  "I'll call her. I saw her with Justin tonight at dinner." Nic purposely did not mention the fact that Jade had already offered her services. He closed his eyes at the double entendre.

  "Alright. Let me put the NYPD on notice. I'll also reach out to the Office of Protective Intelligence and Office of Protective Services within the Marshal's organization. We aren't going to be able to touch the security at the courthouses, but I'll put you in contact with the section chiefs so you can assure your mom's safety. When does this thing go to trial?"

  Nic leaned back and shouted over his shoulder, "Ma! When do you start hearing motions on the RICO case?"

  "Next week, Tuesday."

  "Tuesday."

  "Yeah, thanks for the busted eardrum, asshole."

  "Sorry." Nic's mind raced with the minutiae that needed to be done to set up operations here and make sure Jade had everything she needed to protect her mother when she wasn't at the courthouse.

  "No, you're not. Take a breath, Nic. Jade is one of the best we have. You'll both be there when your mom is outside the courthouse. The marshals are damn good at protecting the judiciary. The Triad will strike at more vulnerable targets to try to fuck with the trial."

  "Yeah, but only if they see a show of force and know we are on the scene. I'm going to give them that visual in a big way."

  "Far be it from you to do anything with subtlety."

  "That shit is overrated."

  "So I've heard."

  "Thanks, J."

  "You got it. Go take care of your mom. I'll call Jason and get the ball rolling. Hopefully, you'll be set up with equipment and coms by Monday so I can dump some of this crap on my desk on you."

  "I'll take whatever you give me, but J, I need to work this case, too. It's my family." Nic foresaw some serious late nights in his future, but he'd do what he needed to do to take care of his family.

  "I'll keep as much here as I can. I get it, Nic. Family is everything."

  Nic nodded, not caring if Jared couldn't see him.

  "Stop tearing yourself up, DeMarco. There wasn't anything you could have done to prevent these assholes from threatening your mom. You're not a mind reader, and you can't see into the future."

  "I'd give every last penny I have to be able to do that."

  "Hell, wouldn't we all?" Jared's humorless laugh reached him, and he gave a small chuckle. "Call Jade. She'll set up your mom's security… and Nic, she has one hell of a reputation, and she hides behind it, but Jade cares. She just doesn't let anyone see it."

  "I've got no problem with her being in charge of mom's security."

  "Huh… who said I was talking about your mom? Night."

  Nic held the phone away from his ear and saw his features reflected in the black face of the disconnected phone. What the fuck did Jared know, and how the hell did he know it?

  Nic noted the time on his watch and grimaced. He'd just hung up with the Chief of the Office of Protective Services. The marshal had impressed him, and it took one hell of a lot for Nic to be impressed. Nic had established a relationship with the organization years earlier and was able to leverage a few favors to reach the top of the food chain at 2:00 a.m. His mother had gone to bed, but only after Nic had cleared her room, even though a patrolman had declared the house secure before leaving. Nic wasn't taking the smallest chance, and the fact his mother let him take over proved how shaken she was by the events of the evening.

  He took out the card Detective Keller had given him and dialed her number.

  "Keller."

  "Detective, since you answered on the first ring, I'm assuming I didn't wake you."

  "Ha, not getting any sleep for the foreseeable future. I got the official notification that you'll be taking the case. Got some new information in. I'm still processing it, but let me run down what I know and what evidence we have to substantiate it."

  "Shoot." Nic grabbed a pen and pushed away several sheets of paper he'd taken notes on while talking to the Marshals office.

  "Okay. The dog was already dead before it became a warning. My gut is telling me that animal was probably the victim of an illegal dog fighting operation. We are basing that assumption on the injuries sustained and state in which the animal died. The vet did a preliminary and said the injuries were similar to what he's seen from bait dogs. These bastards use the smaller animals to train the bigger ones to fight. It happens far too often. Believe me; we all want to catch the sons of bitches that are abusing those animals."

  Nic closed his eyes and shook his head. After everyone had left tonight, both he and his mother had talked at length about the type of mentality it took to injure a helpless animal. Sick bastards. Give him five minutes alone with the son of a bitch who did that and he would teach the fucker a lesson he wouldn't soon forget.

  "The weapon used to behead the dog had no usable prints. There were a few partials that smudged through the blood, but not enough to even try to match. The note was a computer generated font, Courier New, eighteen point, laser printer that has a dirty roller. It prints a ghost line every two and a half inches on the paper, the circumference of the printer wheel. We don't have a make on the printer yet."

  "I'll take that information to my IT gods. They can work miracles. What else do you have?" Nic jotted a note down to send an email to Jewell before he stopped for the night.

  "The paper was a generic bond, no discernable traits, and no prints, but I'm sure your forensics can go further than we can."

  "Probably not, but we'll take a look at everything just in case." Nic never wanted to seem superior to the cops that were doing their damnedest to keep the streets safe. Been there, done that and got the condescension t-shirt.

  "The GTF hasn't heard squat from the local faction of the Triad."

  "Is that normal?" Nic made a note to himself.

  "Nope, two days ago they were threatening a turf war with another gang over a drug trafficking corridor. All of the sudden every one of them has gone underground and radio silent. It is making the entire task force itchy as hell."

  "That coincides with the RICO case being remanded back down to the District Court."

  "Mmmm… yeah, fishier and fishier. Anyway, I'm assuming you'll run the traffic cameras in the area to see if you can find anything suspicious. I'm like number ten thousand on the waitlist as far as priority goes. Sorry, but the felony cases get top priority."

  "As it should be, Detective. I'll make sure we leave no stone unturned."

  "Roger that. Anyway, I'm writing up the reports, and they will be ready for youse guys in the morning." The detective's native New Jersey accent slipped out right before Nic heard a long yawn. "Damn, sorry. I'm getting too old to pull these all-nighters. Retirement is looking good right about now."

  "I hear you. Thank you so much, Detective. It has been a pleasure." Nic disconnected the call and grabbed the charging cord off his mother's desk. He plugged in his phone and regarded the information in front of him. Grabbing the top sheet of paper, he started organizing his notes, typing them into his tablet. His phone rang, and he hit the
button for the speaker on the secure landline and answered it without looking at the caller. "DeMarco."

  "So are you generally against orgasms or is it orgasms with me that make you run for the hills?" Jade's sultry voice poured into his mind like a fresh breeze, sweeping out the staleness of the long night's events.

  He swiveled in his chair and checked to hallway to confirm he was alone, but honestly he didn't expect anyone other than him to be up at 2:30 a.m. "Sorry. It appears the situation is a bit more tenuous than I had anticipated when you dropped me off." Nic leaned back in the leather office chair and closed his eyes. The Sahara had emptied one or two of its dunes under his eyelids again. Fucking desert.

  "I heard."

  Nic's eyes flew open. "From who?"

  "Jared. He called about an hour ago. He assumed you would have contacted me by the time he called. Don't worry. I played it off as if you had. He's worked the logistics for my assignment, getting reciprocal authority for my concealed carry license, registering our case with the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the NYPD, so we don't cross streams during your investigation. I've been doing research on the RICO case involving the Triad because most of it happened within the last year, so I was out of the loop."

  "Good. I'll need you to get a tactical vehicle from the Guardian detachment here in New York. Cash in whatever favors you need to get one. I don't want my mom going to or from that courthouse in a vehicle that isn't hardened."

  "Already working it. I'll be there about eight. What's your mom's calendar like today? I was going to ask Jewell to hack it, but decided I should probably respect your mom's judginess and ask you."

  "Judginess?" Nic chuckled at the absurdity of the word.

  "Her honorness?"

  "No."

  "Her District Courtness?"

  "Stop."

  "Hey, does she wear like jeans and shit under her cloak?"

  "Robes, not cloak and probably a dress suit, minus the jacket." His mother worked hard and was a professional through and through.

  "Robes? Really? I'd go naked except for one of those lace collars. Like Judge Judy. I bet that woman is stark naked under her robes." Jade chuckled at his groan.

  "God, I can never watch that show again."

  "Why were you watching it in the first place?" Jade laughed, bringing a smile to his face. "But for your information, that lace collar would be more than I'm wearing right now."

  "Fuck, seriously?" Nic considered the wide open office door-open so he could hear if anything or anyone in the house made a noise.

  "Yep. I'm lonely, too. My date stood me up." Jade's voice lowered and took on a suggestive tone that went straight to his cock.

  "He did? I'm sure he had a good reason." Nic leaned back and adjusted his stiffening shaft.

  "I'm sure he did, but I have it from a reliable source he should be done with work by now."

  "The trip across town would take an hour." He read the time on his watch and shook his head. "He probably wouldn't have time to meet your needs before he had to leave again. Besides, I wouldn't leave her alone."

  Jade made a purring noise. "I know you wouldn't, and I'd never ask you to do so. But it is a shame. You see, I've put a ban on self-gratification. Otherwise, I'd ask him to talk dirty to me. I'd be touching myself thinking of his hands on me." Jade made a delicious sound of pure desire.

  "Maybe he can get me to lift that self-imposed ban. Tell me what he would do to me if he had me under him."

  Nic pushed his palm against his dick, which had gone from interested to titanium rod in the length of time it took Jade to utter the last two sentences. He leaned over and put his elbows on his knees. The pressure on his cock felt horrible and fantastic all at the same time. It was everything he could do not to reach down and grasp himself. Fuck, that woman and her mouth. If it wasn't destroying him one way, it was killing him another. He vividly imagined the way her mouth could feel around his cock. Well, two could play at this game.

  "I guess you'll have to wait to find out for sure, but I absolutely want you on my cock again. I want to watch you lose your mind and beg me to fuck you harder. Then I'd hold you in place while I worshiped your body, touching you and teasing you until you explode. As you try to catch your breath, I'd trail soft caresses over that super sensitive spot just inside your hip. I know I'd really like to…"

  At the sound of a soft huff from behind him, Nic turned abruptly… and smashed his entire hand down on the button to end the call. Judge Bettina DeMarco stood with raised eyebrows and crossed arms in the office doorway… Shit. Suddenly, he was fourteen again explaining how five issues of Playboy Magazine got between the boxspring and the mattress of his bed. Embarrassment sent a rush of heat to his face. His phone rang immediately. Jade. Of course. Were he Jade, he'd be calling back for a multitude of reasons and not all of them having to do with premature withdrawal from phone sex. He held up a finger toward his mom and turned away from her to pick up the handset. "Hello?"

  "Hello? What the fuck, dude? Are you okay?"

  "Ah… yes. Fine, we can talk about that later."

  "Later? One minute you're starring in a phone call that I'd hoped would turn X-Rated, and the next the line is dead. Wait…" Jade's laugh rang through the connection. "Who caught you? Your mom?"

  "As I said we will discuss that at a later date." Nic glanced at his mother who had leaned against the doorjamb and now had a grin on her face. Great, both the women in his life were evil. Pure evil.

  "Good night." He hung up the phone as the sound of Jade's laughter floated into the room. There was no doubt his mother had heard Jade's mirth before he'd disconnected.

  "I didn't mean to interrupt what sounded like a fascinating call, but Carmine called me from California. He was livid. I guess Mario left a voice message and he'd just come back from a night of wining and dining one of their important clients. Anyway, I wanted to warn you that he was going to be calling."

  As if by uttering the words, Nic's cell phone vibrated. He looked at the face and held it up to show his mother.

  "Don't let him upset you, dear. He means well."

  "Right." Nic hit the side button to silence the call and threw the phone back down on the desk. There was no way he was dealing with Carmine's bullshit tonight. He needed sleep before he could face that drama.

  "Sooo… the call I interrupted…"

  "Ma, don't."

  "Don't what? Is she special to you?"

  "No Ma, she is someone looking for a good time, not a relationship."

  "You didn't answer my question." Bettina DeMarco lifted from the door and moved into the room, dropping down in one of the chairs facing the desk.

  "I did. She doesn't want a relationship; ipso facto she is not someone special."

  "Objection, the witness failed once again to answer the question. Is she special to you?

  "You are not hearing a case, Ma, and your ipso jure twist on the answer I gave does not constitute grounds for censure, nor does it compel me to answer your question." Nic and his brothers had grown up sparring in legalese with Bettina. He wasn't going to be bullied into admitting something that he didn't understand or for that matter want to address.

  His phone rang again. Carmine. He glanced at his mother who shook her head.

  "You might as well answer it and try to assure him that I am not at death's door." She got up and contemplated him. "Carmine's persistence saved you an interrogation. Count your lucky stars and remember that when you're talking to him. He means well."

  Nic watched his mom leave and gladly accepted the call. He'd spend the next half hour calming down his obnoxious and major-league pigheaded brother if it saved him from a death of a thousand questions his mom was prepared to inflict upon him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jade pulled up to the front of the home Nic entered last night. Yellow crime scene tape still fluttered from the
bushes and wrought iron railings, and blood stained the stoop. . She dealt with the NYPD cruiser posted across the street with a flash of her credentials. The officers seemed more than happy to release the scene to her once their dispatch confirmed Guardian was taking control of the judge's security. She knew as soon as the world woke, the innate curiosity of Judge DeMarco's neighbors would make her job a little more difficult, but that was to be expected.

  Jade hadn't slept last night. First, she'd been waiting for Nic to text and then she'd been setting up the groundwork for her assignment. She'd inundated Jewell's team with requests. She added another as she stood on the front porch of Judge DeMarco's home. A profile of all the neighbors on this street. She'd also requested a document with photos detailing Judge DeMarco's co-workers, employees, and known associates. Jared had called her when she was driving over this morning. The Marshals wanted a meeting after Jade dropped Judge DeMarco at the courthouse. Her contact at the U.S. Marshals Service had indicated that security tripled in accordance with the higher security protocols. They created a clear zone, pushing parking further from the building. The defensive procedure kept suicide bombers from ramming cars laden with explosives into the building, but it also meant the cleared area made an excellent field of vision for snipers and lookouts. Thankfully, the Marshals were posting people on the rooftops. Jade pulled a Google Earth map of the courthouse and surrounding area to familiarize herself with the area. The path the Judge would have to take to get into the facility may be well guarded, but that didn't stop Jade from requesting the blueprints of the building and details on the security for the judge.

  She examined her clothes to make sure she was presentable. She'd scrambled to find work clothes this morning because she hadn't brought any with her. Thank God for discount stores open twenty four hours a day. The fit sucked, and there was absolutely no style to the cut, but they were serviceable for today at least. Dark wash jeans, a white tank top and a man's blazer that covered her weapons. Jade did a sweep of the street in front of the residence and drew a deep breath before she knocked on the door.