“Maybe we really need to kick this back, old school. How about we access the building plans.”
“Good idea.” He pulled in a deep breath and inclined his head to the side. “Xander… I was just thinking about the rat. It’s clear there’s a fucking rat in the works and it’s not gonna be a random person. I think it’s one of the knights. It’s gotta be one of them feeding the intel to the Ra. But …shouldn’t the knights know that Giovanni’s got the prints at the casino?” He quirked a brow. “We assumed they did, now it feels like they might not.”
Jesus…it was times like this when I was grateful for Wes. Times like these when there were so many fucked up variables I couldn’t see for shit.
I sat up straighter. “Oh my God… Wes, I don’t think they know. Giovanni didn’t tell them.”
This was getting more interesting. Giovanni hadn’t told the knights about the prints so the rat couldn’t feed the intel back to The Ra.
“I don’t think he has. I’m sure someone will figure it out though.”
“Yeah. Only a matter of time.”
“Things get messy when people get desperate.”
That was just the thing I wanted to avoid.
“Xander, the prints are the priority but we also need to check things out. It would be foolish not to. How about I focus on that and you continue to look for the prints.”
“Yes, that was we can split our tasks up.” it was more efficient to do it that way.
“I’ll start by checking out people I can find with links to The Ra.” He nodded. “I think the key is to figure out what they’ll do next.”
Yeah that was exactly the problem.
What would they do next, but also who was involved. What if it was Balthazar?
If it was him indeed… if we got confirmation about his involvement then that was where my focus would switch.
We may not know who Giovanni was working for but getting Balthazar would eliminate one hell of a threat.
I wouldn’t pretend that my ulterior motives in getting the guy weren’t eating away at me, and I wouldn’t pretend that I wasn’t worried about Jia.
When desperation took over people played dirty. It just made me wonder why they hadn’t dished the dirt yet. The dirt being the usual route the average bad guy took. Take her as ransom and demand Giovanni give them the prints. That was Balthazar’s style, although I’d never known him to negotiate.
So, maybe it wasn’t him…
I wanted to voice my worries about her but held off. I wasn’t ready to talk about Jia yet and the feelings I’d developed for her. Feelings and fears.
She could get taken. She could. It was a possibility and a variable I had to factor in.
It wasn’t like it might not happen? It could absolutely happen.
None of their attempts so far had gotten them what they wanted.
There’d been two attacks. First attack took out four knights when they thought the prints were at Giovanni’s warehouse. Next attack was at the casino when they came for The Chameleon.
All failed attempts that would push them to desperation if I couldn’t get the prints and stop the problem in its tracks.
So should I do?
My heart wanted me to get my ass to her place and watch over her twenty four seven.
After all, I wouldn’t have trusted anybody to protect my girl better than me.
But that was just the thing… she wasn’t mine.
She wasn’t mine to worry over like that, even though she felt like mine.
That was the difference between her and anybody who’d come after Claire. That something that drew me to her made her feel like she belonged to me.
Crazy for so little time…
I stood up and walked over to the window.
The city lights were just about taking over daylight, piercing through the night so they could stand out in vibrancy. Bringing temptation into Sin City.
All together the lights looked alluring, enticing, and sometimes like a mess. A scramble of emotion. Not quite one nor the other.
Just like me.
Whether it was Balthazar or not, Jia was in danger.
She was the innocent in the mix and the innocents always got involved whether they wanted to or not.
It would only be a matter of time.
Time… my old friend. I couldn’t allow something to happen to her knowing I might have the power to stop it.
How would I pull it off though and still do my job?
Chapter 21
Jia
* * *
“You look nicer than usual,” Anya noted with a curt little nod of her head.
Her hair had grown back substantially from the blunt-edged bob she’d cut it in only a month ago so the ends brushed over her shoulders.
“Thank you. I think.” I gave her a pointed stare.
She came here to meet for coffee.
It was late afternoon and we were sitting on the upper deck restaurant. My idea. I’d noticed the other day that Xander came here for lunch.
We hadn’t spoken properly since last week and apart from the glimpses I’d caught of him, that was it. No real contact.
“Looking for someone in particular?” she asked when I looked over her shoulder. “You know it’s really rude when your best friend visits you at work because she’s super worried, but you’re too busy looking out for a certain guy.”
I frowned, but then I felt bad. She was right, and right to worry. And I was being rude. It was true.
“I’m sorry.”
She giggled. “On this occasion I’m going to say it’s fine, although it’s not. It’s not and I’m upset because you haven’t told me squat about this guy, other than that there’s a guy. A man who you’ve had on your brain and not shared with me.”
I think if Anya knew all that had happened over the last two weeks she would have stopped talking to me for so many reasons. I might not have shared squat about Xander, but I didn’t share squat about anything. Not even the shooting. That, like most things that happened in those back rooms, had been kept under wraps.
Pa had people who took care of stuff. A cleanup crew to get rid of… evidence.
Bodies.
I hadn’t exactly seen anything. I just knew and I’d heard enough. Granted I’d seen enough too at the recruitment session. Four men had died and they were just carried off to God knows where afterward...
Anya couldn’t know any of that.
“Oh my God Jia, can’t you tell me anything?” Her bright brown eyes sparkled with interest. “Not even an itsy bit?”
No. I couldn’t tell her anything. I really shouldn’t start talking about Xander either.
I was so stupid, wearing this little skater dress. It hugged my frame and gave me a casual appearance. A little tamer than the business wear I normally wore.
I wasn’t wearing heels either. Today I’d chosen a pair of silver pumps.
All for him and yet not for him. Just like yesterday’s dress, and the romper and silver heels I’d worn the day before. Never mind all the assortment of stylish clothes I’d flung on all the days in between.
God, I was like a sixteen-year-old girl trying to catch the attention of the most popular boy at school. I wasn’t acting like the woman in charge I’d become over the years.
I’d allowed this man to work his charm into my head and weaken me with a night of wild passion. A night I would give anything to have again.
Sucker much? I was a goner for the man, but there was nothing of real substance to hang on to other than him telling me he couldn’t get me out of his head and that he liked me being there.
“There’s nothing really to tell.” I decided to say.
“Why don’t I believe you?” she huffed.
“I don’t know.”
“It’s because you’re lying through your damn teeth and blushing too.” She giggled.
I couldn’t hide my inner feelings from my best friend. I shook my head at her and decided I’d share something. Small
.
“We haven’t done anything much,” I confessed, and that was a bald-faced lie and a half. It made me blush more and she gasped.
“Oh my God, Jia, did you sleep with him?” At least she kept her voice down low with the question.
She squealed when I gave her a slow nod.
“Anya please, it’s nothing to be excited over. Truly, it’s not.” It was best to point that part out because I didn’t want her getting all excited for nothing.
The worst thing ever was telling your friend you had a new love interest and then things went south before they really began. I had to admit though that I’d rarely had that happen to me.
Most guys I’d been with had established a date with me first before I told any of my friends anything.
In some cases I may share slightly more with Anya if I liked someone.
Like Xander.
However, I was starting to think that I’d probably told her too much.
“I’m just excited. It’s nice that one of us is getting some bedroom action.”
“Please tell me that’s not some way of making me feel sympathy for you not seeing Mike.”
“Actually it’s not. I am still Mike-free and I have a date on Saturday,” she informed me.
This was good news. Something to smile about. “That’s awesome. Details please?”
“His name is Tim. He’s a vet. We met at the coffee shop on South Main Street. He has his own practice and he said he’s been wanting to ask me out for a while.”
That was more along the lines of what I’d wanted for her. I nodded with definite approval.
“I like the sound of him,” I chirped giving her an encouraging smile.
“Me too. He’s thirty and has a stable career unlike Mike, the dealer… Asshole.”
I reached across the table and took her hand. She might say those things but I knew part of her still felt for him.
“You’re going to be okay Anya. This new guy sounds really interesting. I know you wouldn’t mention him if you didn’t like him. I think you’re going to be okay.” I gave her a firm nod and her eyes twinkled with the hope I knew she wanted desperately.
She’d been through a lot with Mike. There was no doubt that she’d been in love with him. I might have gotten all worked up and bitched at her every minute about his behavior, but I knew it had to be different when you were in love. I’d never been in love before, so I wouldn’t have known. I could imagine though that it must have been hard to unlove him and put reality into perspective so she could do what was best for herself.
“Thank you. It feels promising. You too, Jia. I think you’ll be okay too.”
I let go of her hands and gave her my best impression of me looking like I really believed that was possible.
I wasn’t so sure about it. I hated that there was something going on with Pa that I’d been kept in the dark about and to add to it I couldn’t get Xander out of my head.
I couldn’t get him out of my head, same as he couldn’t get me out and I didn’t want to. I liked him being in my head too much.
The memories of that night we shared were so wild and unreal and taking him out of my head would mean forgetting.
I didn’t want to do that.
“I hope I’ll be okay,” I told her and at least tried to sound like I had hope.
“You’re Jia Marchesi, the strongest woman I know. You can do anything you put your mind to. You will be okay.”
I went to answer but the words trailed from my mind when I saw him coming up the stairs.
He seemed like he was looking for someone.
Anya turned her head too and saw him. Out the corner of my eyes I watched her mouth drop. She looked from me to him when he spotted me and started making his way over to us.
“Holy shit! Is that him?” She winced under her breath. “You didn’t say he was Chris Hemsworth gorgeous.”
I was too busy being taken with the fact that he was coming toward me to answer. I stood as he approached and Anya just stared.
“Jia,” he said my name with that soft adoration that I’d come to love.
“Hi.” An unwelcome blush crept up my cheeks when he gazed into my eyes.
Anya cleared her throat in an overly exaggerated way that made me turn to her.
“Xander, this is my best friend Anya.” I motioned to her. “Anya this is Xander Cage.” It sounded weird saying his full name.
Anya stood up, completely star struck. She probably looked a little like I had when I first saw him. So taken with his gorgeousness she found it hard to speak.
Yup, I’d gone through that and now she was too. Looked like she was having more of a girly moment though, because her cheeks flushed when he put out his hand to shake hers.
“Hi,” she said in a high-pitched tone.
“Really great to meet you Anya,” Xander told her.
I couldn’t resist the little smile that inched across my face. It was her reaction making me smile.
“You too.”
Xander returned his focus to me once he released her hand and held my gaze.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
I gave him an incredulous glare because I had to wonder if that was some kind of rhetorical question. Here I’d been hanging out like some love struck, love sick teen waiting to catch a glimpse of the man and he was asking if it was okay to talk to me.
“Of course,” I replied and tried to stave off the breathy rasp that took me. “Be back in a sec,” I said to Anya, whose curiosity I could see going toward the heavens.
I loved that Xander slipped his arm around me as he steered me over to the corner of the restaurant where it was empty. It was clear he wanted to speak to me in complete privacy. Not even the waiters came by here.
“You okay?” he asked.
He looked worried and I wondered if there was something for me to worry about also. Something more.
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
I chuckled. “Okay, so now you’re scaring me.”
He reached out and stroked the edge of my jaw. It was so brief it was like it never happened. Not brief enough though that it had no effect. The contact tingled every nerve in my body. Every nerve just came alive, heated me right up as I remembered my night with him. Desire pooling between my thighs.
“Don’t be scared. I just came to check on you.”
That made me smile again and filled me with awe when I noticed the concern filling his blue gaze.
“I’m okay today. Nothing’s happened.”
“Who’s staying with you tonight?”
God, it was like the bubble just popped. “Frankie.”
I couldn’t stand Frankie, even though I knew Xander had taken a shine to him. Honestly, Frankie was perhaps the only knight who talked to Xander. The others to me were just as prickish as Armand. Although nobody got under my skin more than Armand. Speaking of whom, I remembered Dad shuffling things around so Armand could come tomorrow. I would have preferred none of them
“Frankie tonight… Armand tomorrow.”
Armand in my house for a whole night. It hadn’t happened yet because Pa had him busy checking things out on the streets trying to find intel on the guys from the shootout. Tomorrow I’d have him to deal with though. There was no way that I would be able to sleep.
“Nah,” he stated, standing a little straighter. “I’m coming by tonight.”
Hope sparked within me. “Really?” I was going for subtle but I think that sounded more desperate than I wanted it to.
“Yes. I’ll make the arrangements. Maybe tomorrow too, although Armand may be a little bit more difficult to work around.”
“Xander, I don’t want Armand at my house.” I shook my head. “I don’t feel comfortable with him there. I just …” My shoulders slumped and I decided to say what I wanted to say. “I wish it was just you.”
“Don’t worry, I have various powers of persuasion.” He smirked.
“I noticed.” Yeah I’d call
it powers of persuasion too in the sense that he basically got what he wanted.
I hoped he could do that with Pa for me.
“How about I cook you dinner tonight?” I bubbled. I would love to cook for him.
“You’re going to cook for me?” He seemed to like the idea.
“Hmmm hmmm. Is there anything special you want?”
“Yeah, but it’s best I don’t say it.” Another touch to my cheek told me he was talking about me. “Cook whatever you think I’ll like. I’m sure it will be perfect.”
“Thank you. Now that means I have to make sure it’s perfect. It will be nice to see you properly.”
“You too.” The jovial flame that lit up his eyes dimmed and that concern came back, along with desire.
My heartbeat slowed in anticipation as he smoothed his hand across my jaw and lowered to press his lips to mine.
It was an unexpected kiss. One I never thought he’d give me right out in the open for anyone to see.
Where we stood was off in the distance from everyone, but people could still see us. It wasn’t like we were hiding or he’d been discreet.
But, the kiss was just like him. I realized in my summary of Xander Cage as I tried to figure him out that he didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do, and he didn’t care what people thought either. He didn’t allow anyone, not even Pa to tell him what to do. He followed his own orders and he followed his own rules.
That was also the summary of this kiss now.
He was kissing me because he wanted to, and because he wanted me, and he didn’t care who saw.
It was in his eyes as he stepped away from me and pressed his lips together.
“Later,” he said and it sounded like a promise.
A promise my heart wanted.
Chapter 22
What could I say?
No to dinner?
No to her?
I couldn’t do it although I knew it was the logical thing to do if I were to focus on my actual job.
I was worried about her though.
Fucking worried and I hadn’t stopped thinking about her last night.
Ace of Hearts Page 17