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

by Jennifer Willows

  When she did, her face was priceless. She appeared shocked that there was another meal, enough so that she did a double take before she sauntered back to the table.

  Jaden cleared her throat awkwardly and looked away before she acknowledged his gesture. “Thank you.”

  “It was the least I could do. But I think we should both eat now then talk.”

  “That sounds like a plan to me.”

  They said a quick mutual prayer in thanks for the food and ate quickly without fanfare or delicacy. The best part of the meal was the silence. It was quiet, and they were alone. It was all that he could have asked for tonight. When both of them finished, it was almost simultaneous, and he smiled at the lack of so much as a crumb on either of their plates.

  The only thing that remained to eat was their respective cupcakes, and he peeled the wrapper of his and used a fork to take a huge chunk out of the side. He held the fork her way and offered the fluffy sample to her first.

  “Have some.” Jaden opened her mouth and accepted the too-large morsel from his utensil before she chewed and took a drink of a canned soda.

  The conversation was leisurely paced, and he gave her the basics as he saw them. Jaden was one tough cookie, and she was proficient at reading between the lines. By the time the cupcakes were eaten, he had shared most of his with her and stolen a bit of hers back as well.

  “Go home and pack. We need to get to the compound tomorrow. Anything you need can be supplied when we get there, so pack as light as possible.”

  She quirked an eyebrow upward in a counterpoint to her lips, which tilted downward. “Oh…so you think that because I’m a woman I can’t pack light?”

  “That wasn’t what I meant.”

  Of course she would use his statement to take a stand for women’s lib. And Jonah was far from a sexist, so the unnecessary ire was more than he wanted to deal with in the moment.

  She grinned and pointed a slim, closely trimmed fingernail at his chest. “Let’s make a bet. How many days did you pack for?”

  “Just a week. Why?”

  “I’ll bet that I can pack for a solid month and use the same amount of space or less than you did for this week.”

  “What about weapons?”

  “Those, too.”

  “Okay I’ll take that. What are we playing for?”

  “Winner’s choice.”

  “Well, we will see in the morning then.”

  “Sure will.”

  Jonah left her and went back to his room. Oddly, he felt a childlike excitement about their departure the next day. That night he didn’t sleep, and he wondered if he was about to lose his mind.

  When he left his hotel room at checkout, he was unable to stop smiling. He hadn’t smiled this much in years. He knew his career took something out of him. There was no way this type of job could promote a good attitude or much in the way of mental well-being.

  Once a hired killer was able to complete their duties without guilt, most of the time there was no conscience or guilt. And the result was a person little better than serial murderers in most cases. Jonah knew he was getting too jaded for this type of work. The lifestyle was telling on him in too many ways, and he felt like nothing more than an empty shell.

  It wasn’t until he saw her for the first time that he remembered the fact that his heart actually beat and that he was…alive. He had felt dead inside for so long that he barely recollected what it was like to experience excitement or simple elation. Jonah forgot what it felt like to be nervous or scared or just the good old rush of a spontaneous erection.

  He had been in control of himself for so long that he could barely recall a time as a grown man that he simply moved without purpose.

  There was no moment without plotting, scheming, or working to make something happen. He wasn’t happy, but he wasn’t sad either. He just was. From the moment he saw her picture, he knew she was more than just another agent, more than just another person under his command. The pictures he stared at of Jaden when he finally figured out who she was didn’t compare to her in the flesh.

  But even then, what she looked like that didn’t matter. He wanted the woman. Not who she was on the outside, but who she truly was within.

  Each fact that he learned about her brought him closer to her, even though at the time she had no idea who he was. It was in the way that she was able to occupy his every waking moment easily, and somehow the vicarious view of her life turned his admiration for her into unwavering obsession. Jaden was the one he wanted for good, the one he wanted to hole up with in the remote cabin he had set up for his retirement in the next few years. She was the one he wanted to take home to meet his folks.

  She was the one he wanted to be with.

  He knew she wasn’t ready for that yet. That was going to take time and patience. She hadn’t had the time to get to know him like he knew her. It all came to be when he saw how determined she was, how capable she was at the masculine tasks she completed every day. He couldn’t wait to get her back to the compound. Once she was there, he was willing to bet she could take down some of the strongest members of his team without a sweat.

  Although when she did just that, he was going to make sure he had a ringside seat and some snacks. He had seen her spar with Kris before, but he hadn’t seen her full talents displayed yet against an opponent with more evenly matched skills. He knew they were there, and she held herself like she knew her body and her own limits well. She didn’t have much reach due to the length of her arms and legs, but from what he saw she was most dangerous up close and personal.

  The few times he had the opportunity to watch her fight Kris at the local dojo, it was far from a fight. Kris was able to hold her own enough that she didn’t get beat down within the first five seconds. But Jaden could take all night with a cat-and-mouse game as she toyed around to keep her student on her toes.

  Even as she barely tapped her own reserve energy, he noted that she seemed as if she could have kept up the pace the entire day and it would not have mattered. She didn’t even perspire.

  Jonah wanted a woman that he could be himself with. He needed a woman he knew was able to keep up with him. Hell, it seemed that every other woman he’d met was either not strong enough or was far from feminine. He could appreciate all women, but he never imagined he would meet a woman that was a perfect balance of tough and sexy.

  Nor could he have seen how much she would be like him. Once that thought scrolled across his brain, he knew he needed to get his mind right. Otherwise, Jaden would eat him for dinner and not in a good way either.

  He had a few items on his agenda to contend with, and he was sure that he could have those done by the time the shop closed. Then he could check on his bet with Jaden and see how she was going to try and outsmart him. But he was damn near sure that he was going to win. There was only one large suitcase and his remaining luggage was filled with computer equipment. There was no way she could do any better than he had.

  The only question was that Jonah was unsure what he wanted to ask for his win though. He didn’t want to ask for too little and shortchange his victory or ask too much and push her further away.

  Although, he had to admit he would love to see her completely naked. Even if it didn’t end with sex.

  By the time the few items on his to-do list were completed, he was ready to go and pick her up. As he strolled into the bakery, the area was utter chaos and he could hear pots and pans banging in the back of kitchen along with a spot of mild cursing in Spanish.

  Dayna only reverted to her native language when she was on an emotional roller coaster, such as when she was angry or with her husband as they made love. The couple had no shame, and they were prone to be caught in the most unlikely of places. Once he went to a supply closet and found them fucking like two bunnies, not to mention the other places he’d seen more than he wanted of the pair.

  But when he actually stepped into the kitchen, Jaden was the one who was apparently heated.

  “Y
ou can’t let the mixer just go like that, Johannes. You are going to make my batter tough, and the cake will not rise properly.”

  Apparently, Jaden was at her wit’s end and nothing was being done correctly. The scowl on her face said it all. Dayna looked as if she itched for a fight even though the woman had to know that Jaden would beat her like she dipped her hand in the cash register.

  Kris apparently knew that she was outmatched and stood to one side, content to let Jaden handle the melee. But Jonah couldn’t let the situation get any worse, or it could make for dissention in his team later when they needed to be of one mind and operate together.

  “Excuse me, if none of you mind, I need to speak with Jaden about our travel plans this evening.”

  Jaden didn’t stop with the commands even as she departed the hectic kitchen. “Kris, do me a favor and show Johannes and Dayna how to mix fondant properly.” The last words must have been a dig that Dayna took offense to, as he noticed the outclassed woman roll her eyes once.

  He allowed her to follow him out.

  “It seems like there is a problem.” That wasn’t even the half of it based on what he just heard, but he was trying to defuse the situation before it got out of hand.

  “Yeah, that’s not even the half of it. Dayna has no experience, and she can’t cook. At all. Damn it, she could burn water.” The last words were stressed, as if Jaden wished that she had never agreed to help him.

  “I didn’t send her based on her cooking skills. I sent her because her husband is one of the best pastry chefs in the world. His cover frequently makes use of his skills since people tend not to look too hard at the chef and certainly not one of his caliber. She was a just an extra pair of hands, as they are attached at the hip. They’re newlyweds.”

  “Oh. But he acted as if he had no idea what he was doing.”

  “Most likely that’s why Dayna is madder than a run-over rattlesnake right now. She doesn’t like women near her man, and he loves to make her jealous. She probably assumed he liked you because of the way he acted, but Johannes prefers to live by the adage of listen and learn. You will never know what he is capable of until he has no other choice. Plus, strangely enough he doesn’t have an ego to contend with. If he doesn’t know something, he will take the time to learn, and from what I’m guessing, he wanted to learn how you ran the shop.”

  “Okay, so I should just ignore Johannes and work with Dayna only. Or rather tell Kris that.”

  “That sounds like a fair assessment. By the way, I’m ready to see your bag.”

  “Sure.” He watched her saunter away and through the small back door. When she came back she carried two bags, a large suitcase and a smaller carry-on.

  “Where’s the rest of it?” How in the hell did she plan to make the next month with just those two bags? Not to mention, where were her weapons at?

  “Yeah this is it.”

  “Damn, I think you got me.”

  But when her bags were placed next to his large rolling case, he won, but only because she had to open the expanding zipper to seal the large mouth of the suitcase.

  “How many outfits did you get in there?”

  “Thirty.”

  “I don’t know if I can believe that, unless it’s full of bikinis. Is it?”

  “Nah…just the usual workout gear.”

  “And that includes shoes?” Jonah thought, no way. Unless she planned on having only the pair she wore currently for the entire month.

  “Of course. Unless you like barefoot ass whippings.”

  Jaden was as always quick on the uptake, but Jonah was more than prepared for anything she could throw at him. “What other kind is there?”

  He laughed at the expression on her face, and she joined in. When he looked up, Dayna was in the doorway, her mouth gaped wide open enough to catch flies.

  She wasn’t the only one shocked. Even Jonah was surprised at how freely his laughter and smile had re-emerged. This last week he’d laughed more than he ever thought possible, and certainly more than he had in the last five years.

  A quick look to the left and Jonah saw that Dayna’s expression was overly smug now that she got the chance to see him disregard all of the rules he set around himself for years to keep people away. To keep a real relationship at bay.

  But now he had found the one woman that made him complete. She was a real spitfire, and more than most men were able to deal with successfully. He knew how he was going to handle her though it would take resources that were in short supply, namely his time and patience. None of it mattered.

  He would make anything happen to have his goals met. And those now included Jaden Bishop.

  With a small disaster averted in the kitchen, Jonah took the luggage she brought down and placed the bags in his car. Before he left, he quickly briefed Dayna and Johannes on a few last minute developments.

  The ride to the chartered jet was quick enough to be forgotten and before he knew it they were off, flying high in the skies and lost in each other. He wanted to kiss her again, but he knew that she was nervous. The reason he was sure of the way she felt was because he felt the same. Jonah was unnerved as Jaden wouldn’t meet his eyes. For reasons that he didn’t explore further, the dismissal felt as if he was a one-night stand and she was ashamed after the fact.

  But the hours passed, and with one stop made to top off in Florida, soon they were in the lush green of the tropics clearly visible from the window. When they landed in Jamaica, it was nearly midnight, but the smell of the island took his breath away as always. She appeared to enjoy the fresh air as also. He saw her take in a deep breath and then close her eyes as if she loved the taste of the crisp, clean oxygen.

  Jonah always did the same thing when he left the island. He would take in as much of the air as he could, as if he was able to bring it with him wherever he was headed.

  The team supplied a Range Rover. The silver SUV waited just outside the landing strip. Jonah loaded the bags before they made the drive to Montego. The compound was halfway between Ocho-Rios and the bay, the entrance not too far from a couple of well-known super inclusive resorts.

  He used the small tag on his keychain to open the gates, and he looked over at Jaden, wondering what she thought. At first sight, the compound was at one with the surroundings, as if a sleeping stone mausoleum rested beneath the mass of vegetation. But the area was carefully landscaped to make it appear that way. There was more to the compound than just what was visible. There were tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a couple of small carriage houses as well.

  He had opted to live in the smallest of the houses in back as he was alone and the square footage sufficed to fulfill his needs adequately.

  When he pulled in back, he parked the SUV in the garage and hefted their combined bags but only allowed her to take the small carry-ons. And that concession was to keep her from making the complaint that he was a sexist pig.

  “Come on inside.”

  “All right. Is this where I will be staying?”

  “Yes. It just seems extremely small, in part due to the size of the main house.”

  “Does anyone else live here?” He knew she was going to ask him that. He just hoped she would let it slide for now.

  “Yes. You will be sharing the house with one other person.” He could see she wanted to know who the mystery roommate was.

  “When am I going to meet my temporary roommate?”

  “You already have.” He knew the moment he answered that she was going to have something to say about it.

  “Why do you have me here then? I know that mausoleum has got to have an extra room I could stay in.”

  “That’s up to you. But I just assumed it would be easier to navigate tonight since we arrived in at such a late hour.”

  “Hmmm…” Her hum seemed speculative, as if she wanted to say more but didn’t.

  “Think about it like this, it’s the concession I want for winning the bet. Just make yourself at home. If you want to stay elsewhere, just ask
me tomorrow and I can have you set up at the main house for the rest of your trip.” He didn’t want her that far away, but if she asked, he would find her another room. Although, he would try to make sure that all of the desirable rooms were taken or out of order first.

  Real smooth, he thought to himself. Now you’re so desperate that you would be willing to outright lie to her.

  Chapter Seven:

  Honey I’m Home!

  Jaden was perturbed. After a harrowing day filled with confusion and drama from her temporary employees, she resorted to barely veiled intimidations against a woman that was no threat to her. Then she lost her bet with Jonah when she was so sure that she would win. Now she had to stay in the intimate scope of the small carriage house. Not that the house was a problem, but she didn’t want him so close.

  There was something more with this man than met the eye, and she was too excited about the idea of sharing personal space with him. For all she knew she would start sleep walking and wind up in his bed the next morning. The unconscious mind had a way with expressing desires that were unacknowledged.

  And despite her physical prowess, she knew that she was weakened by a state of want that she didn’t even know existed before.

  Uggghh, damn him for being so desirable.

  It didn’t make any sense. How could one man have the machismo and presence enough for ten people? There must be several men out there with faces that only their mothers would love and ten lions cowardly enough to have lost their share of animal courage to the making of Jonah.

  She followed him through the cliché isle-furnished house. None of the elements needed to make a home were missing. But somehow it just didn’t feel lived in. As if the place was a hotel room and the room had a revolving list of guests, none of whom left their stamp on the area. When he gave her the nickel tour of the small house, there were three bedrooms and one bathroom. That raised one or both of her eyebrows, as she hadn’t had to share a bathroom in years.