Devein must be thinking about that cute little marshal she’d bedded. Things had gotten a little nasty. The chick still wanted all their heads on a platter and Ace wouldn’t be surprised if something that hot little kernel had said had gotten them in this mess.
“So, it’s even more imperative that we look like any normal security firm.”
“We are normal for us, Dev.” She studied her friend. The marshal must have made her regret in more ways than one. “But I agree. Low profile cases will keep us off the radar. What about our jobs for the government?”
“Nothing’s pending right now. They’ve got their own people handling the Five by Five. Besides, I think a small hiatus is exactly what we need. With you already under investigation if we get caught, everyone involved is doing time.”
Five by Five was a cartel that dealt in drugs and prostitutes. Sometimes they threw some guns into the mix. They were based in Texas, but their reach extended into California and Nevada. The rumor was the leader had military personnel as well as FBI and DEA agents in his pocket.
With the Cell gone there was some concern Five by Five would move in here as well.
“I’ll take the fall, you know that,” she said. “But I don’t want to risk good women’s lives and freedom on this either.”
“Sabrina’s arranged for one of her reporters to do a story on Mojo’s,” Devin told her.
“I think the interview is a good idea,” Ace murmured. And she did. It would aid in giving their company the image of women making it in a man’s world. They might even be able to twist things to look as if someone had set them up. Some competitor was jealous because their bottom line looked better than his.
“I’m glad you think that,” Devin said and the dash of humor was back in her tone making Ace wince. “You’re going to be handling the reporter and the PR.”
Her eyes widened. “What! Devin why do you think I should be our public face? Why can’t we just hire a PR firm?”
“The story is about lesbian business owners, so it has to be done by one of us,” she said. “I’ve compiled several high-paying cases we’ve handled that had nothing to do with mercenary or black-ops jobs we’ve done.”
She grunted. They did have several of those. Those cases had made them a small fortune and thrown more business their way.
“Fine,” she muttered. “Just so you know, I think you should be doing this.”
“I would, but I’ll be handling a case. A lawyer hired us to protect her client. The rape victim has been getting plenty of shit from her rapists, and someone attacked her at her home last night. She’s really on edge plus she’s grieving. They caused her to lose her child.”
Ace made a face and held up her fingers to her eyes in a V and pointed them at Devin. Devin laughed. “I see you.”
“I didn’t plan it that way,” Devin said with a grin. “It just so happened I got the call first, and I think I’m going to call in that favor from Darice.”
Darice McMasters was a photographer now, but she’d been one of their employees several years ago. However, only a month ago Darice had asked for their help. She’d been one cold bitch when they’d first met her, but Darice had changed a little over the years. She’d become personable.
Ace nodded. “Good idea. You can’t be with her twenty-four-seven,” she murmured. “Bastards. I hope she files a wrongful death suit too.”
“She’s going to even though they’re trying to pay her off now to just walk away,” Devin said tightly. “You’ll be able to handle the PR without me right?”
Ace grunted. “When am I dealing with this girl?”
“In thirty minutes.”
“Fine,” Ace muttered. “Oh by the way, someone bugged my playroom at No Dice. Alexi said she’d be looking into it and getting back to me.”
“Let me know what’s up, and be careful in case this is the work of some overzealous agent,” Devin said quietly. “Oh, Cattail and Blade have made it in. Both are staying at the house. Naturally, they’ll be at your disposal.”
“I agree. It’s just probably some agent trying to make a bust the lazy way. Too bad it’s not going to be that easy.”
Chapter Nine
Jasmia headed up to the front door. Pulling it open she found herself in a quiet entry with a long reception counter. It was empty. In fact, the entire place looked like a ghost town. She glanced to the spacious reception area noting the earthy tone of the carpet and walls. The coffee table boasted a single magazine.
A dull noise caught her attention and tilted her head up and the scent of paint and plaster hung heavy in the air. It was mingled with the scent of lavender and musk with a twist of cedar.
“Hello?” she called as she tentatively moved toward the corridor to the left of the reception area.
Looking down it she saw only shadows cast by the sun.
Suddenly a woman stepped into her line of vision from an office and her cat tensed readying for a fight.
“Hi. You’re here for the interview?”
“Yes.” Relief washed over her.
“Come in,” she said. “I’m Devin.”
“Hi. Jasmia Anderson.” She took the proffered hand and shook it. The woman’s hand was soft yet calloused in spots. Her brown eyes were watchful but gave nothing away.
“A pleasure. Go right in. Ace is waiting for you.”
“Oh, okay.” She smiled.
“Dev, hang on for a second.”
That voice. Jasmia would know it anywhere, but what was Axana doing here? Was Ace the lover?
She was so damn glad she hadn’t agreed to take things further with her last night.
“Hello, Mia. Devin didn’t tell me your name, so I had no idea you were the reporter coming to conduct the interview. Are you going to be comfortable doing it? My partner Devin will understand if you’re not, and she’ll call Sabrina and get her to send someone else.”
She hissed and bit her bottom lip hoping neither of the women noticed the very cat-like reaction. Devin cocked a curious brow at her, but didn’t speak.
“I’m fine,” she said coolly, eager to meet this Ace. Was she prettier than her? She was probably blonde and younger for sure.
Ace was an heiress no doubt who was footing the bill for this little set-up despite what Axana had said last night.
“Good,” Devin said. “I’m sure Sabrina will be glad to hear you can be a pro on this even though you and Ace obviously have some history.”
“We met in Maine,” Ace told Devin.
“Great. Then, this should be easy for you, Ace,” Devin said, giving her a curious look. “I’ll talk to you later. Nice meeting you, Miss Anderson.” She gave Jasmia a nod and headed for the door. “I’ll lock up, Ace.”
“Thanks.” Ace motioned her into the office. “We haven’t officially opened our doors yet, so we’re going to be here alone. Have a seat. Tea? Juice? Water?”
“Ace?”
“Problem?” She moved past Jasmia to perch on the edge of her desk.
“You’re Ace?”
She shrugged. “For years now.”
“I like Axana better,” she murmured.
“It was a family name,” Ace answered. “My mother was Russian. She died when I was very young and I went into foster care.”
“I’m sorry,” Jasmia said softly and put a hand on Ace’s arm. “That must have been hard for you. Where was your father? The rest of your family?”
“Dead I assume. None of them claimed me, but that was a long time ago. Devin said you wanted to interview for a magazine.”
She withdrew her hand. The woman was all business and it cut. “The piece is part of a series on successful lesbian business women.”
“Okay, well, what do you want to know?” she asked and got to her feet and rounded her desk. Ace took her chair.
“Do you mind if I use a recorder?” Jasmia fished her recorder from her purse.
“No. What made you become a reporter?”
“I had a fondness for journalism and
writing, so I combined the two for a middle ground that I enjoy. Why did you get into private security work?”
Ace shrugged. “I saw someone beat to death when I was a teenager, and decided people like that needed someplace to turn to. That’s what we do. We provide protection, shelter, and safety for those in need of it.”
“Have you ever worked for a movie star or anyone like that?” Jasmia asked curiously.
“Not me, but a few of our operatives have. Two of them are out in L.A. now working for a singer. You can speak with them when they arrive.”
What’s your niche?”
“I don’t have one,” she said coolly. “I do whatever a client needs.”
“Have you ever slept with any of your clients?” Jasmia hadn’t meant to ask, but she was curious.
“No, sweetheart,” she murmured. “I generally keep it strictly professional. Besides, the majority of my clients have been men.”
“Do you like the work?”
“Yes. Devin and I started the business when we were eighteen. We built up our clientele slowly and traveled a good deal. We both wanted to see the country and learn about security systems and techniques. We got licensed as bounty hunters and private detectives.”
“How did men react to you?”
“Back then they laughed at us because we were young and we were girls,” she murmured, her stare far away. “We had to work hard to prove ourselves to be just as good as and better than men. We still do, but neither one of us give much of a damn what anyone thinks about us.”
The hard look in Ace’s eyes told her Ace meant that. It also told her that a girly name like Axana had no place in the tough man’s world Axana had stepped into early in her life. She also suspected there was more to the past that had led Axana to her present career choice. She was intrigued and eager to know more about the woman who’d stolen her heart.
Jasmia leaned back on the love seat in the seating area she’d taken. The sun drifted in filling the room with natural light. Axana met her gaze then.
“What exactly do you do for your clients? Tell me about the needs of some of the clients you’ve worked for.”
Ace got to her feet and went to the window to stare out. “Clients often need a bodyguard, someone who can kick ass and blow other people’s brains out without flinching.”
“That’s vague and simplistic,” Jasmia murmured. “I can’t write that. People will want to know what’s so special about you, why are you so successful.”
“You don’t get to know the more, Mia,” she said. “I told you last night my job is dangerous and it’s bloody. Client confidentiality is important.”
“You’ve worked for mobsters and drug dealers.”
“Why are you pushing this, baby?” she asked quietly. “The piece was supposed to be simple. I’ve got some files you can look at. Draw your own conclusions about what we do.”
“The files aren’t human,” she muttered. “I’m doing a story about humans with human accounts. Why can’t you just answer the question?”
“Because it’s not up for discussion,” Ace snapped as she whirled on her.
Jasmia got to her feet. “I’m not doing a fluff piece full of lies.” She turned off the tape recorder. “When you’re ready to do this story let me know.” She grabbed her purse and shoved her pen and paper back inside. “Maybe your partner would be more cooperative.”
Ace glared at her. “I answered your questions as relevant to the story.”
“Not in detail or to completion,” Jasmia retorted as she crossed the room to stare up into Axana’s eyes. They were guarded. What the hell did she really do? “You have worked for criminals haven’t you? That’s why you don’t want to elaborate. You know you’ll be seen as glorified gang bangers and security for the criminal element.”
Ace held her gaze, her own intense. “The files are an open book to what we do, Mia. I’ll get them to you later. Devin said she’d compile some for you to look at before she started her new assignment which is for a high-profile case.”
“Which case?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You’ve seen the news lately haven’t you? Six men from the Riker Advertising Firm are being prosecuted for gang raping a secretary at a party and causing her to lose her child.”
She shook her head, rage raking her. “I hope those bastards get what they deserve, but why does Madeline need a bodyguard?” Madeline was a lesbian lawyer and very successful.
“Her client does. She’s being threatened by her rapists. Does that sound like we work for mobsters to you, Mia?”
She was hiding something and it only made her want to know more. However, she doubted Ace was going to share willingly. She might not be able to print it all, but she wanted to know Ace’s secrets and why Ace was using them as a shield to keep her at arm’s length.
“Lunch in the park around two?” Ace asked.
She frowned. “We’re not having a date, Axana,” Jasmia told her coolly. “This is a job to me and no more.”
“Virginia Park, today at two, and we will have lunch before you get the files,” Ace told her coolly. “Come prepared. No tape recorder if you want a few more answers.”
“Axana—”
“And call me Ace, Mia.” Her tone was hard, brooking no defiance, and Jasmia opened her mouth to protest when her cell phone rang. “Aren’t you supposed to turn that off during interviews?”
Ace’s stare was questioning. “I forgot,” Jasmia muttered and went to pull her phone from her purse. Lacey? She connected immediately. “Excuse me, I need to take this. Hello Lacey.” She turned her back on Ace.
“Jasmia, do you have time to meet me this afternoon?”
“I could make time,” she said. “What is this about? I received your email this morning.”
“I’d like to give you the real story behind why Grande is doing this and offer you proof.”
“Where would you like to meet?” She was eager to find out what the man’s real agenda was. She didn’t doubt that a straight man could give a damn about gay kids, but out of the blue this seemed strange.
“Virginia Park and one thirty?”
“I can be there,” Jasmia said nonchalantly.
“I’ll be sitting near the second playground, and I swear you won’t regret this, Jasmia.”
The line went dead and she disconnected and put her phone in her purse. “I guess I should go. I’ll see you this afternoon with the files.” She gave Ace a smile and saw suspicion in her eyes.
Well too bad. She’d deal with her after she got the scoop on Lowell Grande.
Chapter Ten
Ace glanced out over the expanse of green space as she perched on a tree branch high in an old tree. She watched two women pass beneath her in short jogging shorts and t-shirts. She enjoyed the view with limited interest as she held the phone to her ear.
“What’s going on, Ace?” Sabrina answered coolly. I’m on my way to a meeting.”
“What was the meaning of sending Anderson over? She’s nosy.” Sabrina knew exactly what the company was all about because she’d worked for Mojo’s in the past.
Her sigh filled Ace’s ear. “Devin said she wanted the piece to ring true,” Sabrina told her. “It’s up to you to handle her.”
“Handle?” she demanded as her gaze slid over the park.
“She’s a submissive, and you’re a dominant. Handle her.”
She growled into the phone showing her irritation. Why was she being forced to deal with these mundane matters? “I don’t do public relations.”
“But you could do her,” she said drolly.
“I’m not about to fuck with her head, Sabrina,” she said coldly. “She doesn’t deserve that.”
“I didn’t say play her,” Sabrina said patiently. “Romance her, Ace. She’s cute and just your type that’s why I sent her. She’s into S&M. Distract her while giving her just what you and Devin want her to have. She’s not stupid but she can be persuaded.”
“I thought I
was a bastard,” she murmured and shifted slightly as her prey came into view. “Who’s she meeting at the park?”
“I don’t know,” Sabrina remarked curiously. “She’s not seeing anyone as far as I know, but if she is, then you’ll have to come up with another plan. I have to go. Let’s get together for beers at the club tonight.”
“Right. Seven?”
“Sounds about right,” she said. “Maybe we can pick up a little dessert.”
Ace chuckled. “We’ll see. Later.” She disconnected and slipped her phone into her pants pocket before standing carefully up. She was as agile in her human form as she was in her animal one, but she didn’t want to end up tumbling from the tree and landing on her feet for anyone to see and wonder about.
Ace glanced to the nearest tree and gauged the distance before leaping for a branch. She caught it and pulled herself up onto the limb and walked along it. She was able to keep Jasmia in sight as she followed.
She knew it was stupid, but she wanted to see what the girl was up to. She’d virtually vibrated with excitement when she left her office a few hours ago.
****
Jasmia glanced up into the tree rising high above to her left. A leaf fell, floating down to catch a branch before drifting to the ground. Her cat’s eyes searched the branches, feeling as if someone was watching her.
A squirrel scurried down from a top limb and she jumped when an acorn followed, falling fast.
She shook her head and turned her attention back to the park ahead though she couldn’t shake the feeling she was being stalked. Jasmia was eager to talk to Lacey in hopes she’d really shed some light on Lowell Grande and his mysterious interest in teen gays.
She doubted his motives were purely altruistic which was why she’d been researching him and had contacted his company several times about an interview with him. She wasn’t relying on Lacey’s information being worth much, but she’d decided it was best to go as not.
The playground Lacey Meldon had asked to meet her at came into view, and Jasmia spied the petite brunette sitting on the bench. She quickened her steps.
An Asssassin's Kiss Page 5