“Hello, babe.” The warmth of Ace’s voice floated to her. She’d been lying to her all along. This pulling back wasn’t about anything Jasmia had done.
She climbed from the stool and headed for the door. She peeked out finding Ace leaning against a doorframe. She turned so her back was to the door and Jasmia stood there listening.
“I’m taking care of it, Dev,” she said patiently. “I’ll let you know when I know… No, Alexi didn’t say much except what I expected. Five by Five is trying to infiltrate again. They thought they’d set me up with a nice little mole who’d no doubt pilfer my computer after sex one night.”
Ace chuckled sounding truly amused at something her partner had said and Jasmia found herself more than a little jealous. Devin had the kind of intimate knowledge of Ace that she wanted. She had a place in her heart that was set and unshakable and Jasmia craved that so much it made her crazy.
She wanted it to be the heat, but she knew it wasn’t.
“You should know better. It’s not going to fly. The girl’s brother is FBI. Tell Sabrina to kill the story, but at any rate I won’t be finishing the interview.”
Jasmia fisted her hand against her stomach as the other went to the necklace around her neck. Ace had given it to her and she wore it every day. It was like having Ace’s touch all over again, but obviously she’d been nothing to the other woman except a way to get close to her target.
Nausea assailed her and her hand shook on her stomach.
“I’d rather take the risk. Besides, I might have a bargaining chip that buys us some time.”
The information on the SD card.
“Dev I know, okay. I know, but this isn’t going to work. Trust me on that. The girl—no. If you want it done, do it your damn self. I’m not a lackey to take orders from you… Just kill the story for now. I have to go. I think I’ve got ears on me.” She laughed softly. “I’m not bedding the girl. She’d fuck me over, and I’m just not into that right now…Yeah, I’ll keep you informed. Dev, watch your flank.” She chuckled again.
Jasmia clenched her hands angrily as she hurried back to her stool. Why did Devin get that part of her if they weren’t lovers?
She didn’t have any right to be upset about their intimate relationship. She had no claim, so why did her cat want to charge in there and demand the truth?
“Damn you, Ace,” she muttered and clenched her fists as her claws slid out.
“Ready?” Ace asked congenially. “I’ve got that SD card for you.”
“Yes.”
“Great.” Ace smiled. “Cat.”
Jasmia glanced around. “Who are you calling?”
“Ready to go?” A tall woman appeared in the doorway with brown skin and a short haircut. Her chestnut eyes held a glimmer of humor.
“Take her wherever she wants to go,” Ace said coolly. “Later, Jasmia.” She turned on her heel.
Hurt was a knife blade slicing through her. Ace had effectively dismissed her as if she was nothing. It was as if they’d never meant a thing to each other. Jasmia’s fingers twitched and she grabbed the glass from the counter and threw it at Ace’s head.
With the quickness of a cat, she ducked just as the glass reached her leaving it to crash to the floor outside the kitchen. Ace didn’t even deign to speak on the issue. She just kept going.
“Now that you’ve said your piece are you ready to go?” Cat asked humor in her voice.
“You didn’t give me the SD card,” Jasmia screamed after Ace.
“Here you go.” Cat held up two small plastic cases. “Partially decrypted and the full Monte.”
“Thank you.” She snatched them, barely giving Cat a look and strode stiffly to the door.
Chapter Fourteen
The last thing she’d wanted to do was hurt Jasmia, but she didn’t want to get hurt by her either. It was obvious Jasmia not only feared but despised her for what she did for a living. She didn’t hold that against her. At the same time, she wasn’t about to feel bad over who she was.
She’d been formed in love, but shaped in fire and come out of the crucible of her childhood strong. There was nothing to be ashamed of in that.
In her cat form, Ace padded along a fence and leaped onto a branch. She kept to the trees as she moved toward her destination. Around her neck was a small pack holding only a cell phone and camera lens for close up shots. She needed to know what was going on at that warehouse, but she was more concerned with his plans for the kids. So, she was headed to the shelter.
Normally she wouldn’t bother interfering in a rival’s business affairs, but she considered his attempts to bug her room during her play as provocation enough. The man obviously had plans to infiltrate their organization for some purpose other than to learn of their business practices or ascertain if they’d be a good partner.
Forty minutes later, she found herself on the outskirts of downtown where the neighborhood was in general disrepair. A few prostitutes were working the streets near an old motel called the Secret Keeper. She wormed her way around a too thin black girl leaning into a car with two men inside.
She headed down the hill to the shelter which was clearly being renovated. The buildings on one side had been torn down and the frame for a new building had been erected. On the right, the buildings were empty. She walked through the gate to the yard where some teens were sitting outside talking and smoking.
“Hey, kitty.” A male said and grabbed her as she tried to slink past. “Aren’t you pretty. What’s this?” His hand went to the back and she hissed at him. “Now he’s using a homing cat to carry his dope?”
“I wouldn’t put it past that asshole,” another boy said. “People think he’s so damned fantastic. If they only knew the truth.”
“They wouldn’t give a damn about us,” a third male said and slid to his feet from the porch swing and the boy holding her joined him. “You better be careful who you go talking to.”
“I already know that,” he said coldly. “Not that it’d matter. I’ll just be one dead-ass kid that nobody cares about.”
“Stop bitching,” the second male said from behind them as they walked down the street. “Nobody gives a damn about us anyway. We’re just a bunch of queers, morally depraved runaways who deserve whatever we get.”
The boy carrying her rubbed his face against her fur. She could feel his sadness and wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything would be okay. But she knew nothing would be okay if they didn’t ditch their poor me attitudes and decide what they wanted.
“I still don’t know how I stumbled into this,” the boy holding her murmured.
“I do,” the third said bitterly. “The Hatter uses a system to pick the boys and girls he’s going to have working that whorehouse.”
“What is it?”
“That guy named Patton that works in the shelter. You know how he is. He pretends to give a damn and the next thing you know he lowers the boom. He knows which kids no one would miss. There that’s the new brothel.”
“Can you imagine those rich assholes coming down here?”
“There’s going to be an entrance on the other side that’s going to be pretty hard to access. It’s going to be billed as a gentleman’s club. No one’s going to know what’s going on in there except us and them.”
“What do you think the average lifespan for a ho working a brothel is versus one working the streets?” the second boy asked dismally. “Good medical care is promised, but I bet he’s planning to hook some of the kids on drugs.”
“I know he is,” the third boy said angrily. “I heard Patton saying some of the kids are going to be a problem. The Hatter said get them hooked now to avoid it later.”
Son of a bitch.
“Bastards.”
“There’s no way out,” the boy holding her said. “Doesn’t matter how long we manage to live, they’ll probably kill us once we’re too old.”
She rubbed her cheek against the boy’s and something wet soaked into her. “Meow.”
“Ye
ah. I bet your life expectancy is better than ours. I’d like just one of your nine lives.” He kissed her ear and set her down. “You better get back to work, girl, or he’ll kick you.”
She rubbed against the boy’s jeans clad leg once he’d put her down and then bounded back down the street the way they’d come.
Ace wanted a look inside now that she had information to work with. Maybe she’d get more from inside.
****
“You know she wasn’t as unaffected as she seemed.”
“Who?” Jasmia asked stiffly, feigning ignorance.
“Ace.”
“Turn right on the next street.”
She did. “You think you see, but the picture isn’t as clear as it appears to be. Hell, I don’t think even Ace realizes it right now. Then, again, she probably does that’s why she put up that wall back there.”
Jasmia sneaked a peek at the other woman’s profile. “What are you talking about?”
“You have to be damn sure of what you want before going back to her,” she murmured. “Game time will be over, but if you don’t want to walk in her darkness then now’s shaking time.”
“Stop speaking in code,” Jasmia snapped. “Just tell me straight out.”
“If you don’t want Ace, stay away from her because if you don’t, she’s not going to let you walk away when you’re ready,” Cattail told her.
“How long has she been doing this, killing people?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she drawled easily. “Mojo is a security agency. We protect people not kill them.”
“Is that the party line?”
Cat flashed her a sharp grin. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re not going to tell me the truth.”
“Baby, you don’t get our secrets unless you’re more than a fling,” Cat said. “Then, a woman like Ace will tell you whatever you want to know, but you have to hold her soul and own her heart first.”
“What about you?”
Cat laughed. “You’re taken, girl. I’m not interested in an ass kicking battle of attrition with your woman.”
“Turn up here,” Jasmia said. “It’s the last house on the block on the right.”
“Your weakness.” He threw Jasmia a look as his hand went behind his back. “Lewis Loser’s words came back to haunt her along with the look in his eyes. He’d seemed full of malicious glee.
“Lewis was the assassin,” she said evenly. “He and his girlfriend were assigned to take out a client of mine a few years ago. I put two bullets in her and one in him to save the guy. My only regret is, I couldn’t chase the loser down and finish the job.”
He’d thought she meant something to Ace and he was going to get to take her from Ace, causing her pain.
But Ace didn’t really care for her. She’d just walked out on her. Jasmia made a soft sound as the hurt of the memory slammed into her anew. She wanted to mean more than a hook-up, but obviously Devin was the one that held her heart.
Chapter Fifteen
The truck pulled to a stop in the long driveway of the tired, brown trim house with a wide front porch. Cattail cut the engine.
“Why do you think I matter to her?”
Cattail shot her a curious glance as she released her seatbelt. “You have nice eyes. They flashed sea green like pretty little calico eyes.”
Jasmia blinked. She looked away and then met Cattail’s gaze again. “You’re—I can’t tell.”
“Not all breeds can be identified by smell in their human form,” she murmured. “In the case of American short-hair, calicos they can be easily identified by their hair color and their eyes. You all have green eyes and your heat makes it easy to tell you’re a domestic cat.”
“You’re a jungle cat?”
Cattails smiled. “I’m a mutant and so is your woman. In case you can’t tell, Ace is in heat too. You can’t have divided loyalties from here on out. It’s us or them.” She climbed out of the truck.
Jasmia released her seatbelt and opened her door with her thoughts in turmoil. She’d known Ace was different from the moment they met, but she hadn’t been able to put her finger on just what that was. Ace hadn’t even mentioned her purrs, but she’d done nothing out of the ordinary to reveal that she wasn’t all human either.
“In case you can’t tell, Ace is in heat too.”
Her eyes widened as Cat’s words curled around her. Her heart pounded hard.
They couldn’t be mates, could they? It would explain why Ace had been following her in the park, but how had Lewis Loser worked that out?
One look at Ace, and he’d been so eager to kill her while Ace watched.
My Goddess Bast. Are you sure, she’s the one? An assassin?
“Are you sure this is the place? It looks a little rundown.” Cattail put a hand on her back.
“I smell of her?” Her family had said had her scent had changed when she’d come back from Maine, but she’d chalked it up to the new perfume she was using that Ace had bought her.
“Barely,” she said distracted.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Maybe because you’re still a threat to her and to us,” she said. “Ah, we’re not alone.”
Night glow eyes quickly vanished as a figure stepped out of the trees at the side of the house. “Who the hell are you?” Terry demanded.
“Terry, leave her alone,” Jasmia muttered. “She’s just following orders.”
“Orders to kidnap you?” he demanded turning cold golden brown eyes on Cattail.
“She wasn’t the one,” Jasmia snapped.
“You tell your pal Ace, we’re going to nail her for those murders and when we do, we’ll bring Mojo tumbling down around your ears,” Terry snarled.
“Dude, take a pill,” Cattail muttered. “And watch your sister’s flank. You think you know it all, but the enemy is closer than it appears. He always is.” She turned and Terry grabbed her shoulder.
“Is that a threat?” He shoved her.
Cattail shoved him back. “It means, the last person who’d hurt your sister is us, now back the fuck off me before this goes south.”
He growled at her and she growled back, her eyes darker, harder like that of the ocelot her genes came from. To his credit his eyes didn’t widen but in true tomcat fashion he took a step toward her.
“No!” Jasmia leaped between them putting her hands on her brother’s broad, hard chest. “Terry. She was just leaving.” She felt Cattail close at her back, the heat of her soaking into her clothing. “Cattail, doesn’t Ace want you back at home?”
Cattail chuckled darkly. “Smart little kitty,” she said and headed back to her truck. “Remember what I said, calico.” She started her vehicle and shot backward down the drive.
“Don’t ever do that again,” Terry bit out. “I don’t need you to protect me from a killer.”
“Ace gave me the SD card,” she said coldly. “Next time I’ll let her eat you.” She stalked into the house. She’d had enough testosterone and male bull for one night.
Her brother grabbed her arm. “I have to work later. A stake out, but Seymour will be here along with a couple of other guys.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
“Show me the card,” he said and let her lead the way into the house.
“She gave me two,” Jasmia said as they stepped into the entry and the scent of fried chicken hit her. The low lights did little to reveal the décor. “One’s been decoded. She said the other was the full disk encrypted.”
“She’s probably tampered with it,” he muttered. “Those bitches are dangerous, Jassi,” Terry insisted as he indicated a set of stairs to her right. “They’re mercenaries who sack cities and protect dictators and kill politicians and law enforcement agents. They buy and smuggle guns.”
“Well nobody can accuse them of being idle and without purpose,” she said in a joking tone, but she was intrigued. Her brother talked about them like they were old world conquerors or something
.
She couldn’t reconcile what he said with how both women had treated her though. Neither acted like indiscriminate killers. Ace had even shown some concern for Agent Crandall.
Jasmia put her hand on the sturdy banister and headed up the stairs. On the landing her brother moved past her to lead her to a small bedroom halfway down the corridor.
“But there is plenty to accuse them of and none of it’s good,” he muttered. “You’ll be safe, but listen to the guys including Seymour. Do whatever they tell you.”
She fished the cards from her pocket. “I can’t live like this.” Jasmia held them out to him. “I have work tomorrow.”
“Now’s a good time to quit,” Terry told her in a hard tone. “That place isn’t safe right now at any rate. A Five by Five hit man will be crawling all over the building looking for you.” You’ll sleep in here.”
“I’m not quitting,” she retorted. “I want to know what’s on them.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Terry argued. “The less you know the better.”
“It’s too late to try to keep me out of it, Terry. That assassin would have killed me if Ace hadn’t been there. He said a target had been painted on my back thanks to the agent. He’d reported to his boss while she and I were talking.”
“That is all the more reason why you can’t see this,” he told her. “Now, relax.”
“Then, I’ll just call Ace and ask her.”
“You don’t have your phone,” he reminded her. “I took it from your bag. It’s on the bed.”
“Bastard,” she muttered.
“This is for your own good,” Terry told her. “I’m going to go downstairs and check this one out and send the other to the lab. You just take it easy.”
She tried to follow and he held up a hand. “I mean it. This isn’t for your eyes.”
“Damn it,” she snarled and he glared at her before leaving her alone.
“My own good?” Why did everyone want to protect her instead of tell her the truth?
A quick rap on the door and it opened. “I see the bitch didn’t hurt you,” Seymour murmured. “Are you okay?”
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