An Asssassin's Kiss

by Serenity Snow

“I’m fine.”

  “We will get her, Jasmia,” he assured her as he came to stand before her. “She’ll regret coming after you.” He reached out to touch her, and she evaded his big hand.

  “Don’t,” she said. Jasmia wasn’t afraid of Ace and she didn’t mind her touch even now knowing what she was. In fact, she craved her so much she wished she’d just stayed with her tonight. Maybe right now, she’d be in her bed making love with her.

  “Why not? Because I’m not a woman?” His tone held disgust and his eyes knowledge. “I know where you went last night.”

  “It’s my business,” she replied disdainfully. “You had no right to follow me, but don’t think I’m going to let you blackmail me into your bed.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of forcing you,” he said softly. “I had hoped we could get some of what we had back and build something new on that, but let’s just say last night cleared the delusion from my head.”

  “Good.” She walked away from him.

  “Your father asked me to take a detail since they were going to be a man short,” Seymour told her, his tone cool. “They’ll get a woman for tomorrow night after they move you. Did the woman tell you what was on the card?”

  “She said they couldn’t decode it,” she told him. “Not all of it.”

  “What’s on the part they could decrypt?”

  “Stuff about Grande’s business.”

  “Like what? He’s not on the FBI’s radar as anything other than a businessman who occasionally makes large donations to charities. He has no criminal record.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe the dirt is in what hasn’t been decoded.”

  “Crandall had to have said something to you,” Seymour said with a frown.

  “She didn’t have time. Someone started shooting at us and then she was dead.”

  “She didn’t say anything before she died? I find it hard that she didn’t try to get a message to you. She might have known your brother was FBI.”

  “She didn’t, Seymour,” she snapped. “She—” She stopped when she recalled how Ace had quickly moved in. It had been as if she’d wanted to ensure no one suspected Crandall had been meeting her to hand off information to her.

  She shook her head. No, that was her imagination.

  “What did you remember?”

  “Nothing, I’m tired,” she said quietly. “And I’m worried they’ll still get to me.”

  “I won’t let her anywhere near you,” he said. “Rest. Then, later well talk again.”

  As soon as he exited she sighed and sat down on the bed. The mattress was surprisingly firm. She lay back on the pillows and her thoughts drifted to Ace.

  Her mate?

  In case you can’t tell, Ace is in heat too.”

  Obviously Ace mated for life too, but there was no need for choices like that to be made. Cats were social. They didn’t isolate themselves from their families.

  “Maybe because you’re still a threat to her and to us,” she said. “You can’t have divided loyalties from here on out. It’s us or them.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ace slipped into the backseat of the dual cab pickup truck and Cat spared her a brief look as Ace reached for the bag of clothes. “What’s the good word?” she asked.

  “The Hatter bought that old hotel near the shelter,” Ace told her as she tugged on a sports bra. “He’s planning on turning it into a gentleman’s club which will be a cover for the brothel.”

  “Clever,” she murmured. “But why are we getting involved? No one asked us too.”

  “He’s trying to infiltrate our organization,” Ace told her. “And it’s not because he wants our help.”

  “Are you sure this isn’t about your woman?” Cat asked dryly. “I can tell you’re about a fuck away from mating her. All she has to do is accept the bond and you’re locked together for life.”

  “Did I ask you for information on my sex life?” Ace asked coldly.

  “You didn’t have to, girlfriend,” she drawled. “I’ve got nothing on Seymour yet except he’s FBI. Anderson’s working on the State’s Attorney’s case which means he’s the one who’s hunting your ass.”

  “Good for him.” Ace pulled on her pans as she leaned back against the seat. “A couple of kids tried to opt out of being whores for him. He’s already got them working out of the shelter. A man named Patton handles the call-outs and sends them on their dates.”

  “I’ll see what I can find on him,” Cat said. “What happened to the kids that opted out?”

  “Dead. Two nights ago. Both boys. A girl’s missing too, but her pals think she just moved on.”

  “She’s probably dead.”

  Ace grunted and then pulled on shoes and socks before tugging a black t-shirt over her head. “Let’s see if Jo managed to get the rest of that card decrypted.” She retrieved her phone from the bag. “Has she moved?”

  “Nope. Tracker’s doing its job. This Patton might be our in, huh?”

  Ace turned on her phone and checked her messages. “I scented shifters around. Ocelot domestics.” Some shifters carried a distinctive scent that could be picked up even in their human form, but only another shifter could pick them out.

  “How many?”

  “Four playing guard dog,” she said. “He wants those kids to know he’s in charge.” She found one from Jo which contained a file. She downloaded the files.

  “I just bet,” Cattail muttered.

  “The Hatter has recently taken over the Hopeful Hearts Shelter downtown. The previous owner who ran the place has taken the one million that she was paid and moved on. The man who helped run the shelter with her, Marcus Patton still works there. Lonny Chastain is his chief enforcer. Chastain is ex-army and his good buddy Murray is above him.”

  “Seymour?” Cattail asked surprised.

  “She doesn’t say. She does say that ten kids have already vanished since Patton has taken over. The most recent was killed two nights ago. A girl named Z was raped and stabbed to death by Chastain last night. I don’t know where her body is, but I did get the murder on video.”

  “She should have called it in.”

  “That’s what got her killed,” Ace said bitterly. “I’m opening the video file now.” She did just that and leaned over the seat so Cattail could see.

  The video contained the rape and murder of a teenage girl as well as the brutal murder of two boys.

  “I want this footage shown to all the kids we’ve chosen and the ones we choose in the future, so they’ll know what happens to people who say no to The Hatter.” The voice was icy, but they couldn’t see his face.

  “The man is so cold, I wonder if he even has a soul,” Cattail murmured as she wiped at a tear that had crept silently down her face.

  “Likely he just considers this like putting down the enemy,” Ace said tightly.

  “We need to know who he is.”

  “Kids aren’t going to talk, babe,” Ace told her. “They’re scared pissless.”

  “How are we going to stop this?”

  “Same way we always do,” Ace retorted. “A bullet in the heart or a slice across the throat.”

  ****

  “Do we know where the target is?” The Hatter spoke into his phone as he stared out the window of the limo driving him to his dinner engagement.

  “We know,” Black Jack answered. “The card has been partially translated and contains some info about the warehouse, but nothing damning. The feds won’t be interested in getting a warrant for a look around.”

  “What else?”

  “The rest of it hasn’t been decrypted. It’s in the hands of the feds though.”

  “Who’s working on it? Jo?”

  “No,” Black Jack said. “Our man, Willy. He said he’d let me know when he’d finished.”

  “Call me,” The Hatter told him. “I want proof of death on the girl.”

  “Right,” Black Jack replied. “Patton said someone came around asking about one of the girls.”

>   “So?”

  “So I still think we need to cut ties with the shelter now. These kids may be gay, but all it takes is one busybody to take an interest and that reporter—”

  “Once she’s dead the problem will be over,” the Hatter cut in irritated.

  “Maybe, I don’t think it’s a risk worth taking. You can use the new building as a recreation or school for the shelter and focus on our priority.”

  “And what do you think that is?” he asked coldly. He liked initiative, but Black Jack was going too far.

  “The drugs and weapons,” Black Jack told him evenly.

  The man sounded like he thought he could run the business. He’d have to remind him of his place soon before he stepped too much further out of line. “Get rid of her tonight and when you’ve finished, send her family a copy of the video. I want them to know what will happen if they push for an investigation.”

  “Thy will be done.” Black Jack ended the call and put the burner beneath the seat of his truck before climbing out. The small team he’d engaged for the hit was already watching the house from the trees and ready to move in on his command. He grabbed the walkie. “It’s go time.”

  He sighed as he ended the call. The reporter’s death would draw Mojo into the conflict here. Ace was a formidable opponent, but her time had come. The assassin wasn’t invincible.

  ****

  The thud of a body as it slammed into a wall pulled her from a sound sleep. The dull pop of a gun jerked her up right in bed, heart hammering in her ears. Pushing off the covers, Jasmia jumped from the bed clad only in a bra and panties she’d fallen asleep in. She tugged on jeans and wished desperately for Ace.

  Her brother had said she was a dangerous and bad person, but right now that’s exactly what she needed. Someone dangerous and capable of going toe-to-toe with the men that had gotten by her guards.

  “Seymour!”

  She winced at the pathetically needy tone of her voice. “Seymour?”

  If Ace had been looking out for her, she’d be here not doing whatever Seymour was doing. He was probably letting her suffer because she didn’t want him. He’d come running in once she was shaking so bad her teeth shattered.

  A masculine cry had her turning to the window. She could leap from it to the ground in human form without any real damage. She really did have nine lives providing she didn’t get beheaded or anything like that.

  Jasmia grabbed her blouse and her bedroom door crashed open. A startled cry fell from her lips.

  A black masked man loomed in the doorway and his eyes were cold through the eyeholes. He was muscular and broad across the chest. The hair edging from beneath the mask was dusky brown.

  He pointed a gun at her and said, “The Hatter sends his regards.” The words tumbled from his mouth and his fingers moved on the trigger. Jasmia squeaked and closed her eyes but the shot went wide.

  The man grunted.

  Her eyes flew open wide in time to see the big man’s knees buckle. He jabbed at a foe she couldn’t see and heard the snarl of a tiger. The man rolled forward and came to his feet to quickly face his attacker. He caught a knife thrown at him and lunged forward.

  He grunted and a moment later so did his attacker.

  “Damn,” he snarled and jerked back. “Ace of fucking Spades, should have known it was you.” Jasmia heard respect in his tone and lunged forward only to pull back. Blood dripped from his hand and a wound in his arm. “Should call you switch blade,” he said before doing a front kick which took him closer to the door.

  “We’ve got to move,” Cattail’s voice was muffled from the hallway. “I can’t take out the side. The son of a bitch is setting the place on fire.”

  The man grunted and stepped back. A star came into the room and he caught it. With a grin, he threw it at Jasmia, and she dove for the bed.

  “Mistake number two, asshole.” A second star hurdled into the room as he laughed. This one bit into the side of his neck and blood spurted showing off the deadly precision of the knife thrower.

  He went to his knees. “Look away, Mia.”

  She rolled off the bed and didn’t see what came next as she got to her feet. Jasmia didn’t do it because Ace had ordered it. She just didn’t want to see, she told herself.

  Cattail was in the room a moment later getting the window up as smoke filtered in. “Me first,” she said to Jasmia and then cut the screen before leaping out of the window.

  “C’mon, Mia,” Ace said. Her face was pulled into a taut mask and blood dotted her forehead and the front of her black t-shirt. There was a cut on her arm. “Move.”

  She turned and climbed out of the window. Cattail jumped in the air and her legs curved around the six foot figure’s waist. He stumbled but didn’t go down until she jerked his head to one side. The sickening crack of bone made Jasmia wince.

  Ace tugged her arm pulling her away from the house just as it exploded. The force of the blast threw them forward into the backyard. Jasmia screamed as something sharp pierced her side, but Ace made not a sound as she pulled her to her feet and urged her toward the wood privacy fence.

  “Can you jump, Mia?”

  “No.”

  “Cat.”

  Cattail raced toward the fence and bounded over pushing off with one foot on the boards.

  “Foot in my hand, and I’ll throw you over,” Ace told her.

  “No—”

  “Now, girl,” she snapped. “We don’t have time for this prissy shit.”

  “Ace,” she muttered and put her foot in the other woman’s hand. “I’m too heavy.”

  “Push off now.”

  Jasmia did as she was told just as a bullet raced toward them. She screamed and Ace threw her forward. She sailed over the fence and Ace followed landing soundlessly next to her.

  They raced off down the street as the fire lit up the night sky.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jasmia gritted her teeth five minutes later as she sat topless in the backseat with Ace slathering salve onto her side. She’d pulled something from her side that Jasmia hadn’t seen, but she wasn’t bleeding that much, so she figured it had to be something like a nail.

  “I’m going to give you a shot of antibiotic to make sure that glass doesn’t turn out to be fatal.”

  “You just carry that kind of stuff around?” Jasmia asked as Ace reached into a small bag on the floor.

  “Course. The job’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.” Ace flashed her a smile.

  “You were just spying on me?” she demanded.

  “I’m surprised you don’t think I did this.”

  “Did you?” she demanded and winced from the shot.

  “Don’t be silly,” Ace muttered. “Here.” She tossed a shirt at her and reached into the bag for an alcohol prep pad and tore it open to rub it over her arm, wiping blood away.

  “She’d never set fire with you inside,” Cattail muttered. “Ace did you get a bead on the guards?”

  “Seymour was inside,” Jasmia said softly. “Did you see him?”

  “No,” Ace said tightly. “He was either dead or gone.”

  “He wouldn’t have left me,” Jasmia told her. “His family and mine are friends.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Ace said coldly. “I didn’t see him.”

  “He wasn’t there, honey,” Cattail assured her evenly and met her gaze in the mirror.

  “Let me do that.” Jasmia took the bandage Ace was about to open to apply to her arm. She brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned forward. Her vision was adequate in the dim light of the car. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

  “Nowhere that needs a bandage.”

  “There’s a bruise on your cheek.” She stroked her finger lightly over the angry red mark. “How did you know the safe house would be attacked?”

  “That’s the way The Hatter plays it,” Ace said. “Besides, I figured once your brother sent that card off to the FBI, Hatter would want to shut you up. He has no idea how much you k
now.”

  “You know she didn’t tell me anything,” Jasmia said tightly.

  “Yeah, I do, but he doesn’t care. He won’t take chances that you know even the smallest detail that could reveal his true identity or his plans.”

  “You don’t know what he looks like?” Jasmia smoothed the bandage into place and looked up into Ace’s eyes.

  “No, but that hasn’t been an issue for us until now,” she answered and sat back. Jasmia studied her face as the light went off.

  “He’s going to come after you for saving me,” Jasmia said dismally. “Ace why did you come here?”

  “Did you want to die?”

  “No.” She put her hand on Ace’s thigh. “Thank you for saving me.” Jasmia leaned toward her and brushed her lips against Ace’s.”

  “Don’t start you two,” Cattail snapped. “I don’t want the sweet smell of pussy in my nose while I’m driving.”

  “Shut up, Cat.” She pushed her fingers into Jasmia’s hair and drew her head closer. “You’re already getting wet. Does the thought of me taking you with Cattail so close turn you on?”

  “No!” she said aghast. “Just the thought of you taking me at all,” she admitted and her skin heated. She rested a hand on Ace’s shoulder. “I don’t know what it is about you that makes it so hard for me to stay away—to want to stay away.”

  “You don’t have to run.”

  “Just do things your way and end up with a broken heart?” Jasmia demanded quietly even as she straddled Ace. Ace’s breathing quickened as her hands settled on Jasmia’s hips.

  “I can’t stop being what I am, Mia,” she told her. “That’s hard for you to deal with let alone understand.”

  Jasmia sighed. “When I saw him in the doorway, I wished for you to rescue me and there you were,” she said softly. “I should have been wishing for the cops or my brother, but I wanted you.”

  “And that scared you?”

  “Knowing you could get hurt scared me,” Jasmia told answered. “I realized in that instant I didn’t want to lose you. I don’t know if what my brother said about you is true, but you saved my life twice and you didn’t have to.”

  “Where does that leave us?” Ace asked.