“When we get back to the house, we need to talk, Cat,” Ace said.
“What happened with Alexi? Is she trying to flex muscle?”
“On the contrary,” Ace answered and glanced in the review mirror at her.
“You went to the club in the middle of the day?” Jasmia demanded. “What the hell for? You have vodka and a woman at home.”
Cattail laughed. “She’s got your number.”
Ace grunted. “Maybe the liquor tasted better there.”
“With someone else’s pussy?” Jasmia snapped. “I’m not going to tolerate that, Ace. You make this the last time you go fucking around on me.”
Cattail laughed again and Ace growled. “I’m not a tame housecat you can easily collar, Mia.”
“Neither am I, Ace,” she muttered. “Stay away from that club unless you’re taking me with you.”
Ace grunted again. “We’ll talk later, Cat.”
“Turn up here,” she said. “It’s the pizza place.”
“Oh good, food,” Cattail murmured.
“Order it to go,” Ace muttered as she turned into the parking lot and found a space at the end of a line.
“You having any?”
“May as well,” Ace said.
She whipped out her phone as Ace climbed from the truck and Jasmia did the same. Ace rounded to Jasmia’s side as Jasmia closed the door.
“Do you realize this could get us both killed?” Ace demanded putting a hand on the door. “Whoever the mole is inside the local fed office probably knows about this meeting. He or she might even be pals with your brother which is how the hitters knew where to find you last night.”
“I thought about it,” she said tightly. And she had. “Still, my brother’s piece of mind is important to me especially since he probably feels responsible for last night.”
“How many times did you talk to him today?”
“Twice,” she admitted and put her hand on Ace’s side. “Baby, listen to me.”
Ace looked down at her then with those enigmatic beautiful eyes and she reached up to cup her face. “Tell me,” Ace said.
“My family is important to me even though they’re going to turn their backs on me once I tell them about us. This may be the last time my brother speaks to me without disgust in his eyes. Let me have that.”
“Okay.” She nodded and drew Jasmia’s hand away kissing the palm.
“Jassi?”
Terrance rounded the truck. His astute gaze went from Jasmia to Ace and back again. “
What are you doing?” he demanded coldly as he walked toward them.
“I’m living my life,” she said evenly. “Why’d you want to meet?”
He threw Ace a chilling look but she merely lifted her brows in humor. “I want your prints.”
“Uh, no.”
“Jassi said you didn’t attack the house, but someone left a print,” Terrence said.
“I was wearing gloves, fed boy,” she retorted.
“Like always?” he asked softly.
“Exactly.”
Jasmia’s gaze went from one to the other. The belligerence coming off them was stifling. “I told you Ace wasn’t behind this.”
“Where were you then?”
“Checking something out,” Ace told him.
“Something like an angle of the house or maybe you were laughing your ass off about the misdirection you’d sent Jassi to me with.”
“What?” she demanded.
“The SD card. There was nothing worth killing for on it.”
Ace frowned. “You’re joking? Murder isn’t worth killing over? Agent Crandall obviously got some of that footage herself.”
Terrence’s stance changed and Jasmia moved closer to Ace wrapping her arm around her waist ready to beg her not to get into it with Terry.
“There was no murder on the card. The IT guy who decrypted it said it was all files on the fundraiser and renovation and even the warehouse’s stock.”
“Warehouse—did you get a warrant?”
“And there was nothing but merchandise there,” he said.
“Then, maybe he’s your mole,” Ace said coldly and whipped out her phone. She brought up a file. “This is what’s on the card.”
He tried to take the phone but she held onto it and he moved to her other side to view the contents.
“Where is this?”
“It’s the shelter.” Jasmia breathed out roughly. “That’s where you went when you left me,” she said to Ace.
“What shelter?” Terrence demanded.
“Haven,” Jasmia told him.
“Send me the footage,” he said coldly. “If this is a trick—” He broke off and at the same time Ace’s eyes went from brown to cat green. She turned her head and scanned the rooftops.
“Mia, get in the truck. Cattail.”
Before they could move shots rang out. One hit the passenger side window shattering it behind them. Jasmia let out a yelp as glass sliced the side of her neck.
Ace wrapped an arm around her and turned to avoid an oncoming bullet that smashed into the side of the truck. “Shift and get under the nearest car,” Ace told her before bending down to lift her pant leg. She jerked a gun free as Terrence crouched down.
“We can’t shoot back. Someone might get hit. I’ll call it in.”
Ace ignored him and patted Jasmia’s soft fur as she crouched down. “Go.” The silence that followed was even more deafening than the shots. Ace didn’t like that. She knew it meant trouble and wondered if Cattail had made it out of the truck. She feared they were powering up for an even worse attack.
A ferocious growl and then a howl of pain lit the air and Ace shifted positions knowing Cattail had surprised an attacker. A submachine gun slid under the truck and Ace grabbed it and straightened just as two men rounded the truck.
She opened fire and guns went off from above. From steps away, Terrence fired at a target on the roof of a shop. The man pitched forward and tumbled off.
“Damn it,” a male voice cursed as a cat leaped onto his back. The claws dug into his neck and he swiped at it to dislodge it.
Ace whipped around and shot him in the shoulder before advancing to punch him. The left cross caused his knees to buckle as he fell backward onto a car’s hood.
“Looks like he’ll be coming with us,” Cattail said. “They’ve retreated, but—” A loud pop cut her words short and a figure in black ran.
“My partner,” Terrance screamed and headed off after the retreating figure.
“Get him tied and into the truck,” Ace ordered Cattail who was naked. “And dress before someone sees you.”
Peopled had started to pour out in curiosity.
“Mia, into the truck.”
Ace helped tie their captive before hauling him inside as sirens wailed toward them. She climbed in deciding to let the fed handle the mess.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ace cleaned up the cut on the side of her mate’s neck before allowing Jasmia to pick glass out of Ace’s arm and bandage the other minor cuts she’d sustained from the glass.
“Your response time was too slow,” Ace said after Jasmia finished with the bandage.
“I went as fast as I could without hurting you,” she muttered.
“When I told you to shift. It’s one of your best defenses.”
“I was scared for you, but you’re so damned ornery it was wasted energy,” Jasmia snapped. “You could have been killed.”
“So could your brother if I hadn’t taken a little risk,” Ace retorted.
“Don’t even try to use him against me.” Jasmia glared at her. “You know I didn’t want him hurt or you. I was terrified you’d get shot, Ace.”
Ace sighed. “I was more afraid you’d get shot by a stray bullet.” She pulled Jasmia into her arms and rubbed her back. “Baby, you can’t see him again for a while.”
“Ace, it’s—”
“They followed him,” she snapped, putting Jasmia away from her. “Mia
, he’s unwilling to face that there are moles in his FBI and some of them might damn well be his friends. You aren’t safe around him.”
She hadn’t been shot even when she’d been out on the back deck today. Not a single thing had moved in the yard unless you counted the birds and the ants. She nodded.
“I tell you what. I’ll let you call the shots when it comes to anything to do with your work. I’m no expert nor do I have any real world knowledge of how these things work.”
“No arguments?” Ace looked at her suspiciously. “Even if I say you’re taking a bodyguard to work?”
“None,” she said with a horror-struck stare. “But you have to trust my judgment too. I’m not going to tell all your secrets. I don’t want to hurt or lose you.”
“Can you accept what I do, Mia?”
“I don’t know what you do really, Ace,” she exclaimed. “Tell me something I can grab onto.”
“I’m a soldier for hire and my specialty is covert missions. I take down the people your brother can’t because the law ties his hands, and the government gets complete deniability. If something goes wrong, they might turn on me.”
Jasmia studied her, considering her words. She weighed them next to what her brother had told her about Ace. “So you work with the CIA?”
“Mostly,” she admitted.
“My brother would never know you’re not one of the bad guys,” she mused.
“No, but I don’t just work for our government. I work for other countries doing things they can’t get done.”
“It’s amazing,” she murmured. “You should have just told me that. I’d never jeopardize your life or anyone who works for you. I just don’t understand why Devin wants the agency brought to light.”
“It needs to look like a perfectly normal agency,” Ace told her. “Your brother’s investigating me for killing the State’s Attorney because the bastard had set up a meeting and obviously named me as an assassin he had intel on.”
Jasmia frowned. “He would have pumped me for information after what he saw today,” she said. “He’s going to try to convince me I’m confused about my sexuality and being taken in by you. Then, he’s going to ask me leading questions about how we met and you’re right I can’t see him again right now.”
“I’m more worried about you getting killed than what you might say,” Ace told her with a shake of her head. “I need to talk to Cattail about the interrogation.”
She nodded. “It’s too bad we didn’t get those pizzas.” Jasmia grinned. “I’m suddenly very hungry. I think I’ll cook something. Tell me I won’t be hearing screaming.”
“It’s probably all over, anyway,” Ace murmured and kissed Jasmia. “Mia, please don’t be deceiving me. It would kill me to hurt you.”
Jasmia wrapped her arms around Ace’s neck. “Don’t hurt me either, baby.” She nuzzled Ace’s mouth. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever been able to really be myself with without fear. How did you know I was a shifter?”
She shrugged. “You have calico eyes. Besides that, you meowed for me.”
She laughed. “Cattail said she was a mutant, are you?”
“I’m a Bengal breed domestic, but I become a Bengal tiger when necessary.”
“My Goddess,” she exclaimed. “I’ve never seen a Bengal up close.”
“I’ll let you pet me soon,” Ace murmured and kissed Jasmia. “Now, let me get to work.”
“Ace, are the people you’re working for going to do anything about Five by Five?”
“We’re not working,” Ace told her.
“Then, why are you involved?”
“Because he tried to kill you.” She dropped a kiss on Jasmia’s forehead and backed away from her. “The alarms are on. Don’t answer the door. Dev and Blade have keys.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen being a good little girl,” she said in a mocking tone.
“Good.”
“I want to check on my brother. Can I borrow your phone?”
“Later,” Ace said. “He’s still mopping up right now.” She headed to the basement where Cattail was lounging on a chair. “Did he talk?”
“The serum is superb,” Cattail said with a smile. “He said The Hatter sent him after your girl. A federal agent who’s on The Hatter’s payroll named Black Jack was on site, and he’s in charge of the operation to assassinate your girl and manage The Hatter’s operation here once things are set up. The shelter and the brothel are important to the drug trade.”
“I know.”
“Black Jack has a team in place to handle distribution and sales. He’s already dealing out of the shelter and that’s one of the reasons The Hatter bought it. The shelter is in Patton’s name, but Black Jack and The Hatter are in control. Patton is part of Black Jack’s team.”
“So, we can close the shelter but not the brothel because nothing is going on there yet,” Ace murmured.
“Once we close it, The Hatter is going to be pissed, but we’re going to have to figure out how to get the drug trade stopped.”
“What does Alexi think?”
“She wants it over,” Ace said. “So, we might be silent players in that war.”
“Better get your girl trained in defense,” she said. “I’ll get rid of that.”
“The serum killed him?”
“Yep,” Cattail said and got to her feet. “The kids are shipping out at six tomorrow, and there’s a big buy going down at the shelter at six as well. Guns and dope. Black Jack wants his boys outfitted.”
“Poor Patton. He’s about to lose a big piece of The Hatter’s puzzle,” Ace said and chuckled. “Take him to the morgue. We don’t need The Hatter and Black Jack changing their plans on account of him.”
“You got it,” she said. “The cleaners arrived in town last night. I’ll get them to take care of it.”
“Great. We’ll talk later. You can take the rest of the day off.”
“I’ll just hang around here. It’s big enough for you two and me.”
“Right.” She eyed the other woman curiously and then laughed as she headed back up the stairs.
Ace found Jasmia in the kitchen humming as she prepared a meal. She looked at ease as she mixed and then pressed something into a pan before pushing it into the oven. Ace watched as Jasmia washed her hands and began preparing a sauce.
“What are you making?”
Jasmia threw her a smile. “Pasta with a cream sauce to go with chicken. You want to help?”
“Sure.” She went to the sink to wash up.
“That was fast,” Jasmia commented.
“Truth serum,” Ace replied.
“Good.” Jasmia gave her a smile. “Do you have any wine?”
“I thought you knew what my liquor cabinet looked like,” Ace teased.
“I just assumed.” She gave Ace a bored look and Ace laughed.
“Red or white?”
“Either will be fine with this meal unless of course you’re just having a beer or vodka.”
“I’ll grab some red.” She went to the wine fridge which was built into the center island. Ace grabbed a bottle and set it on the counter and then went to turn on the stereo.
Together they cooked in companionable silence and when the meal was nearly done, Ace went to the small dining room just off the kitchen to set the table.
“Ace?”
She stepped back into the kitchen. “I was just setting the table. I’ll pour some wine if you take dinner in. Just through there.” Ace pointed to the doorway she’d just exited.
Jasmia took their plates to the table and a smile burst over her face at the neat arrangement. A small cup of wildflowers graced the center of the table and the curtains were open and natural light spilled in from the side of the house. A small garden with colorful blooms was their view.
“This is nice, Ace,” Jasmia murmured. “How’d you get the flowers?”
“There’s a door just over to the left that leads out to the small porch and garden.”
“I co
uld grow sunflowers and veggies,” she mused and then looked guiltily at Ace. “I mean you could.”
“I don’t have much of an interest in gardening,” she admitted holding out the glass of wine. “I’ve already hired someone to take care of the yard, but you’re welcome to do as you please.”
Jasmia took a sip of wine and Ace pulled out her chair.
“We’re going to dance around that part?” Ace asked joining her at the table.
“What part?”
“Tell me about your family,” Ace urged as she picked up her fork.
Jasmia studied her for a moment as Ace dug in to her meal. “They’re nice people. Christian. Both of my parents are school teachers, and my sister is a housewife. We were never really close because we’re too different.”
“You and your family or you and your sister?”
“Me and my sister,” she said. “She was so popular and pretty. Every boy wanted to date her and every girl wanted to be her. She has this charisma that just draws people right to her. My mom is the same way.”
“You have your own charm, Mia,” Ace told her softly. “And I think you’re beautiful.”
She smiled and saw the truth of the words in Ace’s stare. “I was always in her shadow but that was my fault.” She shrugged. “Our mother reminded me often how much prettier my sister was, but I think she just wanted to change me.”
“What was wrong with you?”
“I wasn’t cheerleader or an extrovert like my sister.” She shrugged. She’d been hurt every time her mother said how gorgeous her sister was and then would tell her she could be pretty too if she put on some makeup.
She had the career and before Ace, the empty life with no one to go home to. She was nothing extraordinary and now she was the target of a crime lord. Her sister could probably pass on that and still consider her a loser.
“Mia.” Ace covered Jasmia’s hand with hers. “No one can make you feel inferior without your cooperation,” she said. “You’re a great woman. You have a successful career and you’re smart. You seem to know what you want from life. It just wasn’t the same as what your sister wanted.”
“She has a mate our parents approve of, and they’d hate you. You’re white, you’re a woman, and you’re a freak.”
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