Chapter 9
The next morning
After she watched Drake leave the club the night before, she’d sat at the table with Shy who was nice enough not to question her about what was said between her and Drake. Another glass of wine and she was ready to leave. She took a hover taxi and drove by his apartment, relieved that she didn’t see his hover truck. He was probably off fucking the blonde he left the club with. She went into the apartment; using the code he gave her, and grabbed her suitcase. She was glad she had packed up everything before going to the club. The hover taxi waiting for her, and then she went to Shy’s place where she would stay until she found her own apartment.
After a fitful sleep, she woke feeling too wired to eat breakfast. Jinx rode with Shy into the office. Going up the steps to the bail enforcement agency building, she had mixed feelings. She longed to see Drake, apologize for the things she had said that obviously hurt his feelings. At the same time, she was angry and jealous that he would dismiss her so easily and replace her with someone else. That didn’t help her confidence at all. The best thing to do would be to avoid Drake if she could. Unfortunately, fate was against her. Walking into the bail enforcement agency Jinx noticed Vic was sitting in his office with Drake. Vic motioned for her to join them. She took a deep breath and entered.
“Good morning,” she said plopping into the chair next to Drake and ignoring him.
“God, you’re way too cheerful in the mornings,” Vic groused.
Was she?She didn’t feel very cheerful, but she smiled at Vic anyway. “I’m a morning person, what can I say.”
She tried not to look over at Drake, she really did. Unfortunately, that big body of his was hard to ignore. He had his long legs stretched out, ankles crossed with a cup of coffee in one hand and a type of pastry in the other. Glancing over at him was a big mistake because she became entranced with watching him raise the pastry to his mouth to take a bite. It looked like there was a little bit of a sugar glaze at the corners of his mouth. When his tongue peeked out to lick his lips she felt her whole body respond.
A sudden desire to lean over and lick that bit of sugar off of him was almost overwhelming. Her nipples tightened and her lower region began throbbing with need. Both males suddenly looked over at her, but with different expressions. Vic was incredulous and Drake surprised but interested.Crap!She felt heat rise to her cheeks.
Trying to get them to ignore what she was sure they could scent from her. “So boss man, what’s the plan for the day? Do I get my first case or not?”
“Not yet. Your skills have to be accessed before I let you out in the field. Drake is going to be in charge of the skills tests you’ll need to pass. Once I feel you have, I’ll have you working in teams for the first five cases. Drake will be judging you every step of the way.”
She was not happy about that at all.Why Drake?
“Because he’s the one we trust to judge your abilities honestly. Others may be a little too lenient on you. Is there some problem with Drake being your point person?”
Crap!She had asked the question out loud. She could feel Drake’s eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him. “No problem.”
“Good. Three days of assessments, then you can go out with a team.”
“Sounds great,” Jinx said with a smile on her face.
Drake nodded at Vic then stood and walked out of the office without saying a word to her.
She was about to stand up and leave, but then asked, “When will Jagger and his mate be ready to receive guests? I am dying to see that baby and to meet Daniela.”
“They’re coming home tonight. We’ll help them get settled in. I think sometime tomorrow afternoon they will be ready for visitors.”
“Awesome. Do they need anything? Diapers, formula, baby bottles?”
Vic shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the topic clearly unfamiliar to him. “I don’t know about these things. I can ask Lexi but the baby’s room looked packed full of baby shit—stuff.”
Jinx tried to hide her smile. Vic was so cute squirming with—fear. “Are you and Lexi planning on having any children?”
“What?” He ran his hand through his hair. “No, I don’t want my Lexi to suffer as Daniela has. I could hear her screams down the hallway as she gave birth.”
“It’s a temporary pain Vic, and they can give pain medication to help,” Jinx reassured him.
“Daniela was supposed to get that pain med, but by the time she got to the hospital she was too far along to receive anything. I just couldn’t handle Lexi being in that much agony.”
Jinx reached over and patted his hand, giving it a squeeze. “One day a time will come that you or Lexi might think about having children. Talk to each other Tell her your concerns and then go together to a doctor to discuss it.”
“What kind of father would I even be?”
“An amazing one. You took me under your wing and encouraged me to make better life choices. You seriously changed my life, and I will forever be grateful to both you and Jagger for that.”
Vic stood up and pulled her into a big bear hug. “You were a good kid, just had a little problem with your selection in boyfriends.”
Jinx snorted, “Wow, pinpoint my flaws will ya.”
