Hours later he paused outside the old warehouse where he met his handler, Jasmine beside him in jean shorts and an oversized surfing shirt to hide her weapons.He wasn’t sure how this was going to go but his gut wasn’t completely on board.
Not that he feared betrayal from her.He couldn’t explain why he trusted her, however he did.But he knew how things went in the agency.
“I think, once more for the record, this is a mistake.”Jasmine’s words were matter of fact.
He clenched his jaw, wishing for there to be a bit more light, which would have allowed him to see her face better.“I refuse for this to go down and them think you’re on his side.It’s not going to be a quiet, tidy wrap-up.When this happens, it’s going to be fast, loud and bloody.”
“So I won’t be there when it does.But you will.”She shook her head.“I don’t like this.”
He cupped her face.“Trust me?”
Her bark of laugh, while hushed, didn’t give him any relief.Didn’t she trust him?
“Jasmine?”
She shook her head.“IfI were to trust anyone with a badge other than my brother-in-law, it would be you.”
Which meant she didn’t trust him.That hurt.A lot.
The pain the knowledge brought him was an emotion he didn’t have the time to try to figure out why or where it came from.
They walked in from the back and he led the way to a small room in the center where lights could be on but not seen from the outside of the building.He knocked twice, waited five seconds, then pushed the door in.After it clicked behind him a low lamp came on, allowing him to see his handler.
“You.”
His handler spit that in his direction.No, correction.In Jasmine’s.
They knew each other?
Fuck.They knew each other, and it didn’t look as if there was going to be a lovely reunion.
Jasmine swung to the right instinctively as Lance moved left.No way it could be anything but instinct, for her eyes and one hundred percent of her focus had landed on a man she hadn’t believed she would ever see again.
Robert Gibson.
Insides a righteous mess, she maintained her cool and aloof façade.His appearance hadn’t changed all that much.A bit grayer, a bit heavier, but he still had enough of a presence for her to know he wasn’t a man to ignore.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”His words were snarled.“Lance?Why are you with her?”
The urge to strike out rode her.Hard.But Jasmine had learned years ago about not tipping one’s hand.One fist in her pocket, she allowed herself to brace against the wall with an arm and her fingers to skim the matte butt of her sidearm.
“She saved my ass with Dusan.Where do you two know each other from?”
She still wasn’t opening her mouth.Waiting.Watching.Gathering intel, that’s what she did now.And she was damn good at it.
Robert shook his head.“We can’t risk this operation on her, she’s a loose cannon.I’ll take her in—we can release her when you’re finished.”
You have another think coming if you believe I will willingly let you take me into custody.
“Not happening.We had a meeting with Dusan this morning.The two of us.She vanishes and there will be more questions.He likes her more than he does me.”
Disgust filled Robert’s features.“His kind always like whores.”
Lance shot her a brief look but she ignored the piercing stare, not risking taking her gaze from Robert.
“She’s not a whore.How do you know each other?”
Lance moved between the two of them.She didn’t want to notice—did, just didn’t want to—that he stood closer to her than Robert.
