Every single male protective instinct roared to life.On their heels were the possessive ones this woman, and only her, brought out in him.These far surpassed the protective urges he had as a cop toward people.
Rising to his feet with a simple push, he towered over her.Jasmine didn’t back down, but held his gaze with a fearless one of her own.
“No other dicks,” he growled.“And don’t fucking get hurt or in trouble where you need me.”
“Listen to me, Lance.”
He watched her for a moment, assessing her seriousness, then nodded.“Listening.”
“This man will push your weaknesses.Youknowthis.You’ve been a certain way all this time, which allowed you to get into the position you’re in.Don’t throw that away because he wants to say shit.”
“It’s not shit when it comes to you.”
Her smile could only be explained as sad.
She shook her head once and settled the palm of her hand against his cheek.“Don’t ruin an op for pussy.No distractions.”
He hated hearing those words from her.Yet it didn’t matter.The words she uttered weren’t anything that hadn’t been drilled into him before he’d taken the undercover op.
That pinch of sorrow never vacated her expression but she nodded and patted his face.“There you are.The man I know will dowhateverit takes to get his man.”Jasmine put her face close to his.“I don’t say this often, okay, like haven’t ever before, but it’s something you need to hear.”
Lance refused to release her gaze.Hell, it was going to be hard enough to walk away when this was over.He knew she was only staying to help him in this situation, but his Jasmine didn’t feel she deserved happiness.He simply had to change her mind.
“You’re one hell of an officer of the law.No matter what you are shown or what you’ve had to do in order to maintain this cover, you’ve held onto that integral part of you that makes you,you.I’ve seen a lot of people in this line of work and it’s not for everyone.You have what it takes, just don’t forget that.”
She stood all the way up and moved from his touch.He clenched his fingers around the space where her shirt and skin used to be, displeased with this new situation.
“I’ll never say it again, so hold on to that.”She winked at him and was gone before he could formulate a fucking word, or process what she’d tossed at him.
* * * *
Jasmine adjusted the wig on her head and smacked her lips at her reflection.The gaudy, bright orange was a hue she would have been okay never putting on once more, but it went with the outfit.
No wonder Carolyn and Declan couldn’t stand to be around me.Hell, I’m worried about spending time with myself looking like this.A fucking Wal-Mart reject.Going to end up in one of the memes of what not to wear.
Plumping her boobs in their zebra-striped top, she blew herself a kiss and strutted on.One simply didn’twalkin clothing like this.You owned it.And strutted.So she did.
Hips swaying far more than she’d done in a while, because the old Atlanta Jasmine had been all about flashy and getting attention, the new California Jasmine was about blending in and not getting killed, she owned the boardwalk as she moved down it, toward the place she knew Dusan and his crew parked their vehicles.People parted like she was Moses commanding the Red Sea and she smirked.
Yeah, she still had it.Even with her horrid taste in clothing, she cut a figure that drew many eyes.And that’s what she’d wanted.The clothing was outrageous enough that that’s what they would recall.Not her features.
Waggling her eyebrows at two men, she pulled her lower lip between her teeth and dragged a finger down between her breasts as she turned to watch them saunter by.Both whistled and she winked in return before facing her original direction once more.
She moved right by the one who had been tasked with making sure nothing happened to the vehicles.She was never sure why crime bosses felt that was a necessary thing to do.Most people in the area knew who they were and weren’t about to piss off a man who would have them killed for even scratching one of his vehicles, much less stealing one.
Then again, they weren’t counting on me.
Jasmine had been around long enough and done enough undercover to know that this was going to be a tough day for Lance.Something was going to happen he wouldn’t like.Be it a test, them talking about her, or anything else to push him toward the edge, seeing if he would break.How he had gotten tapped for UC work, she didn’t know.His moral compass far too solid in her opinion.Then again, people changed.
Look at me.
The men guarding the vehicles there weren’t paying attention, again, because,whydid he need to be?So she wasn’t bothered as she walked between them.Without stopping to steal a SUV, although it was tempting, she continued on her way.
After a brief stop, she stepped back out on the street, no longer looking like a Wal-Mart reject, and slipped in the rear entrance to a bar she frequented.A lot.Without so much as a hesitation, she claimed her seat in the back.It gave her an unobstructed view of the door.
She’d spent many hours in here, sometimes sleeping when she wasn’t safe anywhere else, sometimes just people watching.Before her was an empty bottle she’d grabbed on her way in.All part of her cover.
She sat there and went over everything.Jasmine didn’t trust the FBI.She didn’t trust any of the alphabet groups.Any organization that was more concerned with hoarding their own secrets and knowledge than sharing with another company to prevent catastrophes from happening wasn’t one that worked with the country’s best interest at heart.
