“Jasper, I have a note from Wallace here.”
He turned around. “What? The Kurjan?”
She lifted the paper. “I found the message folded nicely under my very deliciously scrambled eggs.”
He reached her in one long stride and looked down to read the note. His phone buzzed, and he lifted it to his ear. “Dax, where the hell are you?” Jasper winced. “How many of them? No, don’t worry about it. You were lucky to get out of there alive. Where’s Klyde?” Relief crossed his expression.
Leah lifted one eyebrow.
“Klyde is fine. Headed toward Italy after one of the Kurjans. We have allies there to help him,” Jasper whispered to her, obviously repeating Dax’s news.
Good. So, everyone was safe. Leah tossed her napkin onto the table.
Jasper continued speaking with Dax. “We just received a note. Wallace has reached out to Leah. Where are you? Oh, good. Yeah, I’m in the penthouse at your favorite hotel. I’ll leave a note for you to come up. Okay.” He clicked off.
“Is Dax all right?” She turned away from the delicious food.
He nodded, a muscle clenching in his jaw. “Yeah, he ran into a squad of six. He’s on his way here. Sounds hurt.”
Frankly, it was a miracle he’d survived a squad of six Kurjans.
“What do you want to do?” she asked.
Jasper read the note again. “We don’t have time to amass a force, and I doubt the Kurjans have a full contingent there. As soon as Dax arrives, we’ll come up with a plan.”
She stood and walked over to the bags of clothing to find a dark pair of jeans to tug on, along with a green sweater. The socks were cashmere, and the boots felt like supple leather against her skin. “We’ll need weapons.”
He paused and turned, fully looking at her. “You’re not going.”
She took a deep breath. “I am. This note was directed to me, and he thinks I’ll sneak off and meet him. He won’t be expecting you or your brother.”
“You want me to use you as bait?” His eyebrows rose, and an incredulous expression hollowed the deep valleys beneath his cheekbones. His eyes swirled more green than blue.
She shrugged, trying to hide her quickening breaths. If they fought about it, she wouldn’t win. “Bait or an ally, I don’t really care, but the note’s addressed to me, the initial job was mine, and if we’re going to be together, we need to work together.”
Jasper rocked back on his heels, staring at her. With the framing of the window behind him, he looked large, formidable, and slightly pissed. “Leah, my entire job is to keep you safe.”
She scrambled in a bag to find a belt, another black leather item she swiftly slid through the loops of the jeans. “I understand that, and a part of me appreciates that mentality, but I’ve been chasing these guys for a long time, Jasper, and he’s the final one. You know what I did as my job. I can handle myself.”
“I’m aware of that,” he said, his greenish-blue eyes warming. “But these are immortals. Kurjans. They’re not humans.”
“I know, but as I see it, one criminal is as good as the next.”
He studied her for several long moments. “All right, but if this is the last name on the list, then you cross him off and come to Montana.”
She smiled. “I would love a break from this. I’m not saying I won’t return to work or find another way to do what I need to do, but I am completely open to taking some time off in Montana and then figuring a plan forward.”
“Together,” he said.
Her heart warmed. “Yeah. Together.” She idly wondered if he had any idea that his grandmother and Ivy already had a computer center set up in Nia’s basement and a campaign ready to launch. That was probably news for another day.
Jasper took the phone toward the bedroom, barking orders to his subordinates the entire way.
Leah hustled toward the table and finished her orange juice. She had learned to eat when she could while in the middle of a mission.
The outside door dinged, and Dax stalked into the room, a cut on his cheekbone and blood down his neck. Bruises covered his hands while blood and dirt marred his clothing.
“Hey, Dax,” Leah said, looking him over. “You need blood?”
