Exactly. That was half the reason he was here. That and money. But how did she manage to stay so upbeat, to compartmentalize her pain? He wished he could steal some of that positivity from her. Some days it took everything in him notto lose himself in a bottle.
“Do you talk it out with anyone?” he asked before he could stop himself.
“My best friend Jenna. She understands loss better than anyone I know. But she’s pregnant and due to pop any day now, so I’m trying not to add to her stress level.” A little line appeared between Tara’s brows. “Doyouneed someone to talk to? I’m a good listener.”
She perched next to himon the sofa and Jeff had to force himself not to move away. And to start breathing again.
“Me?” he asked. “I’m good.”Liar, liar.
Her espresso-brown eyes searched his and the furrow between her brows deepened. He held her gaze without flinching until she sighed and folded her hands in her lap.
He broke eye contact to glance at the door. Where the hell was Todd?
“I wanted to thank you again,”she finally said, twining her fingers together.
“For what?”
“For helping me with Mars.”
Jeff scowled, not wanting to relive that day. He’d nearly gone out of his mind listening while Tara let that dickwad rip her clothes off, waiting for her to say the fucking magic words already. By the time he kicked in the door, he’d wanted to separate the bastard’s head from his shoulders.
“You didall the work,” Jeff said, mostly managing to keep his voice even.
She gave an exasperated shake of her head. “Not true. We’ll never know if I could have escaped on my own, but knowing you were there gave me the confidence I needed to go through with it. That’s everything.”
When she looked at him like that, he thought he could probably leap a fucking mountain.
“What we did doesn’t bring herback, but it feels good to know we’ve made a difference. Not only justice for Emily, but maybe some of those other girls…” Her voice trailed off and her lips rolled between her teeth as she gazed out the window.
“If he goes to jail,” Tara continued, “we’ll have prevented others from falling into Mars’s trap. You had a big hand in that, and I’m grateful.”
Jeff cleared his throat, his skin itchy.He hadn’t done anything worth mentioning. “Glad I could help.” With a tight smile, he checked his watch. Maybe he could get some time on the computers before—
The office door swung open and Todd entered with a grin. According to the man himself, some women thought he looked like a rougher, tougher version of Prince Harry.
Jeff didn’t see the resemblance, but he’d never been happier to seeTodd.
For most people, Friday was the end of the workweek. For Rick, as long as there was good money to be made, every day was a workday. This weekend would be no exception. He rocked back in his desk chair and stared at the photo of the beautiful woman on his computer screen. Tara Fujimoto had seen something she shouldn’t have, and now his client was willing to pay a handsome fee to eliminateher from the equation.
“She’s the only loose end,” Narwhal said through the speakerphone.
Rick took perverse joy in giving his clients animal names as he worked his way through the alphabet. The last one had been Mongoose. A messy job.
This one should be straightforward. Simple. One little slip of a woman.
Though ballsy, he’d give her that. After she’d confronted DC’s most well-known photographer,the press had milked her story for days.
And it wasn’t the first time.
Rick’s web search turned up more hits than expected. “Looks like she’s been in the news before. Something about an ex-boyfriend who was involved in that blowup at Claymore.” He eyed the main photo. Tara held up her hands to block her face, but the media must have had several archived pictures from her previous brush withnotoriety. There were better shots of her included in the article, as well as links to past stories.
Narwhal dropped an impatient sigh. “I don’t have much time. I need her taken care of by Sunday night.”
Two days.Typical. “Absolutely.” For enough money, Rick and his team would do anything. “What happens on Monday?”
“Everything I’ve worked for could be ruined if you don’t get rid of thiswoman and any evidence she may have,” Narwhal snapped. “I believe you’re being paid more than enough to handle it.”
Rick took a deep breath and counted to five before speaking. The privileged set made his luxurious lifestyle possible, but that didn’t mean he had to like them. “Of course.” He forced a smile to keep his tone civil and collected the rest of the details from the client, his brainalready moving ahead to the next steps. “I’ll call you as soon as I have news.”
He ended the call and glanced at Tara Fujimoto’s picture again, tapping his pen on the desk. It was a shame such a gutsy beauty had to die.
