Page 24 of Death Wish

“Maybe I can help.”

“You could but you don’t want to get involved in this one.”

Simone stared. “You’re looking for Trevor, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Why? He’s a jerk and will always be one.”

“White’s not going away. We’ll have to deal with him, eventually.”

“We?”

“I’m not tossing you to the mercy of the wolf. He’s already shown what he’s capable of doing. If I can head him off and keep him away from you, I’ll do it.”

“He’s not your problem, Jesse.”

“He’s your problem, and I care about you.”

“You can’t do this. He hurts people.”

“I’ve seen his record. He’s at least as bad as the perps I arrested when I was a cop. He’s the type of man who enjoys lording over others and hurting them. If you want to be part of stopping him, we’ll do it together. Otherwise, I’ll deal with him on my own.”

“I want to let someone else handle the problem but it’s not right.”

“Then we’ll devise a plan where you can help.”

She gave a wry laugh. “Like I was so successful when I tried to deal with him alone.”

“You’re not alone now.” Hopefully, she’d accept that truth before they had to put it to the test.

CHAPTER SIX

SIMONE PEERED AT the bedside clock and groaned. She’d awakened an hour before she needed to rise.

She swung her feet over the side of the bed and walked to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she pulled on jeans and a blouse and slipped into her running shoes. She glanced in the mirror. Her appearance was good enough for work. Good enough to impress Jesse? That was another matter.

Simone frowned at her reflection. Since when did she care about her appearance? She needed to fit in with her DA coworkers. Jesse’s opinion shouldn’t matter.

But it did. The question was, why? They were friends, coworkers on this undercover assignment. The dating gig was a ploy for the Dragon Alley people so they wouldn’t question why Jesse had moved to Mexico with her and landed a job at her new place of work. The relationship wasn’t real.

She repeated that to herself but didn’t believe what she was selling. This was madness. Of all women, Simone shouldn’t be interested in dating. Trevor had caused her years of trouble and popped up to annoy her and press his case once in a while.

Simone rolled her eyes. Okay, more like every couple of months. However, he’d lost the trail after her house was destroyed. She should be safe for a couple of months.

Maybe. Lately, Trevor had become more persistent and faster at finding her. How? He wasn’t a computer geek. How was he finding her every time she chose a new location for her base of operations?

Something to ponder in quiet moments. Right now, she had other priorities. It was her turn to cook breakfast, and she craved pancakes. While poking into the pantry yesterday, she saw a bottle of unopened maple syrup that would be perfect on those pancakes.

Hurrying into the kitchen, Simone got to work preparing batter in a large bowl. Maybe their guardian angels would like pancakes for breakfast as well. She’d ask Jesse to invite them inside when the food was ready.

Soon, the kitchen was redolent with the scent of chocolate chip pancakes, her favorite variation. Hopefully, the handsome medic wouldn’t mind chocolate in his breakfast. She shrugged. If he did, she and the Artemis ladies would enjoy breakfast without him. He could make something different.

Twenty minutes later, she lifted the last pancake from the skillet and laid it on the pile of pancakes resting on a large platter.

Jesse walked in, hair still wet from his recent shower. “Good morning, beautiful. The pancakes smell great. Need help?”

“Yeah. Invite Iona and Tegan inside for breakfast while I make coffee.”

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