Page 18 of Death Wish

“Well, you wouldn’t have to do that, anyway. You can always eat breakfast here. The cafeteria is open 24/7 for all employees.”

“Good to know. We might take advantage of that perk if we run late one morning.” Jesse captured Simone’s hand and kissed her palm. “Simone can be a distraction.”

Her face flushed at that innuendo. Oh, man. Jesse was lethal. He was also excellent at this undercover role. He was playing the role, right? The line between reality and role playing was blurring.

“Oh, Simone.” Joy laughed. “I can’t believe you’ve held out against this man. If you decide you don’t want him, point Jesse my way. I’ll take him off your hands in a heartbeat.”

“He’s mine,” she said. “I don’t share.”

Jesse winked at her. “I don’t share, either.” He turned to Joy. “Sorry, Joy. I think you’re out of luck.”

“You never know. Surprising things happen all the time around Dragon Alley.”

CHAPTER FIVE

JESSE DROVE SIMONE back to the safe house, taking a circular route. When he was satisfied that he’d lost the tail they’d picked up from the campus of Dragon Alley, he headed toward the house.

“Why did we take the scenic route?” Simone asked.

“We had a tail.”

“What?” She twisted in her seat to look out the back window for herself.

“Don’t worry. I lost him. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be this close to the house. I don’t want to invite further trouble by leading our enemy straight to the place where we sleep.”

“Did I mess up today?”

Jesse glanced at her. “Don’t worry, Simone. I’m sure you did fine. This is probably a precaution by Dragon Alley. If they’ve commissioned the program we’re here to find and destroy, the power behind the decision to create the program will be skittish about new hires, especially one with your programming skills.”

“Unless you put a mouse in my pocket with a listening device on his collar, you can’t know I didn’t screw up today.”

“I have faith in you. You can’t be afraid to talk to people, sweetheart. Clamming up will draw the wrong attention. Be yourself and stick to the cover story. You’ll be fine. Remember, you’re the brains of this outfit. I’m the brawn. It’s my job to make sure you’re safe.”

That comment reminded him of their lunch conversation. “How much of the story of your ex-boyfriend is true?”

“All of it. You’ll notice I didn’t give Joy a name, and I won’t. The name would give her too much information about me if she tracked down The Jerk, including my real name. My ex would follow her computer tracks back to Sayulita to find me again. By the way, Joy is from my hometown.”

Jesse scowled. He didn’t like the sound of this. Too much coincidence with the women being from the same hometown. Although he wanted to gripe over Simone not telling him about her ex-boyfriend, he didn’t have the right. Yet. He wanted it, though. Badly. “Your ex sounds like more than a jerk, Simone. He sounds like a stalker.”

She remained silent.

Guess that answered his question. “I meant what I said in the cafeteria. If he shows his face or contacts you in any way, I want to know about it.”

“Jesse….”

He shook his head. “No arguments. I take care of those in my inner circle.” Especially the woman who was coming to mean so much to him in a short amount of time. “That includes you.”

“Trevor can be dangerous.”

“What’s his last name? I’ll run his name through our system to see what we have on him.” He smiled. “I have to keep busy while you’re working tonight.”

Her head whipped toward Jesse. “His name last name is White. How did you know I was planning to work after supper?”

“Easy. I watched you recharge after midnight a few weeks ago when we were helping Poppy and Logan. You’re a night owl, like me.” The other couple had needed Simone’s hacking skills to ferret out the culprit who was targeting Poppy.

“I suppose we’ll both be working late, then.”

“Good thing we have a large supply of coffee, hot chocolate, and herbal tea to keep us fueled and ready.”

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