Page 18 of Taking It Off

That was too close. I can’t let them find out about my other job. Not like this. There may come a time when we can talk about it and they might understand, but this is not the time. And Will discovering that I’m an assassin because I just accepted a job to kill his father is not how I want this conversation to go.

This particular mark will be an even bigger challenge. Will and Jeremy’s fathers have met me; they know what I look like. I won’t be able to gain access through camming. Fuck. How am I going to do this? There’s only one way that it will work.

Will comes back with a bandage and takes care of my finger. “Thank you. I’m fine, really. I don’t even know how that happened.” The lie is bitter on my tongue, but I push on. I have a job to do, and I can’t let my guilt or other feelings get in the way. “What time is it? I left my phone in my apartment when I came up here.”

He pulls his phone out and checks the time, turning it so I can see. “You’ve got time. We won’t let you be late.”

I wrap my arms around him, hugging his arms to his sides so he can’t put the phone away yet. I need to tap into it and find a path to his father so that I can get to him later. “You guys are so sweet to me. I don’t deserve it.” The hug lasts long enough to make things awkward, but I find the path and mark it so I’ll find it later.

When I let go, Will stares at me for a minute. “I think we don’t deserve you, so I guess we’re even.”

I give him a quick kiss, then walk back to the couch and kiss Luke and Jeremy. “I have to get ready for the stream. You guys are still gonna watch, right?” Suddenly I’m nervous that they won’t tune in for some reason. Maybe it’s knowing that I’ve already betrayed them, and I’m about to do it again. Maybe it’s general insecurity that goes along with dating. I have no idea. I can’t waste time worrying about it either.

“Of course, we are,” Luke reassures me. “Just not together.”

“Because watching together would be weird?” I ask.

Jeremy shakes his head. “No, because we wouldn’t all be able to tip you if we watched together.” He says it as if it’s the simplest explanation, and they’ve discussed the different options for watching before. I’m not sure if that makes it better or worse.

“Strangely, that makes sense. I’ll see you guys later.” They each kiss me again, and I practically float downstairs from the euphoria of it. I carry that feeling with me for a while longer as I get dressed and set everything up for the cam show. My nerves have settled, and I’m more excited to perform for my guys than anxious that they’ll be watching.

I go over the routine in my head again, making sure I have the timing figured out. Then I get dressed and do my make-up. I select an orange wig to match the babydoll. Once it’s in place, I check the mirror to make sure I look as good as I feel. I start my play list at the same time as the camera, making sure that I’m not in frame yet.

I’ve been starting the stream a minute before I make my entrance lately, and it seems to work better for me. Today, I’m not doing my usual intro, though. I’m starting with my dance, then I’ll talk to my subs and take a couple of requests.

The song I selected earlier starts to play, and I weave my way around the room, going through the motions I’d practiced before. I use my power to keep the camera focused on me, and make sure that I stay in the studio area of the room. I feel sexy and powerful, exactly the way I want. With this routine, I become Jasmin—fearless and in control.

When the song ends, I take my place on the edge of the bed and address my viewers. I know there are nearly a thousand of them watching me right now, and several are sending tips in addition to their monthly subscription fees. I try not to react to the larger tips that come through, making sure to thank my benefactors for their generosity without calling them out in detail.

“Thank you all for joining me today.” I settle into my chat segment, allowing my viewers to make requests for me to act out.

When the live stream ends, I have texts waiting from each of my guys. I shut down the camming system while I read them all.

You looked so sexy tonight. Luke’s sweet comment stabs me right in the feels.

Was all that just for us, sugarplum? My cheeks heat as they flush at Will’s message.

Damn, Em. That was hot. Jeremy’s text makes me laugh out loud.

I respond to each of them, then decide that I might as well get back to work. Will’s dad isn’t likely to kill himself, so I need to figure out exactly how I’m going to deal with that. I’ve never been to Jeffries’ house, and I can’t exactly cam call him to see the layout. I’ll be going in blind on this one, and I’m not excited about it.

I have to admit, there is a certain rush of adrenaline at knowing that this job could be the one that gets me caught. It won’t be, because I’m better than that. It’s probably a good idea to check the house out and get schematics if I can. I need to at least know where the entrances and exits are.

I slip into my secret room, locking the hidden door behind me. I don’t expect my guys to show up, but if they manage to get inside before I return, I need to make sure this space is protected. Once I’m safely inside the walls, I shift into my pixelated form and slide into my computer.

Traveling along network lines is a thrill in itself. With outages coming randomly, I never know if I’ll get stuck somewhere and have to find another way back. That’s only happened a few times, though, and it prepared me for what to do in those cases. Things like that are the reason my back up plans have back up plans.

When I get to Jeffries’ house, I don’t leave the computer. Instead, I go through every file on it, looking for the proof I need to be certain this is one of the traffickers. What I find is worse than I ever expected. Not only is he involved; he’s one of the top parties controlling the ring. There are records proving that he purchased his wife the day she turned eighteen.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the sex tapes he’s made with her and other women are repulsive. To be fair, it’s not that his kinks are so bad. The problem is that the women clearly are not into it, and he seems to enjoy that way too much. After half a dozen videos, I stop myself from watching more. There are hundreds of videos, but no way to know, short of watching them all, if Jeffries is the star or not. Since I don’t have time for that, and I have enough proof now, I simply copy the files and send them to my encrypted account.

I still have to decide if I’m going to release everything to the press, or just the police. I don’t want to put Luke or Will through any more than I absolutely have to. I wish I could talk to them about this and see what they want to do. But that would mean outing myself as an assassin and taking the chance that they might turn me in. I can’t do that.

I search the internet for schematics of the house. When I find what I’m looking for, I inspect them carefully. I memorize the layout of the entire house, though calling this massive building a house is an understatement. It’s a mansion, bordering on a castle.

I can’t resist checking Jeffries’ bank accounts. The man has more money than I do. And that’s saying something, because I’ve skimmed off the top of everyone I’ve ever killed. I work my magic, moving some of his money around. As long as I do it just right, no one will ever know it wasn’t him.

Once I’ve redistributed his wealth, I feel pretty confident that I can take him out. With all the damning evidence I found, I don’t want to wait. I can’t give him a chance to be harder to find. I got Jeffries’ cell number from Will’s phone, so I can easily locate him in the giant house. It’s late enough that no one else should be here, except his wife. I should probably check the house for other cell phone signals, but I want this done.

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