Page 57 of Bitter Confessions

“What book?” Mo asked.

“The best book I’ve ever read,” Jasmine gushed as she leaned between the fronts seats to pat him on the shoulder. “Long time no see. What have you two been up to?”

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder as Johan slid into the seat beside him. “Training your second team.”

She turned to look through the back window as they pulled away from the curb. A black SUV pulled into traffic behind them.

“Training them to do what? Twiddle their thumbs?”

“To enjoy the quiet while it lasts.”

She faced forward and buckled her seat belt, grateful for the heated seats. “I’m not that bad.”

“No. You’re a dream client. Not demanding, compliant.” Dark eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror and crinkled in amusement when they spotted her disgruntled look. “You’d rather read than party at nightclubs until dawn, shop, or have affairs that could get us both killed.”

“You had a client like that?”

“Too many. Shadowing the spoiled wives or daughters of the rich and powerful is an exhausting, thankless, monotonous job.”

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended.”

“Be flattered,” Johan suggested.

“I’ll have you know, I did manage to slip past my other security team,” she said with her nose in the air.

“Yes. We were briefed on that and told it can’t happen in the future.”

Slightly mollified, Jasmine asked, “Don’t you think the second team is overkill?”

Again, Mo’s gaze flicked up to her in the rearview mirror before he shook his head.

“Why?” she prompted when she realized he wasn’t going to elaborate.

Johan turned his head toward his partner. She wished she could see his expression, but the headrest was in the way. Mo was silent as he stopped at a traffic light. He seemed to be weighing his words before he spoke.

“Your husband’s a wealthy man,” he said.

“Yes,” she acknowledged.

“You’re a wealthy woman.”

Her eyes narrowed.

He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “With wealth comes power, and with power comes enemies.”

“I don’t have enemies.”

“The fact you believe that is why you need security.”

She jerked forward so abruptly her seat belt locked. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He glanced to the right. “We’re here.”

“This talk isn’t over,” she said to Mo as Johan opened her door.

When she stepped onto the sidewalk, Johan tapped her arm to signal her to wait. Jasmine glanced back as two men slipped out of the black SUV and ambled toward a neighboring store. They didn’t look in their direction, and they weren’t dressed like Mo and Johan, who favored suits. Instead, these men were dressed in casual streetwear. She blew out a gust of white air and stomped her feet before looking up at the sky. She hadn’t checked the forecast, but it looked like they might get their first snow of the season.

When Johan gestured to the café, she didn’t dally. She thanked the man who held the door open for her and stepped into Life & Coffee. The first thing she noticed was the suspended greenery over the coffee bar and the exposed brick walls. There was a worn leather couch in the corner and as many little tables as the space would allow. Sarai waved from a spot she’d managed to snag against the wall. Jasmine waved back and went up to the counter, with Johan at her back.

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