Page 37 of Jael

“So neither one of you wants the marriage.”

“I didn’t say that. He won’t see marriage as restrictive. He’ll still do whatever he wants. But Idothink he likes the idea of having Jael Heber on his arm and in his bed.”

“Jael, I?—”

“Danny,” Gregory called to him and waved for him to come over.

“You’d better not keep him waiting,” Jael said. “He doesn’t like to wait.”

There was so much he wanted to say, but none of it he could put into words.

“It’s okay,” Jael said. “There’s nothing to do. Go.”

She turned her back on him, and he went to the fireplace.

“I told you I’d look after you,” Gregory said. “Stick with me, boy, and you’ll have a bright future ahead of you.”

“You have another job for me?” Danny said.

“I don’t, he does.” Gregory nodded toward Christopher.

“I was just saying that I need a hand with a situation,” Christopher said. “If you’re available to help, my father and I would both appreciate it.”

“And so would I,” Gregory added.

“Sure. Yeah. That sounds great,” Danny said. “Whatever you need.”

“It’s not a big job,” Christopher said. “but I’d appreciate having a wing man. Especially since my plate is so full with my responsibilities at Heber. The less time it takes, the better.”

“Glad to help. When do I need to be ready?”

“I’ll give you a call tomorrow and make a time to meet.”

“I look forward to working with you. And thank you for the opportunity. I know you’re both very selective about who you work with.”

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Artus said. “And don’t expect our partnership to continue. We’ll see how this works out and assess from there.”

“Got it.”

Danny stayed for another half hour of conversation before he excused himself.

“It’s been a prosperous night for me,” he said. “Thank you, Gregory, for dinner. I’ll see you gentleman soon.”

“Stayed long enough to make a score,” Gregory said.

Danny winked. “You guys enjoy the rest of your night.”

When he reached the door, he turned and saw Christopher had joined Jael. He was running the back of his hand down her arm as he said something low, so she had to lean closer to him. The sooner they got the Siseras behind bars, the better.

Chapter 10

Danny leanedagainst the brick wall of his apartment building and checked his watch for the fifth time. Christopher was twenty-five minutes late. The waiting didn’t help Danny’s pondering about Artus inviting him on this job. It had been too easy. More than likely, this job was less about a task that needed to be completed and more about finding out what was behind Danny’s reappearance in Gregory Heber’s life.

He heard Christopher’s car and its double exhausts before he saw it. When it screeched to a halt in front of him, he pushed lazily off the wall.

“Nice ride,” he said after Christopher got out of the car and rested his arms on top of it.

“Thanks. Cost me close to two hundred K by the time I was finished fitting her out. Jump in.”

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