Page 77 of Passion and Payback

When it came right down to it, though, we were navigating murky waters. Obviously, he possessed a great deal of skills and experience that I couldn’t dream of, but those things didn’t apply to every situation. Most operations he’d done before had been with a team and an intelligence team to supply relevant information. Now, it was just the two of us, and we only had the research I could do online and what he could manage in person.

It would be best if we didn’t alert him before we could move on him. I was far less impressive and scary-looking than Kai had probably ever been. With a bit of dress-up and some makeup, I looked less intimidating and hopefully more attractive. Of course, Kai saw me putting myself in a position where I could be identified before he could help me, meaning Damon would have the chance to hurt me or alert the cops.

The argument had gone on for a while, but in the end, I won, though he wasn’t happy about it. The result was that he was sticking closer than the plan called for, which hadn’t left me happy because if someone saw him lurking, looking grim and scowling, the cops could end up being called anyway. So, of course, he’d decided to prove me wrong and position himself at a café a block away, having apparently done some shopping for new clothes that made him look like he belonged and had brought a book with him.

Drama queen.

It turned out the greatest threat was boredom. It never occurred to me that I’d never been good at just...existing with myself, unlike Kai. It had never come up because I’d always been good at finding ways to entertain myself, whether going for a walk or hanging out with Kai to bug him while I kept busy. But sitting in the dirt in the thick bushes was not offering me much in the way of entertainment especially since we’d had to leave our phones back at my apartment and keep the basic flip phones he’d found.

At least I could brag that my score on Snake was higher than his.

My boredom broke when I heard the soft click of the gate open then gently close. It was followed by footsteps approaching. I realized I’d been sitting there with an ice-wrapped bottle of ether and a cloth, and neither was ready. I fumbled with it, only to freeze when I heard a soft voice say, “Yeah, I’m just walking up.”

Peering through the hedge, I saw a woman, or itcouldhave been a woman. Her outfit and makeup made her look childish, and my stomach rolled at the possibility that she might not justlookyoung and the schoolgirl uniform under her long jacket wasn’t just for show.

She was pretty, cute even, but her face twisted in disgust as she held the phone to her ear. “Yeah, I know how this works. I’ve worked with him before, alright? And you better remember the deal. This is my last time with this fucker. You can surprise him with someone else next time. Brayden likes this weird shit. Go with him.”

Her eyes drifted to where I knelt, pulling the bottle out and uncapping it, making me freeze. If she saw me, there was no sign on her face as she sighed. “Yeah, fine. Whatever. Just make sure you remember your part of the deal. I need to go. I need to prepare myself before I actually show up.”

She hung up the phone and slid it into the small purse hanging from a thin strap at her side. Her eyes slid up to the building, every inch of her face showing disgust and, if I wasn’t wrong, fear. The expression did nothing to make her look any older, and I had to wonder how long she’d been going at this for her to be so casual about something she clearly despised. I hated the idea of drugging her, but if that meant taking one shit-hole client off her list and making sure she didn’t have to go throughanother night with Damon, then I would have to suck it up and get moving.

I began to tip the bottle into the cloth when she sighed, her voice low. “Are you here to rob the place? Because he’s inside and won’t be leaving until morning.”

I froze, my brain locking down as I stared at her through the leaves, wondering how the hell she’d seen me. I was wearing dark clothing, and the light barely reached around the corner, where I crouched in what should have been complete coverage. There was no reason for her to suspect someone was there, and I wondered if this was some random ass thing she did out of sheer paranoia.

“I saw movement, and I can see the tip of your shoes poking out,” she said with a sigh, pushing strands of hair behind one ear. “So you should probably come out. The camera over the door is fake, but me screaming for help will get a lot of attention.”

Kai was going to kill me, but there was little I could do to salvage the plan that was already falling apart at the seams. I stepped out so she could see me. She looked me over, her eyes curious but clearly unafraid. Then her eyes fell on the bottle in one hand and the cloth in the other. “What’s that?”

“If I tell you, will you try not to freak out?”

“My friend, I’ve heard and seen too much to freak out.”

“Ether and cloth.”

“Ether?”

“It...knocks people out when they breathe it in.”

“Oh...are you here to kidnap me or something? Because if you need a sex slave, there’s bound to be someone prettier and younger than me.”

“Well, I’m gay, so that doesn’t sound all that great, and keeping a sex slave makes me want to throw up.”

She gave a soft huff that might have almost been a laugh. “Alright then.”

“You really aren’t bothered by much, are you?” I asked, unable to help feeling sympathy for her. Even if she was old enough to be doing work like this, she had been doing it too long and had grown way too disillusioned.

“Oh, you don’t even know,” she said with an ugly twist of her lips. “There are plenty of sick fucks in this city.”

“Tell me about it,” I said, looking toward the bungalow Damon had chosen to make one of his private ‘love’ nests. It looked harmless, but I couldn’t help wondering what horrors the inside of the building had witnessed since Damon had sneakily taken it over.

“Ohhh,” she said, her eyes losing their dull, cynical look and brightening up. “That’s for him?”

“Uhh, no.”

“No?”

“It’s for you. That way, I can get to him because he doesn’t know what escort to expect.”

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