Page 28 of Once a Killer

She slid her gun into its flexible holster and wrapped the band around her waist, then grabbed her night vision binoculars from her duffel. Took her notebook and a pen, then padded on bare feet into the living room.

Putting her right eye at a place where the curtain gaped a little, she searched the street, car by car. She smiled when she spotted the black SUV parked several cars down the block. Close enough that he could watch the building, but far enough away that someone not very observant might not notice it.

“Smart guy,” she whispered as she stepped back from the curtain.

Grabbing the night vision glasses, she knelt on the floor and wiggled them beneath the hem of the curtain. Less obvious than opening a space between the panels. Then she put her eyes on the lenses and focused on the SUV.

After studying him for a while, she was confident she was looking at the same guy in the photo from the car rental company. But the night vision component turned everything a sickly green color, so she couldn’t be sure about his hair.

Everything else, though, from the shape of his eyes and nose and mouth to the shape of his head, matched the photo Mel had sent.

Leaving the binoculars in place, she dropped to the floor, sitting cross-legged. She wondered how long he’d been watching Jameson’s place. If he’d been here for a while and stayed until close to daybreak, he probably wouldn’t try to take Jameson out in the morning. He’d be tired. Groggy. He’d need sleep. So he’d wait for the evening commute.

She was pretty sure Jameson had said the first attack came on his way home from work. She’d ask him in the morning.

The old three-flat groaned in the wind, and the windows rattled in the breeze. Other than that, the night was silent. No one on the street, besides the watcher. Jameson was sound asleep in his bedroom. His sheets rustled as he turned over, and she tried not to listen. Tried not to picture his long body, attempting to get comfortable. She needed to let go of this fascination with her principal. He was just a man. A good-looking man, but no different from the other men she’d guarded.

The part of her brain not focused on that SUV outside laughed at her. Jameson was most definitely different from her other protectees. For starters, he was smart as hell. None of her other principals even came close to his brain power. His quick grasp of a situation. His sly sense of humor that was frighteningly like her own.

She liked that he was smart. Quick. Interesting.

And that was enough about Jameson.

Putting him out of her mind, she leaned forward to check the black SUV. Nothing different.

Every time a vehicle drove down the street or after fifteen minutes, she checked SUV guy. Nothing changed. From what she could tell, the guy was awake. Watching this building, but also assessing the rest of the neighborhood. Familiarizing himself with the various buildings. The narrow sidewalks between the three-flats. Bushes in front of the buildings that could be used as hiding places.

She’d check the buildings on either side of this one in the morning. Make sure the greenery couldn’t hide a man. She’d check the backyard thoroughly, as well. What she’d seen of it yesterday morning and night looked safe, but she’d examine the stairs from the first floor to the basement. It could be a potential hiding place for an ambush.

She arched her back to work out the kinks and heard the slap of bare feet on the wood floors. She turned to see Jameson enter the living room. She had good ears, but she was apparently especially attuned to him.

“Hey,” he said behind her, his voice hushed. “See anything?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Come on over and take a look.” She stood up, leaving the binoculars in place, making sure she didn’t brush against the curtains. She moved into the room, gesturing him into the spot where she’d been. “Kneel in front of the glasses,” she said. “They’re pointed at the black SUV. Don’t touch them unless you need to focus them. And try not to let the curtain move.”

He brushed past her, and his woodsy scent was overlaid with the smell of sleepy man. Dropping to his knees, he lowered his head to the binoculars. Adjusted the focus with a delicate, careful touch. After a long moment, he said, “The guy in the picture?”

“Yeah. I think so. The night vision binocs don’t make it easy to see him clearly, but the shapes of his nose, eyes and mouth seem right.”

Jameson watched for a few more minutes, then eased away and stood up.

“I’ve never done surveillance before. Watching people without them knowing? Total rush.”

Bree raised one eyebrow. “Really? You into kinky stuff?”

He turned and those blue eyes bored into her. “Depends on the kink. And who my partner would be.” His gaze locked with hers, and neither of them looked away.

A frisson of… curiosity rippled down her spine. That’s all it was. It sure as hell wasn’tinterest. Or attraction, which would be far worse.

She dropped to the floor and put her face up to the glasses again. She needed a reminder that she was on a job. That her focus needed to be on protecting Jameson. Not on wondering what he considered kinky.

Or who he wanted as a partner in it.

When her heart rate was back to normal and she could look at him without blushing, she said, “You might as well go back to bed. I don’t think he’s going to be doing anything but sitting there tonight. I predict a few more hours of boredom before he leaves.”

“You’re not going down there to confront him?” he asked.

“Hell, no,” she said immediately. “If he saw me walk out of your building, he’d take off. We’d have lost the tiny edge we have. Mel is working on identifying him for us. I don’t want to waste that. If we can get a name and address for him, then we can figure out the next step.”

---