Page 9 of Avenging Jessie
Not only did Jessie live with those terrible memories and the ongoing aches and pains from bones and soft tissue injuries that had never healed properly, she also wrestled with the fact that they had used an innocent woman to take her place.
It was truly no wonder that she had so many hang-ups. That she was always on a knife’s edge, and in constant fight mode. He couldn’t begin to imagine what went on in her head most of the time, and he was grateful that she hadn’t taken a razor to her wrist or downed a bunch of pills, no longer able to handle the demons that haunted her day and night.
Her hair was soft under his fingers. While she used to keep its natural wave flattened, these days, she used the waves to hide behind. Surgical scarring at her temples peeked through the strands when he brushed too deeply.
She didn’t flinch. He did.
“What’s the plan for tonight?” she asked, her voice level.
He cleared his throat, using several of the pins to tame her thick locks. “Whatever circles Keller is running in, Brewer is, too. Tonight is about putting eyes on Keller to see who he interacts with, who he buddies up to. The gala is the perfect place for him to recruit backers and secure other resources to put Brewer’s plan in motion. I’ll handle gathering the identities of those whom Keller seems particularly interested in tonight. You’re only job is to keep an eye on the security team the gala has hired and make sure no one gets suspicious of us.”
“So I’m just the lookout? Babysitting you while you chase the bad guys?”
“I’m telling you not to bleed for Brewer. Not again.” He didn’t say what he really meant—that watching her bleed the first time nearly gutted him. That every time he noticed her scars—which was less and less these days, but still—it gutted him all over again. “You got away from him once. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you end up under his thumb again.”
She stilled. He met her eyes in the mirror, and something hot twisted in his gut.
“I’m not incompetent. The last thing I’ll ever do is let that happen.”
He held her accusatory gaze. “Keeping an eye on security and keeping our asses out of jail, or dead in some back alley, it’s just as important as gathering intel on Keller and Brewer. I need you to watch my backside. There’s no one else I’d rather have doing it, either. You know Brewer. You know Keller. Which sucks and all of that, but it’s a bonus for us. Do you understand that? You are the key to taking down two major traitors to the CIA. You can stop a global war that will cripple the United States.You, Jessie. In this partnership, on this mission, you’re the most valuable asset we have. You’re the key to everything.”
He saw her throat bob as she swallowed. Her gaze fell to the sink. “Yes, I am, and yes, I know how important it is to make sure security doesn’t get a whiff of what we’re doing.”
He couldn’t help it, as he resumed his work, his fingers brushed the curve of her neck. She didn’t move, but her gaze returned to watch him. He didn’t meet her gaze directly, fooling with securing the wig with multiple bobby pins, and judging whether or not it looked real enough.
It did. It was a high-quality product, and its color brought out her eyes even more. He messed with a couple of tendrils, admiring his work. Admiring her. She rose, leaning toward the mirror to examine his handiwork as well. Her spine was totally exposed to him, the fabric of the dress molding over her ass.
He needed to take a step back.
He didn’t.
She turned to face him. Too close. She was way too close, those enormous eyes and her delicious scent sucking him in. He could see the pulse fluttering in her throat.
Her lips parted, then closed like she didn’t trust the words forming on her tongue. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
“You look...”
She lifted a brow. “Don’t.”
“Right.” He could hear his own pulse pounding in his ears. Could see the moment where she almost said something else. Nearly leaned into him.
A knock shattered the moment, and they both shifted.
She was instantly on alert, on edge again. “Who’s that?”
Of all the terrible timing. His gaze went to the clock on the wall. “Room service. They’re delivering my suit.”
Jessie blinked, stepped away from him, and headed for her room. “Hurry. We don’t want to be late.”
He didn’t stop her, but he wanted to. Wished he could ask her to stay—even if it was only to breathe the same air a minute longer.
When the adjoining door clicked shut, he could’ve sworn he heard her pause on the other side with a whoosh of relieved breath.
He smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn’t the only one coming apart at the seams.
His hand drifted to his pocket, fingers closing around the worn edge of the coin.Don’t lose it, mucker. Don’t lose her.
Five
