Page 53 of The Ghost Assassin

“You bitch,” he snaps.

“Put the gun down!” comes a shout from my left and the right of Ghost.

Holy fuck, it’s Jay, and he’s going to get himself shot again. Ghost draws another weapon and points it toward Jay even as he holds one on me. I step between them and face Ghost. Voices sound on the path. “You kill me,” Ghost says, “you’ll never find the assassin in time to stop the next kill.”

He’s right. He knows what I do not, but I don’t care. I will fucking shoot him.

The sound of a kid’s voice is what throws me off. It’s barreling toward me. “Jay!” I shout. “Stop the kid.”

It’s too late. A boy, maybe four years old, is suddenly between me and Ghost. Jay steps in front of the kid, his back to Ghost. The mother rushes forward to scoop up her child, gasping at our drawn weapons. I ignore her and push past Jay and the child, but Ghost is gone.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Calming down the family with the little kid is a gaggle times two. When it’s finally over, and I’m alone with Jay, I go off on him. “Are you trying to die, Jay?”

“I was doing my job, Lilah.”

“If you see a law enforcement officer with a gun pointed at an assassin, you either shoot the fucking assassin or stay out of it. Don’t throw yourself in front of me while he holds his gun. Do you know how many bodyguards it takes to screw in a lightbulb?” I demand. “None if they’re dead. None, Jay.”

“You’re right. I should have shot him, but you didn’t, so I assumed you needed to take him alive.”

“Then shoot him in the arm, the leg, the hand holding his weapon. The only good thing you did out there was put yourself in front of that kid. You’re a good guy. That’s why you need out of this. I’ll pay you to leave. A lot of money. I will write you a check.”

“I don’t want your money, and I’m not leaving. You’re my people now, Lilah. Why the hell do you think I tried to take another bullet for you?”

“Why do you think I’m trying to stop you from doing this job, Jay? It’s dangerous.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Then you’re going to the police academy. If you make it through that, we’ll talk about what comes next.”

“I’ve told you before, I don’t want to be a cop, and if I make it through it? Really, Lilah?”

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a wad. I know you can make it through it. I was just giving you a hard time. I enjoy that.”

“So do I. That’s just another reason for me to stick around.”

“No, it’s not. And I didn’t suggest you become a cop. I said train to be a cop. Then you’ll understand your options in these types of situations, which by the way, do not include throwing yourself at a bullet. And in case you don’t know, the fact that you will, is why Kane likes you. He wants you to be willing to die for me, but I do not.”

“Too bad, Lilah. You won’t train that out of me.”

“Either you learn another way, Jay, or I’ll fire you. I mean that in the most loving of Lilah fucking Love ways.”

The attendant shows up beside us. “Your chopper is ready.”

“Get us another one,” I say. “We’re not taking the one that was supposed to be ours.”

The woman’s mouth parts. “But…we can’t do that.”

“You can,” I say. “I need you to do it.”

“That’ll be expensive. They’ll charge for—”

“I don’t care how much. We need a different chopper.” I flash my badge.

Her eyes go wide, and there is a lot of scrambling that follows.

“You think he messed with our chopper?” Jay asks, looking as pale as the white man he is not.

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