“I stayed at the diner a bit. Had a milkshake…”
He nodded. “Because chocolate soothes your soul, I know. Carry on.”
A furrow appeared between her eyebrows.
“Keep going,” he urged.
“When I finished up, I went outside, and this creep in a souped-up truck nearly blinded me with his brights.” Ali shook her head. “I was muttering about him and not paying enough attention to my surroundings—an amateur mistake, one I am well aware I committed. Then I got to my car and found the message that had been left for me. When I looked around, the lot was empty.”
Jinx stiffened. “How long after you left Ramsey’s did you see that truck?”
“About an hour.”
“And this truck…was it dark, maybe gray or black, with no license plate, and a big-ass grille on the front?”
“I—” Her eyes narrowed. “Definitely a grille. And I think it was black. I didn’t get a chance to look for plates.” A pause. “How do you know all this?”
Jinx shrugged. “The usual way.”
She stared at him, expectant.
Another roll of his shoulders. “The prick tried to run me down right before he paid you a visit at the diner.”
She leapt to her feet. “What?”
“He came up behind me after I left Ramsey’s. Tapped my bike. Thought he’d make me crash.” He could see the fear and fury in her eyes. “No worries, I’m a whole lot tougher than most folks expect. In fact, I was about to show him the error of his ways, but then more cars arrived, including a patrol vehicle. When he saw the lights from the other vehicles, he flew out of there.” And, the SOB had gone after her. But that raised an interesting—and worrisome—point. “How the hell did he know where you’d gone?” Because the perp had hung back and followed Jinx. No way he could have kept a visual on Ali at the same time.
War cursed. “He tagged her. We need to search her ride.”
Ali’s plump lips parted. “You think he’s got a tracker on my rental?”
“It’s what I’d do if I wanted to keep tabs on a target.” Actually, it was precisely what Jinx had done on serval occasions. He’d be sure to personally check Ali’s car because he knew the best places to hide a device like that one. He’d also be sure and get her door repaired. Screw it—he’d get her a whole new ride. He knew it was a rental, anyway. They’d repair it and send the vehicle back. Get her something new in its place. Or maybe I’ll just be her chauffeur for a while.
Ali’s left hand brushed against his arm. “He tried to run you down last night?”
He looked at her hand. The delicate fingers. The smooth skin. His gaze rose to her face.
“This is why I wanted to stay away,” she said. “Because of our past, I knew you’d be a target.”
He suddenly had an idea where this was going, and Jinx damn well didn’t like it. But for the guy to write Slut on her ride, for him to target Jinx… “Stalker? Is that what we’re dealing with here? Someone who couldn’t let go after the relationship ended?” Someone who’d taken his obsession with Ali too far.
But she shook her head. “There was no relationship. I’m very, very careful about my involvements. I choose safe men. Good men.”
A rough bark of laughter came from War. “Yeah, unless you run background checks on them, you can’t be sure about just how safe they truly are…”
She kept staring straight at Jinx.
And he knew she’d done just that. Used her sneaky skills to peek into the backgrounds of the men she’d dated. “Fuck.” He felt his eyes widen. “Did you do the same on me?” There were many, many layers to the mystery that was Alison Carter. She’d always been guarded like a crown jewel on missions. Her tech skills were top-notch, way better than his, and he was damn good. She could also slip in and out of any building like a ghost. She was a dead-eye shooter with her gun, and he’d never seen her back down from a confrontation.
For this guy to have rattled her…what am I missing?
“Yes, I ran the same check on you.” Now her gaze darted to War. “And you.”
Wait. Sonofabitch, was she saying that she and War—
Even as a growl built in Jinx’s throat, her hold on him tightened. “It was basic research because I needed to trust the people on my team. When I’m in the field, I have to have total faith in the individuals around me.” She let him go. He realized she’d put down her coffee cup. Their bodies were close, almost touching. “This guy—he started contacting me on my last mission. The mission that…took me away from you.”
The faintest of stumbles there. Probably because she hadn’t wanted to say…the mission that had me slipping out of your bed. Though it technically hadn’t been his bed. Just a cheap bed in a shady motel that had never been good enough for Ali. She needed wining and dining, not a savage fuck in a rundown hole in the wall. But, unfortunately, that was what he’d given her.
“I was supposed to be working undercover. Get in, get access to the intel, get out. It didn’t happen that way, though. The mission was a complete failure.” A small hesitation. “Because of him.”
Now they were getting somewhere.
Ali slipped away from Jinx. Headed to the window. Stared out at the street below. “I knew the target.” Her voice was careful, her body tense. “That’s why I was picked for the mission because our paths had crossed before. Because it should have been easy for me to get close—I already had his confidence. When I arrived in the area, I made contact. Resumed our acquaintance. Everything was going according to plan, then I received the first phone call.” Her spine was perfectly straight. “The caller told me that the waiting game was over. He’d been patient, he’d learned my moves, and that he was ready to win.” She shook her head and darted a confused look back at both War and Jinx. “I had no idea what he was talking about. I alerted my handler, but he assured me the mission wasn’t compromised. We were good to go.” Ali raked a hand through her hair. “I was supposed to go to dinner with my target. We did. Dinner. Drinks. Everything was normal. The next night, he had a party at his business. I was invited, just as the plan had stipulated. I got access to his security system. I got what I needed. I walked away, and…the next morning, I learned that my target had been shot to death in his Paris apartment.”
Damn.
“I learned about his murder when I got another phone call. Same mystery guy. His voice was raspy, disguised, and he told me that he wasn’t going to share me with the world. Told me that what had happened to Jacques had been unfortunate, but necessary.”
Fucking hell.
“It was a professional hit. He’d disabled all the cameras in the area, all of the security footage went down before he killed Jacques. The calls I received couldn’t be traced. He couldn’t be traced, and trust me, I tried. I used all of the resources at my disposal to find him. I couldn’t. I couldn’t,” she repeated, and there was anger and confusion in her voice. “I can usually find anyone. Anything. But this creep? He does know my moves. He knew everything I was doing to track him. He kept reaching out to me, no matter where I went or what I did…he was there. He’d call or leave some kind of taunt for me. Something to let me know he was watching.”