“Nothing about your safety is every funny to me, either,” she muttered. He’d better not forget that.
“You should have come to me sooner,” he said. Now he sounded almost as disgruntled as War. “But you’re here now, and my plan will work. You don’t want to be hunted, and I don’t plan for you to be prey.”
She didn’t plan for that either so…
“He seems to have a whole sexual issue going on with you. One of those asshole types who thinks he can control a woman completely. Weak-ass bastard.”
Her brows climbed.
“If I can’t have you, no one will…that kind of bullshit. Time he learned his lesson. Past time.”
Her heart thudded hard in her chest even as War pounded on the door again. “I’m coming in my office!” he declared.
“Good for you,” Jinx tossed back. He didn’t move away from Ali. “You stayed away from men because of his threats, didn’t you? Because you were afraid if you took a new lover, if you showed interest in anyone, he’d hurt them.”
“He said he would. And he killed Jacques. Not that I was involved with him. I wasn’t. I wasn’t involved with anyone but—” She stopped. You. Though they’d hardly been involved.
One night.
No, one hour. One super-hot, singed-into-her-memory hour of her life.
Jinx waited as if expecting her to say more. When she just kept her lips clamped together, he sighed and said, “Me. You slept with me, and I was the first guy you’d let close in a long time.”
Her chin jerked, but she didn’t respond.
“That’s cool. Better than cool. Fucking perfect, actually. And you’re not asking, but I’m telling you…”
The office door swung open. War must’ve had the key to the lock on him.
“I’m telling you,” Jinx continued as his voice roughened, “that I haven’t fucked anyone since you.”
“Seriously!” War’s voice rang out. “What is it with you and your sex life, Jinx? Can you please stop oversharing with me?”
“So…since there hasn’t been anyone else for me…” Jinx acted as if War hadn’t just had that mini explosion. “Then it will make sense to the freak after you that I haven’t looked at anyone else because I’m completely hooked on you. After all, he’s a man who understands obsession.”
“I do not like where this is going,” she warned him.
“Don’t worry. You’ll love it before I’m done.”
Doubtful. “No. I don’t think I will.” Because the hard twist in her gut told Ali what Jinx was going to say even as his lips parted…
“He doesn’t want you with a lover. Too bad. When he sees you with me, when he thinks that we’ve hooked up again, it will drive the bastard crazy. He’ll make a move, he’ll come from the shadows, and we’ll end him. Simple. Perfect. Beautiful.”
Beautiful?
“Like I said,” Jinx added proudly, “genius.”
No, not genius. “He will come for you.”
“Right. You’ve got it. Knew you’d be on board.”
“It’s barely eight thirty,” War muttered. “And the man is making me want to drink. Why, why did I think bringing you into the agency was a good idea?”
“Because I’m a superstar.”
“I don’t think that was why,” War mumbled.
Seeming to ignore that comment, Jinx asked, “Did you find the tracker?”
“Yeah, it was on the inside portion of her hubcap, on the left rear tire. There could be others, so I want to do a more thorough check.”
“Not necessary. She’ll be ditching that car. I’ll be getting it repaired before we send it back to the rental company. Then she’ll be driving around with me.”
He was trying to steam roll over her. “Jinx, I haven’t agreed to this insane plan!”
“How many times do I have to say that it’s a genius—”
“You getting hurt or killed isn’t genius!” It was dangerous. Deadly.
He laughed. Laughed. “Baby, I dodge bullets for fun. I want him to come at me.”
She didn’t want that. She’d been trying to avoid that whole situation—thus her avoiding Jinx. “This isn’t some wannabe thug. I told you, I think he’s high up in ranks. We could be looking at someone who is former military, who went special ops, just like you did. Someone who went off book and who plays rough and dirty.”
“Rough and dirty. The only way I know how to play, too.”
Helpless, she peered at War. Surely, he’d be the voice of sanity. “I came here for the team. Because I thought we could combine forces and track this man. I didn’t come here so that Jinx could put a giant target on himself as he parades around town and yells, ‘Come and get me!’” She sucked in a breath. “You’re the boss here, War. Would you tell your PI that it’s a horrible idea?”
War’s shoulders rolled back. “Actually, I think Jinx is on to something.”
Sweet heaven above. She closed her eyes. “I forgot that the two of you often feed off each other’s crazy.” Where was Odin when she needed him? He was usually the calm and rational one.
“It’s not crazy if it will work,” War mused.
Her eyes cracked open. “You want us to pretend to be involved?”
“From the sound of things, your stalker already thinks you are involved with him. Probably believes you came down here so you could be with Jinx.” War rubbed his chin. “Have the two of you been together publicly since you arrived in the area?”
“Jinx found me at the beach yesterday,” she admitted. “Then somehow, we wound up at the same bar last night.”
“Because you were looking to hire some seriously shady criminals. Bad move, when you should have just come to me,” Jinx chimed in to declare.
Why was he missing this point? “Sometimes, you need shady people to handle the monster in the dark.” Something he shouldn’t have to be told. But when she cut him a fuming glance…
His eyes were on her. All bright and focused hard. “I am the monster in the dark.” No smile. No humor in his voice. “Something you should have learned by now, it’s always easy for a monster to hide behind a smile.”
Okay, that was creepy. And intense. And so not her Jinx.
Wait. He is not mine. Never has been. Never will be.
“What were you going to do with Ramsey?” Jinx’s voice had lowered to little more than a sensual whisper. She didn’t think War could hear his words. “Get him to kill for you?”
She sucked in a sharp breath.
“Ramsey won’t kill for you,” Jinx continued in that same barely-there whisper, one that had goosebumps sliding over her body. “But I will. In a minute, I’d do that for you.”
Ali felt as if she were staring into the eyes of a stranger. His blue gaze had never looked colder. “Jinx?”
He blinked. And his eyes were gleaming again. Filled with the mocking humor that she realized he wore like armor. “It’s settled. We’ll pretend to be the best fuck buddies in the world, we’ll drive your asshole stalker crazy, and the case will be closed in record time.” He backed away from her. “And we’ll have yet another satisfied client at Trouble for Hire.” His gaze flickered toward War. “My first big case for you,” he said with a dramatic sigh. “I swear, I will do you proud.”