by Fiona Palmer
‘Hmm, I can tell,’ said Cody.
He had a bruise on his cheek from their sparring yesterday. She’d got him good with her foot. It was her own fault, she should have held back but sometimes she just wanted to go hard. She wanted a fight, a real fight, something she could sink her teeth into, someone who could push her to her best. At the moment she was taking on Cody and Tay at the same time to give her a work-out. She loved that but didn’t like hurting her friends. Cody had suggested entering her into a proper fight against other women. The idea had merit, not that she’d tell Cody that.
‘So how does it feel to have your last exam tomorrow?’ he asked as they packed up their guns. Cody had to return his to Derik to lock up, but Jaz got to put hers in its case and take it home. Anna had made her a gun licence. It was weird that she could cart a gun around legally. No bullets, mind you.
‘Like it couldn’t come fast enough. I want the exams done, school finished so I can focus on my job at The Duke,’ she said softly so Derik couldn’t hear.
Cody nodded. ‘I still think you should be studying with Tay and Anna. You only get one chance,’ he added with a smirk.
Jaz groaned. ‘I can’t look at another bloody chemistry book, I have studying overload. I swear, Cody, this has been better exam preparation than last minute cramming.’
They said goodbye to Derik, signed out with Stew and jumped in Jaz’s Jeep and headed back to the gym.
Jaz had been sleeping at the gym for nearly two weeks, on and off. She tried to go home as much as possible, leaving the nights she needed to be at work the nights she stayed at the gym. Anna was even allowed to stay on the odd night as well, under strict rules though. She had to study, go to bed at a reasonable hour and could only stay when Jaz was there. Then Anna had text messages from her mum while she was there. Seriously, Anna couldn’t wait to cut the apron strings but her mum kept tying on more.
‘Hey, guys.’ Jaz found her friends at the kitchen table, books out amongst empty coffee cups. She shut the door behind Cody as Tick was running a self-defence class for his sister’s friends. Probably earning adoring fans the moment he took off his shirt. Teenage girls, they probably wouldn’t take anything in besides how many muscles there were in a sixpack.
Mind you, Jaz was the same around Ryan. Very hard to concentrate with his awesome body so close she just wanted to touch it. It seemed like years ago when he first came to the gym and they sparred. Some days she wished they could go back to that.
‘Hey, Jaz. How did you shoot?’ asked Tay.
‘She’s getting worse,’ said Cody. Tay frowned. Cody rolled his eyes. ‘She’s too good. It’s horrible.’
Anna laughed. ‘How did you go?’
‘Cody can hold his own. Don’t let him fool you,’ said Jaz. ‘I’m gonna go have a shower and get ready for my shift. Are you staying the night?’ she asked Anna.
‘Yep. I think Mum’s getting used to the idea. I think that fact that I’m still alive has reassured her I’m not going to die cos I’m away from home. Tay’s going to come back after he’s had tea with his dad.’ Sometimes Tay stayed the night in Jaz’s old single bed. Anna hadn’t changed their room at all, she liked it and it came in handy having the extra bed.
Anna found it a little bit scary being in Pax’s house on her own, so Tay usually came and they watched TV until Jaz got home. They were onto the last season of Game of Thrones and had already got Orange is the New Black ready to go next.
‘Can I watch too?’ asked Cody. ‘I got two episodes in when my mate wanted it back.’
‘Sure,’ said Anna.
Jaz left them to chat about the last episode he’d seen, so they could work out which one it was. In her room she grabbed her pub clothes, which consisted of either shorts or black leggings and a black t-shirt. Ted didn’t care what was on it; as long as she wore mostly black it would look as if they had some sort of uniform.
Jaz tied her hair up into a lose bun on top of her head, chucked on her shirt, three-quarter leggings and Converse hi-tops. At the last minute she decided to put a little bit of make-up on, just enough to make her eyes pop without looking too made-up. She knew she had to start making her move soon and had to look nice enough to attract attention from the Shesha Serpent boys.
‘Righto, I’m off. See you guys at midnight.’
‘I hope you don’t fall asleep during your exam tomorrow,’ said Anna.
‘I’ll be alright, Mummy,’ said Jaz as she gave her a hug.
Jaz drove to the safe house, put her Jeep in the garage so it was hidden and then caught the bus to the pub.
‘Teddy, how’s it going?’ said Jaz as she walked into the bar and dropped her backpack in the back room.
Ted shook his head and frowned. ‘You know I hate that,’ he said.
‘So you say,’ she said, knowing that he actually liked his pet name. He was a great boss to have. Actually, Jaz was enjoying this job more than she ever realised.
Thursday nights were usually quiet compared to Friday or Saturday, but it was good in that it gave her the freedom to chat to the patrons, and Ted let her play games of pool or darts with them. He saw the benefit of Jaz creating a fun atmosphere.
‘Bud has been asking for you,’ said Ted, nodding his head towards the pool table.
‘Has he now.’ Jaz glanced over at the guy in his mid-twenties. He was maybe her height, maybe a fraction shorter. He had a buzz cut and thick eyebrows and was a little stocky, but that could be from his muscles. It looked like he pumped weight. He wore t-shirts that seemed too small as they wrapped tightly around his biceps. It was nearly two weeks ago when she’d first got to learn his name and it was at this time, when shaking his hand, that she saw the ink circle from a tattoo partially hidden by his watch. Jaz didn’t need a closer look. She knew that Shesha Serpent tattoo well. And with that information she only had to keep an eye on who he mixed with, and she found some more tattoos connecting the rest of the gang members. There was one guy who was with them once but she couldn’t find the mark, but she was sure it was somewhere on his body. So far she only knew Bud and Stevo, as they had introduced themselves and were here more than the others. Hopefully they all came again, not just Bud.
‘Well, I’ll go say hi, while its quiet,’ said Jaz. She reached for a basket and put some salted peanuts into it. A little thing Ted liked to do, give out free nuts. It was a winner. Jaz was finding she was having cravings for the salty nuts when she wasn’t working, and not only that, she was feeling at home in the beer-smelling pub.
‘Hi ya, Bud. Want some nuts?’ she placed the basket on the nearby table and picked up a pool cue. ‘Quick game before it picks up?’
‘You betcha,’ he said with a smile.
As he set the balls up, Jaz chalked the end of her pool cue. ‘So, my regular pub-goer, what do you do for a day job?’ Jaz made sure not to pepper him with questions that wouldn’t seem out of the ordinary for casual conversation. Seeing as they were alone, this could be the best time to find out a little bit.
‘I’m a bodyguard.’
‘No way, that’s cool. Can you fight and stuff?’ she asked, feigning interest.
‘Yeah, it comes with the territory.’
‘So do you have to protect someone famous? Am I allowed to ask?’ Jaz took the first shot and the balls broke apart with a loud clink, followed by more clinks as they smacked each other.
‘Na, he’s not famous, just a rich guy who wants protection. It’s quite common. Before this guy I was a bodyguard for a mining magnate.’
‘Cool. It sounds like a fun job. Do you get to have a gun? Like the movies?’ Jaz missed her shot and finally Bud got to take a turn. Jaz studied him as he moved for his shot.
‘It’s not that exciting. Actually, it can be quite boring and monotonous. Some days I wish someone would attack him just so I had something to do,’ he said with a wink. ‘And I do get to carry a gun sometimes.’
‘Really? Wow.’
Now that Jaz had puffed him up like a pea
cock, she moved onto other questions. ‘So are you alone tonight or are you meeting friends here? Stevo, was it?’
It was Jaz’s turn and as she bent over she was sure Bud was looking at her backside. That could come in handy.
‘Um, yeah I think they are coming. Stevo said he was, maybe Wilkins will too.’
Wilkins, that was a new name. Jaz put that to her memory bank as she took another shot and sunk a ball before moving onto the next.
‘My turn with the questions. So how old are you?’ asked Bud.
‘Eighteen. Is that okay?’ she teased as she sunk another ball, causing him to groan.
‘Not if you keep beating me at pool. I’ll have to come more often so I can sharpen my skills.’ He tucked a hand into his jeans pocket.
‘Maybe you should play me if you want some competition,’ said a man who walked up to Bud and nudged him. His voice was penetrating, causing Jaz to shiver slightly.
Jaz took her shot, missing the ball, and stood up. She’d seen this guy before and it wasn’t Stevo. This tall skinny guy, whose jeans hung low off his narrow hips and were held there by a black studded belt, had eyes a cognac colour, the same as his trimmed hair. His cheekbones were defined like his jaw.
‘Is that so?’ she challenged.
‘Jeni, meet Wilkins,’ Bud said with a wave of his hand.
‘Nice to meet you, Wilkins,’ she said, walking over to shake his hand. A few more had come into the bar and Ted would be needing her to work, but this moment was too good to waste. ‘You work with Bud, hey?’
Wilkins shot Bud a glance and Jaz wondered if Bud was a talker? He’d be her target if he was. Wilkins might be one to avoid if he was worried about what Bud would say.
‘He said he had workmates coming by,’ she clarified. Wilkins seemed to relax then.
‘Yeah. Why I need a drink,’ he said, rolling his eyes at Bud.
‘Any more of you coming? Shall I bring some more nuts? Get you a beer, Wilkins?’
‘Just Stevo,’ said Wilkins. ‘I’ll have what Bud’s having,’ he added.
‘Sure. Here, you finish up this game, I’ve started it for you,’ she winked, ‘and I’ll go get your beer. I’ll be back later if it gets quiet.’ Jaz took the money Wilkins held out. ‘Thanks for the game, Bud.’
‘Hey, you still need to finish a game with me. I won’t be happy until I can beat you,’ he said with a warm smile.
‘I’m not going anywhere.’
She took Wilkins his beer but had to get back to the bar to serve a few others while Ted was dealing with an issue in the kitchen with Mateo, the chef. Something to do with the prawns. Jaz made a note to ask for chips for her dinner. When she finally got back to check on Bud and Wilkins’ beer situation, she found Stevo had joined them. He was short and a little wide, probably in the mid-forties. His hands were rough and his tooth chipped but he was nice and polite.
‘Hello there, young Jeni.’
‘Stevo, good to see you again. Can I get you the usual?’
He gave her a wink and a nod as he fished out his wallet from his denim jeans. ‘Thanks, Jeni, that’d be great.’
Jaz walked back to the bar, feeling comfortable in her surrounds and smiled to herself. She had three guys of the Shesha Serpents, Bud being the best one for her to get close to as he was the youngest and seemed like a talker. The next step was to keep flirting and getting Bud to talk, which would be much easier at the end of the night after a few beers. She just needed to do it without Ted getting upset because she wasn’t doing her job.
If only Ted knew how important this was.
Chapter 17
Ryan had been asked to hang around the house until Jamison’s guest left, which was fine by him. It gave him an excuse not to catch up with Annaliese before she caught up with her friends for their Thursday night dinner. He tried to keep her at arm’s length without making it noticeable. Hopefully it was working, maybe it was even keeping her keen, with him playing hard to get.
‘Thanks for helping out, Reece,’ said Randall after they both saw off the guest.
Ryan couldn’t find out much about him but his car number plate was locked away in his brain. He’d pass that on and Anna could find out who it belonged to.
‘No problems, I don’t mind. I was only going home to a takeaway dinner and TV,’ said Ryan, hoping Randall would take the bait. He counted to five in his head.
‘You know the guys are down at The Duke. You should drop in and say hi. I’m sure they’d appreciate a beer or two,’ he said straight-faced. Randall had a strong, cemented facial expression that gave nothing away. Ever. He was a solid man, and his bulk may have you thinking there was nothing much between his ears but Ryan knew better than that. He’d seen Randall at work and knew he would be cunning and clever. He was not a man you wanted to slip up in front of and Ryan could tell Randall took his job seriously. To the point that it was all he lived for. He’d bet a hundred bucks that Randall was single, no family and no outside interests unless it was cleaning his gun.
‘Thanks, Mr Randall, I might just do that.’
‘Just call me Randall,’ he said. ‘The others do.’
Ryan had finally been accepted. He almost smiled at the win.
He nodded. ‘I’ll be off then. See you tomorrow.’
‘Righto. Make sure Wilkins doesn’t get out of hand. He gets fired up easily.’ Randall turned and went back inside, leaving Ryan to ponder his words.
Hopefully Wilkins didn’t get fired up over Ryan taking his job.
Ryan went home first, well, to the agency flat, and had a shower, changing into a pair of jeans and a white V-neck t-shirt. He drove to The Duke; he already knew where it was from other operatives who were watching Jamison’s men before he even went undercover.
He pushed open the door, the familiar pub smell greeting him. Around the corner he saw the main bar area and it didn’t take him long to find Bud, Stevo and Wilkins. Taking a deep breath, he headed their way. Stevo was the first to spot him as they sat around a table with beers and nuts while they talked.
‘Hey guys, Randall said I’d find you here. Next round’s on me,’ he said quickly, trying to butter them up before they shut him out.
‘Randall sent you?’ said Wilkins. His voice was gruff and a little on the disbelieving side.
‘Yeah, after we knocked off he suggested I come to The Duke and catch up with you guys. Not a bad pub. So who’s for a beer?’ Ryan chose to ignore Wilkins’s confusion and uncomfortableness. For all he knew they were probably having a big bitch session about him before he walked in.
‘I’d go another,’ said Bud. He lifted his arm and waved towards the bar.
‘Me too,’ said Stevo.
‘Jeni, over here,’ said Bud, almost singsong.
‘Hey Bud, what can I get you. Another round?’
That voice! It sounded just like Jaz. Ryan’s heart raced instantly, like a shot of adrenaline. He closed his eyes for a moment as the barmaid’s voice triggered Jaz’s image. He’d take any reminder of her at the moment, it had been so long. But when he opened his eyes and turned to say, ‘I’ll get the round,’ his words just about fell from his lips.
It was Jaz.
He blinked a few times. Still Jaz.
He should know; those amazing electric blue eyes, that raven hair, which haunted his sleep, and that soft subtle skin that his fingers itched to touch. Oh my God, it was really her.
She was looking at him in less shock than he probably was. ‘Got some money?’ she asked.
Quickly he gathered his thoughts and pulled out his wallet. ‘Yeah, sorry. Long day.’ His hand almost shook as he held out the note. She lifted it from his fingers and floated away, a hint of frangipani all that remained. He couldn’t help but turn to watch her walk away. But he knew he had to cover his tracks. ‘Now I see why you guys come here.’
‘I know, right? Jeni is great,’ said Bud.
‘You better not keep looking at her like that or Annaliese will have your balls on a platt
er, or Jamison will,’ said Wilkins with a smirk.
Ryan laughed and pulled out a chair and sat. ‘He’d bloody skin me alive, after Annaliese had dropped my balls in a blender.’ He pulled a face and reached for some nuts as the guys laughed. Which was good because he needed a moment to gather his thoughts.
Jaz was here at the bar. Working. How? Why? His body was going mental on the inside while outside he tried to remain calm and relaxed. Every fibre of his body wanted to glance at her again but he knew he couldn’t, he had to wait until she returned. He couldn’t bring any more attention to her. The guys had started chatting again but Ryan kept munching on the peanuts so he had an excuse not to participate just yet. He was still in shock. When his eyes had found her it had blown him away. He hadn’t realised just how much he’d missed Jaz and he ached with longing to reach for her, press her hard against his chest and hold her for eternity. Even now his heart was still racing, his body alive with electricity. He wasn’t sure if he could get it to function properly, because all it wanted was Jaz.
‘Here ya go, fellas.’
She was back, he got to look at her as she deposited the glasses full of cold beer on the table in front of them. Jaz came around to him to put his beer down, her hips brushed against his arm and it was such sweet, sweet pain. She was so close it was killing him. This was worse than any torture he’d ever endured. His teeth were crushed together, his jaw aching, his chest thumping, his skin on fire.
‘Here ya go, mister,’ said Jaz.
Those blue eyes cut right through him. A hit like a bolt of lightning.
Jaz was his reason for getting through this mission, she was what he wanted to come back for, she was all he could think about and, he knew now, she was his life. He loved her. He loved her like he’d never loved anyone before. It was all consuming. From his toes to his fingertips he knew she was the girl for him, for life. The more he’d tried to push her away the more she seemed to seep into his heart. How had he not known, not realised?
