And Jaden, bless his black soul, invites me to take a walk upstairs to meet Viper’s goons.
“Didn’t you say you had some work for me to do?”
Jaden stares at me as if my face has morphed into that serpent woman I’ve read about in Greek mythology. Echidna, that’s her name. He narrows his eyes and tilts his head slowly as speculation replaces the complete shock he showed when I switched gears.
“Yes, you’re right. Time for work. Let’s see if you’re as good as you say you are. Follow me.” He moves to an adjoining room filled with computer equipment and points to one of the stations. “You can work here. I’ll give you ten thousand dollars for each lead you turn up that gets me closer to Viper.”
“I don’t need your money.” Oh yes, you do, you idiot! I’ll die before I admit it. Pride and independence rear their ugly heads.
Jaden says nothing. Not a word. Just raises one of those well-manicured attractive eyebrows.
“Well, I don’t.” I can’t sound more like I’m having a brat attack if I try. I give him my best glare.
He straightens up and pushes his sleeves farther up those gorgeous arms. “So, you don’t work for money. Is that what you’re telling me?”
I stare at Jaden, assessing. How far can I push him? If he’s telling the truth—and in my experience people rarely do—I’m free to go without a penny to my name and Viper hot on my ass. To rescue Summer, I need money. I’ve only ever done two jobs in my life. I’ve waitressed in bars, and before that, in my teens, I worked at a fast food shack we fondly called The Gag and Puke.
Waitressing is the last thing I want to do, but to stay off the streets, I will. I’ve had my fill of drunken lechers, but I know enough to bluff my way into work in a bar. I have to make money. I even rolled around the thought of turning tricks for about thirteen seconds. But if I ever give my body willingly, it won’t be to some jacked-up john.
“Twenty-five thousand for each lead.” I figure I might as well go for broke.
“Fifteen.”
I stick out my tongue. I’m enjoying this. “Twenty, and that’s my final offer.”
He chokes out a laugh. “You’re a ballsy little thing, that’s for sure. Okay, twenty thousand dollars for each confirmed lead you uncover.” He sticks out his hand, and I shake it. I probably should ask him a lot more questions, but I’m too excited to think about it.
I sit down at some of the slickest computer equipment I’ve ever seen. Sweet! Jaden sits at another of the stations across the large room. I pick up a journal and pen from the desk and swivel toward him, ready to go. There’s a lot I needed to know.
“How come that light is still flashing?” I point to the small red dome overhead. “Is that Viper’s guys?”
“Yes. The light’s flashing because there are still intruders on the premises.” He points to a bank of monitors. “See, here and here, but no Viper.”
Sure enough, there are four guys dressed in white overalls and carrying guns with silencers. For real. I gasp, then clap my hands over my mouth. My heart ratchets up to jackhammer status. Jaden sits cool and collected but doesn’t take his eyes off the monitors.
“Oh my God. What are we going to do?” I whisper.
“Don’t worry. They can’t hear you. They won’t find us here.”
“But what about the tracking device? Can’t they track it to the exact location?”
“They can’t track it inside the house. That’s why they haven’t found you until now. They only had a general idea of the area. Our walls are lined with solid metal.” Jaden seems so calm, I forget to be twitchy. For a minute I even forget to be scared. I’m starring in my very own Batman movie.
“The drone with the tracking chip should be heading west and leading them on a wild goose chase.” Jaden leans forward and squints at the screen. “See, look.” He points to another of the monitors. “Bet that call he got is telling him just that.”
Sure enough, one of the white warriors is on a cell phone. He clicks off and punches in a text message before dropping the cell back in its holster. He motions to his buddy and heads toward the door. Buddy hesitates, slips something into his pocket, and follows his companion out the door.
Jaden’s grin transforms his face. “Works every time.”
“What’d he take?”
“He took an expensive bracelet that has a tracking and listening device in it. Two can play this game.”
“Won’t he sell it first chance he gets?”
“Usually, they give it to a girlfriend, which means they keep it around for a while. We’ll use it to track him back to Viper.”
“And you’re just going to let them go? Aren’t you going to do something?”
“Like what?”
Like, pulverize them. Like, make them into ground meat. “I don’t know. Hurt them. Stop them. Something.”
“Never bring blood to your backyard.”
“So, we’re leaving now?”
Jaden starts stabbing keys on his keyboard. “Nope. Not until tomorrow. Give your shoulder time to heal.”
“But I don’t need time to heal.” I leap up and cross over to him, trying to hide my pain. Movement hurts even with the pain meds. I barely catch the edge of his chair as nausea drops its ugly head in front of my face. I grip the back of the chair, breathing hard. Jaden’s firm grip holds my arms barely a second later. He picks me up and carries me to the bedroom.
“As I was saying, you need time to heal.” He sits down beside me and pulls the folded comforter over me. “Don’t worry, no one will find you here, and I’ll be with you the whole time.” He brushes my curls away from my face. “Get some sleep, Dracaena.”
I yawn. “What’s that mean?” My eyelids feel like lead.
“It means little dragon.” His huge hand cups the side of my face. It takes every ounce of self-will not to melt into him.
The prospect of being alone with a killer should scare the shit out of me. But no, I curl into his hand like a puppy needing attention. His golden eyes crinkle at the corners. His look says: I won’t let anything happen to you. Little dragon. I smile and let my eyes drift closed.
“When is the bitch coming back?” I clap my hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry. That just slipped out. I didn’t mean it.”
“Yes, you did. At least be honest with yourself.”
What the hell is wrong with me? Jaden has been nothing but wonderful to me, and I just can’t keep my catty mouth shut. I slept for … I didn’t even know how long … in a bed. No one kicked or slapped me awake. Instead, Jaden let me sleep off most of the meds, and he left trays laden with food. He makes no demands, except that I be honest. He’s been nothing but kind. If a wee bit rude.
Now I’m ready to work. I find Jaden in the computer lab and give him one of my looks. You know, the one I truly hope screams, “Don’t fuck with me.” That one.
“Okay, so I did mean it, but I didn’t mean to offend you.”
You didn’t offend me, and the bitch, as you call her, would probably get a real kick out of it.”
“Why?”
“Because only women are bitches.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll have to ask her.”
We work on in silence for another half hour or so. I surf around on the computer to see what’s on it. From a social media perspective, there’s virtually nothing on it. I set up my favorites—Facebook first and foremost, of course, and Twitter, and Instagram. The rest can follow later. I check my profiles and am relieved they haven’t been hacked. I pick up a pad and paper and mull over what I know. After about ten minutes of reflection, I take my list over to Jaden and slide it in front of him.
“Okay, here’s what I found out about Viper. Do you know anything else to add at all?
He takes a minute and reads my list.
Viper has a teenage daughter named Cherish, nicknamed Cherry Blossom ick
Viper has a cottage in the Muskokas
Viper likes to golf on a Musko
ka area golf course designed by Nick Faldo
Jaden taps the list with his pen. He has a huge grin on his face. “How did you find out all this?”
I swell like a sponge soaking up water in his praise. That smile makes some of the ice deep inside melt and leak right out of me. It’s certainly a good thing he doesn’t smile very often. I stand a little bit straighter.
“That’s worth sixty thousand dollars, right?” I stand with my arms crossed over my chest. Certainly now his wrath will descend. Instead, he just grins.
“With proof, absolutely, and you deserve a reward.”
“I deserve the money.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“Right.” I look at him with a smug, salacious grin. “Most men think giving a woman the benefit of their sexual prowess is some generous reward.”
“I’m not most men.”
9
Jaden
I’ve been a man, I’ve been unconscious.
I’ve done some things that I regret …
“What’s the old expression? I think thou dost protest too much? Could it be you want me in your bed?” I don’t know what possesses me to challenge her like this. I intended to toast her success and instead act like one of the male morons she so scathingly describes. Something about her just eggs me on. Like that old Flip Wilson sitcom in the seventies testified: “The Devil made me do it.”
She tilts her head in that strange way she has, eyes drilling right through me. I get that odd feeling, like fingers are probing my brain. When I stare back for several seconds, she straightens her head and pokes her glasses with her index finger.
“In your dreams, dude. I’ve never wanted anyone.” She sounds belligerent, but she doesn’t move. Her eyes are alive with light, and I swear I see a spark of interest in them.
“That’s good, ’cause I’d split you apart.” No idea why I make such an outrageous claim, but like I said, she’s a demon. Not that I’m the smallest cock on the block, but I hold my own in any locker room.
“You’re kidding me, right?” She manages to meet my gaze head-on for about ten seconds before lowering her lids. Her cute earlobes are a bright red. She’s blushing. I’d like to nibble that ear.
She points to the notepad. “Write down what you know about Viper. Everything, no matter how insignificant.” Her tone is brusque with an undercurrent of enticement she probably doesn’t know she possesses. She goes back to her computer and makes staring at the monitor her new vocation.
I examine her notes. She has the most precise cursive I’ve ever seen. It rivals the script in any rare book. I tap the pen on my teeth while I think about Viper. His name recently surfaced, so my intel on him is limited. Rayne. Viper! Shit. I shove Rayne to the back of my mind and focus. I met Viper once at an Oakville auction when I was on the trail of some rich guy’s daughter. Turned out she was a meth addict turning tricks to feed her habit. And hiding from her family because she didn’t want them to know. Fat chance they kept that little runner at home.
I put pen to paper.
What Jaden knows about Viper:
Viper is a consummate bastard
Viper is vicious
Viper is not someone you should fuck with
Viper likes poker/gambling
Viper met ES at the Fallsview Casino
Viper wears cheap cologne
Whippo is scared to death of Viper
Viper hurt you
Viper deserves to die
I figure that’s enough to make my point. I don’t know a goddamned thing about Viper except that his kind represents a sick blight on humanity. I stretch and cross the broad expanse of the lab. My computer lab. My pride and joy—well, one of them, at least. I slide the journal beside her keyboard. “There you go, your ladyship.” I sound smug to myself, so I can’t imagine what I must sound like to her. Probably like an arrogant bastard. Like the ones she’s dealt with. She doesn’t move a muscle. If not for the tension coming off her, she could be a statue.
I stand there, waiting for the barrage of questions I’m sure will be forthcoming. She glances at what I’ve written, closes the journal, and turns her attention back to the computer monitor. Well, two can play that game. Without another word, I return to my work.
I’ve barely settled into a rhythm when a shrill “Yes,” jolts me out of my reverie. I swivel in my chair to see Rayne dancing around her chair, chanting.
“What are you doing? I don’t intend to sound so clipped. No idea why I’m being such an asshole.
She doesn’t hesitate a beat, just heads my way. “What does it look like I’m doing, silly? I’m happy dancing.” She goes right back into her chant—“Da da nun na da da nun na da da.” She has a decent voice, but that chanting gets tired real fast.
“And why are you happy dancing?”
“I found Viper’s address.”
“No way.”
“Way.” She giggles and claps her hands. “Told you I was good.”
“Show me.”
She half skips back to her computer, wincing, seemingly forgetting she used to be intimidated by me.
“Will you really kill him?” She keeps her eyes trained on the monitors.
“I will if I have to. I just won’t like it.”
That shuts her up. When I have to kill, I do. And then only when some of the human bondage maggots prey on the young and vulnerable because they like it. Those I can squash beneath my shoe without a second thought, just like the insects they mimic.
Rayne rapidly swivels her chair before her fingers fly over the keys. In a blur of movement, she takes me through how she’s used Viper’s daughter’s name to search on Facebook.
“Hold on. You only had her first name.”
“Noooo.” She drags out the word like she was talking to a simpleton. “I only told you her first name.”
I seriously contemplate getting into eye rolls. “And her full name is?”
She grins up at me. “Cherish Ruth Kavanaugh. Fourteen years old and the apple of her father’s eye.” She touches the screen a few times. “And here is her Facebook profile.” She holds both hands out toward the screen in a “voila” movement. She brushes the touch screen a few more times, opening one of Cherish’s photo albums. “See. There he is. He sure cleans up nicely.” She sounds almost impressed.
I’m not going to examine too closely why this bothers me. “He’s still scum.”
“Yes, he’s scum. But now I have to think about him being somebody’s father. And she obviously loves him. And he obviously dotes on her. So, it’s all kind of fucked up. Just like the rest of my life story.”
“I don’t know how you can see one shred of good in him. He sells humans—some of them babies. Period. He hurts children. Period. He’s worse than pond scum. Period.” I emphasize each point with a raised finger. “I have no doubt he caused some if not all of those scars you’re sporting.” My middle finger joins the thumb and index. “He—”
“Okay, okay. Gheesh.” She spins back to the computer. “Wanna know where he lives or don’t ya?”
“Talk to me like I’m a goddamned moron again, and I’m out of here.”
Not that I know where the hell I’d go when we’re in my lab. My sanctuary. I must have lost my mind when I brought this one here. I rarely bring people to the compound, and I’ve never let anyone other than Sasha into The Hole as I fondly call it. Even my majordomo, Steve, isn’t allowed in here. I excavated the caves housed in the bowels of the escarpment, safe from all prying eyes and outside intrusion. Safe from the world. Not only have I brought this little dragon into my lair, but I’ve also let my guard down.
She looks at me with hooded eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. Don’t play stupid. You most certainly aren’t. You only talk like an idiot when you’re addressing someone you believe to be just that.”
She sighs and rolls her eyes. “Viper’s real name is George Kavanaugh. He has a cottage on Lake Joseph. The address is
on the screen.” The chill in her voice makes icicles feel warm. She picks up the laptop and walks out of the room.
So the little dragon doesn’t like to be challenged. The hell with her. She can’t leave The Hole as long as I have it on lockdown. I sit down and get to work.
I have a name. I have an address. Plenty to follow his footprint using Maltego. That site gives me access to documents, and information means power. I quickly locate his cottage and do a title search for a copy of the deed. The home address listed is in Toronto. Of course. What better place to hide his stable, although his operatives mostly use hotel rooms to convert new “recruits.”
I set up a port scan before checking my usual chat rooms. I’ve solicited the help of a couple of hackers I trust named Joker and Treadmill. Old high school buddies, we help each other on occasion, no questions asked. The relationships thrive because of the quality of information generated and our guaranteed anonymity. My hacker handle is Blade, in honor of the switchblades I consider the gems of my collection. I read Joker’s messages.
Joker d00dz: Some noise about a bust. Shipment moving outside GTA. Package sent.
Blade d00dz: Target location?
Joker d00dz: Tonight. Masquerade Club. Oakville.
Blade d00dz: Numbers?
Joker d00dz: Three. Check back for update.
Blade d00dz: Check back for package reply. Out.
So, Viper’s getting set to relocate his slave cell. Joker’s one of the best for locating targets. He sends an encrypted email to my secure account. Viper is due at the Masquerade Club tonight with three of his goons. I send a quick text to my buddy Connor, owner of the Masquerade Club, asking him to let his people know I’ll be arriving at the club with Rayne. He’ll make sure that reinforcements are ready.
I go in search of Rayne and find her sitting on the couch with the computer in her lap. I sit on the edge of the couch beside her, eyeing her a bit warily. Every vibe coming from her announces she’s one pissed off lady.
“Can we call a truce here? I have a lead on Viper. You need something to wear. We leave in an hour.”
Rage (A Jaden Rayne Adventure Book 1) Page 6
