Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Except…what about Gabriel Prescott?
He had a name to go with Marilyn’s suggestion for help. He had a face. Would it hurt to do a little digging on the man who was now his partner?
His fingers hovered over the keyboard, bent and ready to start typing, but he hesitated. Why was he hesitating? He couldn’t imagine any time in the past where he wouldn’t have delved into a person’s past when he was faced with trusting them, but he was with Gabriel.
Justin hadn’t been in the assassination-slash-mercenary-for-hire business for long. A few years at most. He didn’t know many other people in the field. Only those who had a bad reputation for taking questionable contracts and didn’t mind killing innocent people, even woman and children. Justin had made a point of steering clear of those bastards. He might have even snapped up a few of those contracts and taken out the clients rather than the targets.
Marilyn, for all her ruthlessness, had her own code of honor, and she didn’t deal with those dregs. She certainly wouldn’t have partnered Justin up with one. At least he didn’t have to worry about that.
Before he could question it further, Justin typed Gabriel’s name into his private database and wasn’t too surprised when he came up with zero hits. Gabriel was too polished and comfortable in this work for him to be new to it. He also looked as if he might be a few years older than Justin. It was very likely he’d been working as an assassin longer.
Was it possible that he didn’t work in the United States that often, reducing the chances of Justin crossing paths with him?
Or was he just that good? A deadly shadow who swept in, killed, and then left prior to anyone noticing him?
A chill ran through Justin and he shook hard once in his chair. A veteran was what he needed to get this job done quickly, but a veteran could also be more than he could handle if this went south.
Keys clicked and clattered as Justin entered what little he knew about Gabriel into his database when his cell phone rang beside him. Jumping in his chair, Justin swore loudly. He was on edge, feeling like he was betraying Gabriel for keeping notes on him.
He glared at the caller ID to find…well, he was reluctant to call Bert a friend. An associate? A pain in his ass he tolerated because they’d nearly gotten killed together a couple of times?
Yeah, that last one was probably the most accurate.
Justin answered the call and immediately said, “No.”
“For fuck’s sake. You can at least be civil and start with hello.” Bert’s rough voice complained through the speaker.
“I thought I’d save us a little time. You’re getting up there in years. You need all the time you can scrape together for that pretty wife of yours.”
Bert snorted. “Kathy is divorcing me.”
Justin winced, ducking his head down to his shoulders. That was stepping in it.
“Don’t blame her, though,” Bert continued before Justin could choke out an apology. “I’m never home, and the guy she’s been meeting for coffee is cute. Treats her well.”
Groaning softly to himself, he scrubbed a hand over his face. He definitely needed to get some more sleep if he was going to follow this conversation. “Is she cheating on you? Or is it that you’ve already pre-approved her boyfriend for her?”
“It ain’t like that. She’s not sleeping with the guy. Kathy’s not like that. They just have coffee, but I think she’s tempted and it’s making her realize our marriage is shit.”
At least Bert could be logical about the entire thing instead of the crazy, jealous husband on the rampage. And Bert could rampage with the best of them. Justin had seen it firsthand.
It also wasn’t surprising that Bert had his own wife under surveillance. A spy couldn’t use these skills just for work. Their brains didn’t simply shut down at the end of the workday.
“Please tell me you didn’t call me to talk about your marriage,” Justin said, his voice nearly in a whine.
“Hell, no. You’re even more clueless when it comes to dating and people than I am.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Bert huffed a nearly soundless laugh. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Justin could not do that. He didn’t date. It wasn’t like he could tell every hot guy he met what he did for a living, and he didn’t like building a relationship on lies. And his job was a big part of his life.
“Then you’re calling about a job, and we’re back to what I said when I answered the phone. No.”
“Justin, it’s right up your alley. Tiny bit of wet work in Bolivia. There’s a cabinet member with delusions of grandeur stirring up some trouble.”
Dropping his head against the chair, Justin sighed loudly as he stared up at the plain white ceiling. “Black ops for the Agency?”