The Laughing Assassin [Assassin's Diary] (Siren Publishing Classic) (22 page)

But for now, all she could do was the same thing she had done for too many years. Work, and when that didn’t help, work harder. But this time there was no place she could hide from the fact that she was falling for this man. There was no place she could shelter her heart inside, and after the years of duck and cover, she was a pro at creating pockets no man could sunder within herself even under torture. However, all of those places had been filled with Jonah, and she was unable to make another hole to withdraw to. She was incapable of crafting the sane spots, that sacrosanct space that no one else could touch within her. Not from him, and that was the part that gave her the most fear despite everything else.

No matter what, she would protect Jonah’s back with her life, but she was even more terrified that he felt the same.

By the time she was over the idea of her nervousness, she was disgruntled. Jaden had never felt this kind of fear, where she could make all of the difference between life and death. She had lived the fear of losing someone she loved, yet as an adult she knew there was nothing she could have done to save her mother or father. She was a woman with nothing to lose, as she had no real family left. The few members were extended family. She let everyone assume she was dead for too many years to go back now and expect open arms or any hospitality.

The saying was wrong.
One can’t always go back home.

And until recently, she had no lover either. But now she was afraid that every heartbeat she had left was a time bomb ticking the inevitable end of her happiness. There was nothing she could do at this point except to be prepared, and her body was as always at the ready. But her mind was a different story.

No amount of meditation could abate the feeling that this op was the last. She was prepared to die, but that was no surprise as she had been ready since she was ten.

Prison Break from Hell

A week later, Jaden knew and plotted for almost every facet of what she was about to walk into, but that didn’t make a difference to her nerves. Her palms sweated as if she faced her sensei all over again. She had never had another set of people depend on her this way before. Jaden knew she was directly responsible for the success or failure of this venture, and she had to get it right the first time around. If she fucked this up, dozens more women would be reduced to slaves, and several people would get away with crimes beyond nature. Human beings were not created to be enslaved, and the idea that she could fuck up everything weighed heavily on her. There was nothing she could do, save her best.

The final day was spent in meditation on the back sparring grounds, and she rooted herself into the packed earth. One balance chi after another, the poses melded into a rote dance she had done too many times before, though the physical operation never mattered so much on any of the other occasions. She let her mind melt into another frame of reference, used her mind’s eye to view her success, and let every happenstance possibility from the variables in the plan play through her thoughts. She saw many ways that the op could fail, but there were just as many ways to emerge victorious.

She could feel Jonah, when the sun was at its zenith, approach the grounds with a meal to offer her. Jaden never acknowledged his unspoken request to dine on the food he’d brought her, and she smelled him when he brought the platter along with the absence of the scent when he left. She had lost all reference of time, but it must have been hours, as when he came back to her, the sun was lower in the sky. He sat with her, and her senses told her that he mirrored her lotus pose. He didn’t speak, and she did the same. His silence was the sole thing she needed at that moment, and she was grateful that he was able to understand her enough that he saw her desire for quiet.

When the sun began to descend and give way to evening, she opened her eyes for the first time and saw Jonah’s face. He was beautiful to her. The leftover sun glinted across his exposed skin. He was covered only from the waist down with a pair of gi pants and allowed her arrested vision the opportunity to appreciate the sight. A bronze gleam roved his pectorals and divided her attention.

They made quick, hurried love against the beaten earth before it was time to get prepared. Jaden let Jonah dress her before the event. The only part of her wardrobe left to her was her NuvaRing, a birth control device she needed to insert and position at the wall of her cervix. The benefit to the device was the fact that she could wear it up to a week, so it wasn’t time sensitive, and she didn’t have to use it beyond the seven days. There was no guarantee that they could be able to feasibly explain away the use of condoms, and Jaden chose this option just to be on the safe side during the execution of the op.

He seemed somber, and she knew he was worried. Not for himself, but for her. She appreciated the concern, but they couldn’t let emotions get in the way. There was a job to be done, and she needed him to do it, even if it meant she got hurt a bit. She could handle that. But what she couldn’t deal with was the idea of being so close to what they required to succeed and not getting it in the end. She didn’t sign up to be sent on a wild goose chase and end up with only a mouthful of feathers for her hard work.

The ride to the helicopter was made in silence. One wrong move could spell the death knell for the mission at hand, and Jaden knew it. Even with their earlier pep talk, lovemaking, and Jonah’s hand resting on her thigh the entire ride, major butterflies laid larvae in her belly. Nothing would go wrong, she thought. This was perfectly planned to the tee. This meeting was for medium-sized fish gathering in an even bigger pond, and if they played their roles to the hilt, they could get into a better auction with bigger fish. It was all a game of mathematics, and Jaden was ready to get the whole thing over with.

She had never been one to be part of a team, and now she had to trust people to watch her back. And she had to be worth their trust in return that she would take care of them if it was called for.

The first half of the ride would be on a helicopter that would pick them up from the privacy of the beach. From there they would be lowered to a boat and dock just outside of the national park reserve. The extra precautions were made due to the fact their stolen aliases were American. They couldn’t fly in legitimately without a bunch of red flags popping up, unlike the arrivals of the other purchasers, who would debark at Santiago de Cuba, followed by a short helicopter ride to the edges of the island.

Meanwhile, because the of the strained relationship between the United States and their destination, HIT-U had to have conclusive proof that illegal activities including American citizens had even taken place before any branch of the US government would touch the topic or soil with a ten-foot pole.

The crime wouldn’t be in the actual auction, as the women could have given consent to a mock sale, but they needed proof of the kidnappings, brutality, or any other charge that could be rustled up based on what they found tonight. The prosecution would be a nightmare of red tape, as the abducted women were likely to be from numerous countries, and each nation would want the rights to prosecute on their own soil. But that wasn’t for her to worry about. What she had to worry about was the here and now.

She climbed down the lightweight metal ladder after Jonah reached the deck. He supported her exaggerated sway caused by the ridiculously expensive designer high-heels she wore to complete her whore-chic look. Jaden kept her head low, and when she was stationary, Jonah commanded her to remove her coat. She unbelted the trench-style jacket and folded it carefully before she waited for her Master’s directive. He gave her a nod to let her know it was okay to hand the folded garment to the huge, no-neck security guard who took the liberty of his position to dig through the pockets and wave over the fabric with a handheld.

Jaden assumed No Neck was checking for bugs and weapons. But the only defense she had aside from her own two hands was a simple garrote, and even the thin wire in the bandeau top could be explained away with the construction of her garments. Anatta was a weapons genius with the construction of her shoes, but the plastic explosives and fuse were only good for small damage. But the wand or gate wouldn’t detect any of that she was sure. He used the device again over Jonah’s coat, and the briefcase filled with fifty thousand in specially marked euros.

The money was carried to a counting machine where the funds were tallied before the hulking guard pulled out half of the bills.

“For the house,” No Neck said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Whatever
. Jaden dipped her head lower to stop him from seeing any change in her face. The security guard led them to a bedroom and left them there to await the trip to the island. She knew there were a few privately owned beaches the team had located, and she scouted for activity. But there was no way of knowing where the auction was held until they arrived. It would make a big difference as to when they could have backup, and Jaden had to consider that they would be on their own for now.

When the room was quiet and she heard the hum of the engine, Jaden knew they were headed for the auction. Jonah pulled her into his arms and whispered into her ear. At first their position excited her beyond belief, and she wanted him inside of her. But then she registered what he was actually saying.

“This room is bugged. If I tamper with the devices, they will know something is up. Just follow my lead.” He quickly tossed his shirt over a lampshade and the bedside phone. His pants were tossed over the TV, leaving him in only the blue half mask, and he pulled her closer. The position was unusual for her, as normally when he was playing Dominant, she was nude and he wore the clothing. But she supposed her scanty clothes wouldn’t have been as good at covering the spy cams hidden in the space.

She knew there had to be more, but the two he covered probably were the best angles to see all of the action from. Jonah was used to distinguishing the best placement for devices with his naked eye, and she had never learned that art. When she found bugs and whatnot, it was with her programmed handhelds.

Jaden had one that she built herself a few years ago. The PDA located any electrical ears or eyes then emitted a focused electromagnetic pulse and fried them beyond use. The best past was the fact that the burnout was set up to seem natural and unexceptional. But that would be of little help here as they were stuck on board and at the mercy of people without any of the refined emotion to spare.

“Do you want me to fuck you, my pet?”

“Yes, Master.” It was the only response she could give, whether she wanted his cock or not. But she really did want him, just as she always did.

His hands roved over her flesh, exposed by the scanty garb that was preplanned especially for this event. Almost every inch of her was covered in fishnet, sleeves over her arms, wrapped over her muscle-toned legs. The only claim to modesty she could boast from the garb was a bare bit of leather bandeau top and tiny micro-miniskirt. Her half mask matched his, but where Jonah’s was a simple face-framing construct of royal-blue silk, hers was a more feminine cat-eyed cut and sparkled with sequins in the same color.

Jaden knew she looked like sex on a stick, and the thought was enough to make her wild. She didn’t have on any panties, and the net bodysuit was built without a crotch for his convenience. Her hair was constructed as a mohawk with massive amounts of hair glue to keep her locks in place with the sea air and spray she knew she would be subjected to during transit.

He was nude, and she was fully clothed, but his hands on her body were enough to make her forget where she was or even her state of relative dress juxtaposed against his nudity. When she was unable to remember her own name from his stealthy caresses, she was grateful he didn’t forget her. He saw her needs, the ones driving her even as she was in danger of forgetting the job at hand. She could trust him to remember for the both of them.

“Who owns you, pet?” The query came out of left field, but she remembered what he was driving at.

“You do, Master.” Hopefully that would satisfy the dominant before her, along with any hidden eyes and ears.

“Good answer, my girl.” His hands were pure devastation, driving her nearly mad with need.

His fingers were a mere skimming of the tips over her face, but it was as if the sensations traveled lower and struck at the heart of her needs and wants. It was as if he was truly the master of her body, and she was unsure if she was ready to give the man a stake in her heart. That was where he was headed anyway, to a place where she was owned again. But instead of hating her enslavement, she was in rapture to her bonds.

His hands rubbed over her jaw. “Are you okay with this?” The words were subtle, a hoarse whisper amid the finery of the yacht.

“If I wasn’t, it would be too late to ask anyway,” she whispered back, the words so low they barely disturbed the air around her.

“True, but I will always give you a choice, no matter the price.” He kissed her neck, just a buss of lips against smooth skin.

The claim he staked on her had increased with every fuck between them, until the heart-pounding sex had blurred seamlessly into heart-melting lovemaking. The sex was so tender and soul-wrenching that she no longer could distinguish between the two of them. They were no longer Jaden and Jonah, but a weird combination of the individual parts. She was not able to decipher when he fucked her or made love to her. It always seemed to be a conflagration between the two of them. They became one flesh in a way that she never knew was possible, and he owned more than her body.