22

Ipull up Jason's gated driveway and park in the roundabout directly in front of his door. To my right are two massive pickup trucks, two rovers, and three motorcycles. I roll my eyes. He has a six-car garage, which I'm sure is stocked with more.

Of course, Jason wouldn't give up his dreams just because an accident had paralyzed him, but did he have to be such a fucking show off?

I reach for the bottle of wine that Olivia asked me to bring as a token of apology since I canceled lunch and invited myself to dinner. Max rushes out. He knows where we are, and he's eager to be let out in their yard. I barely graze my knuckles on the door when Olivia opens it and smiles wide.

Olivia is a dirt bike riding, rock climbing, beer drinking, vulgar tongued sort of woman. I'm sure she was a viking in another life. A sleeve of tattoos cover her left arm. She's tall, slender, and has delicately charming features. The left half of her head is shaved, and the tattoos from her arm continue to collect on her neck, behind her ear, and up to her scalp. She's wearing a black t-shirt and white shorts, the gray material of the prosthetic liner inches above her right knee shimmers slightly. Her straight brown hair falls over the right side of her face and she pushes her glasses up her slim nose and smiles.

"The king of Rome has arrived," she shouts in Spanish over her shoulder. She winks at me and takes the bottle from my hands. "His favorite, you remembered!"

"Hi, Liv." I step through the massive entryway.

"My aunt wants to know when you'll visit."

I roll my eyes and close the door behind me. "Tell my mother to stop sending messages through you."

"I can't help that I'm her favorite niece."

Max saunters in as if he's home and wags his tail-less ass at Jason, who halts his mechanical chair in its tracks to greet him properly. "Hey, Maximus. How's the boss treating you?"

"I imagine he's treating him better than most," Olivia chimes in. "Come on, Max, the boys are outside."

Olivia hands Jason the bottle and he pulls her gently down and kisses her. She and Max disappear to the back where their three dogs wait. I follow Jason into their kitchen, and while he opens the bottle of red, I wash my hands.

"Someone paid Justice a visit today," he says.

I grind my teeth. I had to make an appearance at the police station, submit some hours of labor and paperwork. I also had to write up a report for Mike, the middleman for the agency that hired me to get the job done. No one had spoken about a deadline, but the completion of a job is always a debatable, tentative, and delicate topic that they always want executed as quickly and cleanly as possible.

But of course, I had to check up on Niki. I was honest when I told her that I wouldn't track the cell phone I'd given her. I wanted her to have the privacy she deserved while being able to communicate with her whenever I wanted. But I checked the cameras honed in on the trailer lot and almost climbed out of my skin when I saw a jittery and pain stricken Noah losing his shit like a crackhead going through withdrawals, while he yelled at my woman. I don't know what he said, or what she responded, but from the looks of it, she took care of it.

"I noticed."

I grab two wine glasses and Jason fills them up. Then he spins and grabs a Guinness for Olivia and hands it to her as soon as she reappears.

"Dinner is set. Let's head to the table before it goes cold."

I nod and give Jason his glass of red and we make our way to their dining room. A rectangular, handmade mahogany table is set, complete with bread, pastries, and the main dishes in the center. Like a buffet.

I take my seat. Olivia smiles warmly at Jason while they fill their plates, and I push back the need to text Niki. Fuck, I miss her.

"So, who's this great, mysterious coder that helped Niki with the block?"

Jason glares at me, and Olivia chuckles. "Wow, you can't even wait for dessert, can you?"

I breathe out heavily through my nose. "Would you wait if Jason had unlikely ties to someone who helped secure his phone and possibly his secret property?"

She takes one long and hard look at him and then shakes her head. "Good point."

Yea, I thought so.

"Liv cooked, the least you can do—"

"Alright, alright," I interrupt him. I reach forward and plop a generous serving from each pot, take two loaves of bread, lean into my chair, and put a spoonful of everything into my mouth. "Happy?" I garble.

Jason fakes disgust at my eagerness, but smiles. "Yea, actually. I am."

I motion for Olivia to begin talking. She watches me carefully under a guarded gaze and clears her throat. She takes one long swig of her cold beer and gently pushes a manila folder toward me.

"Sara Martinez, one of the best in the field. We met in college, when I was in my last year. She was a freshman and already had jobs lined up, top organizations chasing her. Last I knew, she worked for one that focused on finding and apprehending human traffickers."

I've heard of her but hadn't made the fucking connection. Sara, Jasmin's girlfriend. Fuck!

I stop chewing and swallow the lump down and gulp the entire contents of the dry wine. I should've opted for water. I set the empty glass down and Jason dodges to the kitchen.

"I won't touch the block. It's the least I can do, the work she puts in…" Olivia shakes her head like she's filled with inspired awe. "Out of respect."

Jason returns and takes my glass, then fills it to the brim with more wine. I thank him with a nod. I don't even care to spy on Jule's phone at this point. What I can't get past is the incredible twist of fate. I don't believe in coincidences.

"And you trust her? Completely?"

Olivia puts down her beer. "With my life." She points to the file and I open it.

A three-page document summarizes Sara's work from when she was twelve years old to today, at her twenty-six years. She was a freshman in college at the age of sixteen and managed to graduate in three years. As Olivia pointed out, she works for a private organization that single-handedly brought down seven child predator sex rings, three politically affiliated human trafficking associations, two in the states and one abroad, all in one year. The coalition is rumored to consist of eight armed bodies and two tech workers, which includes Sara.

"Do we know how Jasmin met Sara?"

Jason dabs a napkin over his mouth. "As far as we know, looks like at Nym-Pho. Sara was there on a job."

My next question is an obvious one, and Liv puts her hand up and arches a brow at me. "I can't be sure if Jasmin or even Justice are fully aware of Sara's background. And you cannot interfere."

My mouth falls open, and I cough back the palpable threat of her scrutinizing glare. "Niki and Jasmin are taking her to the mayor's party. I need to know if—"

"The best I can do is set up a meeting… here. Some common ground."

The warning look in Jason's eyes tells me I've reached a wall and that I'm treading on thin ice. I don't give a fuck. I've seen him crawl toward his beloved, literally. Nothing they do will stop me from protecting mine.

"Fuck, Liv. You act like I'm going to carve the woman's eyes out." I just want to make sure Niki is safe.

Olivia rolls her eyes. "Please, I've seen you do worse for less."

My face involuntarily scrunches up, and I rub my fingers hastily between my brows, smoothing out the tension. I let out a sharp breath through my tight jaw, agitated with the pair. "I invited myself to chaperone, and I'd like all of us to coordinate. I don't want any surprises."

Jason raises his brows at the same time Olivia leans back in her chair. "Chaperone?" she interrupts and raises her hands and then slaps them down on the table. "You invited yourself to chaperone three grown ass women?" She laughs and shakes her head. "Of course you did."

"I don't understand what the fucking issue is."

"Nevermind the issue." Olivia dismisses me with a shake of her hand. "I think this is the perfect place to stop and reconvene. Have us all look over the plans."

Impressive. "You have The Mansion's blueprints?"

She turns to Jason. "Este pendejo que se cree—"

Olivia puts me through the shredder, spewing the entirety of insults in her book, all directed at me, and Jason smiles at her and then laughs. Great, what am I, muse to her fucking comedy show?

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry for doubting your skills, oh great one."

She lets out an exasperated breath. "I have more than just blueprints."

Olivia smiles wickedly and then turns to blow a kiss to Jason. I roll my eyes in response.