Chapter Twenty - six

Agent Mission Log Entry:

Jon is a stubborn fucking jackass.

Just throwing that out there.


“I know,” Jon sighed into the phone, “I’ll be there.” He shook his head as he disconnected the call. As bad as he’d like to skip tonight’s charity gala, he had committed himself months ago. Now, he turned his chair to face the window behind his desk. He loved this view, but Gabby would completely lose it if she walked in right now and saw the heavy drapes open making him a target to the assassin. A small smile that didn’t even crinkle the corners of his eyes danced on his lips. If the killer wanted him, now would be a good time to do it, but at this point he couldn’t even rake up a desire to care.

He knew when he told Gabby that he was going out tonight, there would be fireworks, of the worst kind, but he wasn’t the kind to hide in his cave while the world passed him by, and he wasn’t going to start doing it now. To be honest, he was hoping to convince Gabby to use him as bait to catch the killer, so that this could finally all be over.

And he could get down to some serious Gabby hunting.

It had been three days since the explosion in the den. A three day game of cat and mouse. He spent almost every waking moment trying to get her alone so they could talk, but she was an expert at dodging him or creating a buffer between them. And not only had she used Richie in her plot to never be alone with him, but Janet had been drafted as well.

There had been a time in his life when sex had been about nothing more than a piece of ass, but he was too old for that shit now. He had long out-grown the adolescent keeping score mentality, and now preferred a much more adult relationship. However, he wasn’t even sure he could have that with Gabby; their situation was anything but normal. But, he sure would like to try.

Gabby was strong, stubborn and independent. There wasn’t anything about her that was shy or demure. She was sassy, sexy and interesting.

In short, she intrigued him.


It was time they had a chat. He had given Janet the day off, and Richie wasn’t even awake yet. A predatory smile stretched his full lips, as he stood up. He was going searching for his little mouse.


Gabriella smiled to herself as she poured herself another cup of coffee. It had been rather easy to avoid Jon these past three days. Easier than she had originally thought. Richie had made a great buffer, and she was even starting to suspect that he knew what she was up to and was even helping her, probably in an effort to annoy his friend. The only problem had been that the guitarist was a late riser, so she’d had to enlist Janet’s unknowing aid in the hours between her rising and Richie’s.

She glanced at her watch, wondering where Janet was. The older woman should have been there by now. Gabriella had already made sure the penthouse was secure, and had two cups of coffee. Usually the housekeeper arrived either while she was making her first perimeter check of the morning, or immediately after.

Turning to leave the kitchen, she stopped so quickly that coffee sloshed out of her cup onto the gray stone floor. Jon stood in the doorway, casually leaning against the frame. Why hadn’t she heard him approach? She wanted to kick herself in the ass - she was slipping.

With a predatory smirk on his full lips and no shirt on that sculpted chest, he was one big piece of eye candy. But, as sweet as her tooth had suddenly gotten, she couldn’t afford to have another taste.

His voice was low and inviting, just a hint of a growl. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he accused, the smirk growing just a little.

The man/woman game of saying one thing but meaning another had never been Gabby’s forte. She wanted to stall, to play off his statement with ‘What do you mean?’, but that just wasn’t her. So, as blunt and straight to the point as always, she looked him straight in the eye. “Yeah. And?”

Jon’s smirk turned into a beautifully adorable, boyish grin. It was a smile that reached his eyes, making them crinkle slightly at the corners. He almost looked as if he were proud of her response. “That’s over, mouse.”

She was indignant. “Mouse?”

He nodded once. “Yeah, mouse. As in,” he paused and pointed to himself, “cat,” his finger changed direction to point at her, “mouse.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she almost growled, even as she glanced over his shoulder longingly at the only means of escape.

Jon chuckled softly. “Janet’s not gonna come in to save you. I gave her the day off. And unless you want to take your life in your own hands by waking up the bear that is Richie in the morning...” he left the sentence dangling, as he shook his head slightly.

“I have a gun,” she remarked quickly, “I think I could handle the bear.”

“Yeah, but that’s not the way to get him on your side.”

She did growl then. She hated when he was right. “What do we need to talk about? Why hash out the mistake? Let’s just agree that it can’t happen again, forget it ever happened and move on?”

Their lovemaking hadn’t been the only thing he’d wanted to discuss, but the suggestion that he forget it happened, moved it to the top of the list. He stepped forward quickly, still blocking her only exit. He skimmed one long finger along her jaw, and his voice dropped several octaves to a sexy, growly whisper. “How am I supposed to forget what you taste like? How it feels to be inside you?”

Her resolve started melting away; he was deadly.

He moved in closer, his lips moving to her neck. “How you looked moving above me as you came for me?” His lips trailed down the side of her throat, until he could lick the hollow at her collarbone.

Sucking in a deep breath, Gabby raked up the strength to take a step back. “Don’t.”

He could hear the pleading in her voice. Instinct almost made him go in for the kill, but he wouldn’t push her into something that she obviously didn’t want...right now. And, there were other things they needed to discuss, things more pressing than his cock straining against the back of his zipper. He took a step back as well.

Throwing ice water on the situation seemed like a good idea. “I have to go out tonight,” he said matter-of-factly as he stepped around her and headed for the coffee pot.

“What?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“You’ve been avoiding me, remember?” he threw that out with a smug little grin. He looked over his shoulder to find her stare trying to carve a freight train size hole in his back. “I tried to get out of it, but it’s a charity thing I agreed to months ago.” He shrugged, negligently, “Can’t back out now.”

Gabby closed her eyes, took a deep breath and counted to ten. She was fully aware that she was not in control of this situation. She was here to protect him, not keep him prisoner in his home until she could catch the assassin. It would have been nice to have more notice than this, but that was her fault as well.

“So I was thinking,” Jon’s words stopped her conversation with herself. “We should think of this as an opportunity too good to waste. We should make it so tempting for this guy to get a shot at me that he won’t turn it down.”

Gabby frowned at him. “You mean use you as bait?” her voice was slightly raised in surprise.

“Yeah, why not?” Jon asked with a shrug.

“You mean besides the obvious answer?” she demanded.

Like a zombie, Richie entered the kitchen then, seeming totally focused on the coffee pot on the counter. “Don’t mind me; I just need coffee.”

“Oh c’mon, Mouse,” Jon said with a grin. “You’re good. You can protect me.”

“Mouse?” Richie asked, taking his cup to the bar. He didn’t seem to notice or care that he was being ignored.

Her eyes narrowed at the new nickname, but there was no other response to indicate her mood. “And if I can’t?”

“You will,” he sounded so sure.

“This is not a good idea,” she ground out.

“Oh, good morning, Rich,” Richie said into his coffee cup. “G’morning,” Richie responded to his own greeting.

“He’ll only get one shot,” Jon told her.

“He’ll only NEED one,” she yelled. Was he a simpleton?

“How’d you sleep, Rich?” Richie asked his coffee. “Oh, like a baby,” he answered.

“You will protect me,” Jon said with determination, as if by his will alone she’d do it. “And you’ll get this guy.”

Gabby whirled around to look at Richie. “What do you think?”

His coffee cup no longer holding his attention, Richie’s head jerked up as if pulled with an invisible string. “What?”

With heavy sarcasm, she spoke more slowly. “What...do...you...think?”

With a smirk, Jon said, “Yeah, Rich, what do you think?”

“Oh, NOW, I’m in the room? NOW, you two wanna talk to me?” Richie growled. “Nope,” he shook his shaggy head slightly, “it doesn’t work like that.” Then he took a big sip of coffee, effectively ignoring them.

Jon scoffed. “Since when do you pass up a chance to put your two cents worth into a conversation?”

Richie looked up from his cup, to quickly scan the room. Then, he shrugged and took another sip of his java. “Ah,” he sighed, “the nectar of the Gods.”

“Oh c’mon, Richie,” Gabby pleaded. “I know you’ve got to think this is as crazy as I do.”

With a chuckle, Jon shook his head. “Nope. Rich would never side with someone against me. He’s always got my back.”

Richie rolled his eyes, and shook his head slightly. “You two are so damn comical that it’s almost sad.” At their matching stunned expressions, he went on, “First, I might always have your back,” he said to Jon, “but I don’t always side with you. Usually, I choose your side because you’re paying me,” he grinned devilishly. “This time I’m siding with you because you’re right.”

“You think using him as bait is the right thing to do?” Gabriella almost choked on her words.

The boyish grin on his face melted away to a serious and solemn expression. “I know Jon, better than anyone. He’s lasted a lot longer than I thought he would. I know that I couldn’t continue standing around with my thumb up my ass waiting on this guy to make a move, and Jon is more impatient than me.”

“I’d rather be proactive, than reactive,” Jon announced.

For long seconds, Gabriella just stared at the two of them. Finally, she sighed deeply. “Fine, if you insist on playing the hero, I’ve got something for you.”