Jhondie
I paced back and forth in Justin's living room. Three times I stopped in front of the couch to say something and then had to stop myself, and resume pacing. I couldn't talk to her. I couldn't look at her. My hands were itching to close around her throat. Justin was sitting, deceptively calm. Most people would think he was calm, but I could see the muscle in his jaw flexing. That was the number one sign he was pissed as hell. I finally stopped pacing, sure that I would be able to handle speaking to Kayla. But she got in there first.
"So how long have you guys been working for Eyes Only?" she asked cheerfully.
One would expect the explosion of temper to come from me following her happy little question. I was the hothead. I was the one that yelled and screamed and kicked tail to calm down. This time, my anger was like a lighter compared to a volcano.
"EYES ONLY IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Justin suddenly yelled at her. Kayla shriveled backwards into her seat and I know my jaw landed somewhere on the floor. Justin was the calm rational one. And for once I might actually have to keep him from going nuts and hurting someone.
He was suddenly on his feet and for a second I really thought I was going to have to physically keep him from hurting her. "It's not funny," he growled at her. "It's not funny and it sure as hell isn't a joke. There's more out there than you can imagine that depends on keeping the Informant Net secret."
Kay looked offended. "Like Manticore isn't as big of a secret? I haven't breathed a word of it anyone."
Justin snorted. "Yeah, but you know that if Manticore caught up to Jhondie, you'd be dead too. This wouldn't get you hurt at all. So what if a lot of people you don't know get hurt or killed if the Informant Net in LA falls. Hell, one of them might be able to trace directly to who Eyes Only really is. Isn't that just too cool," he sneered sarcastically.
Kayla crossed her arms and glared at him. "It is cool," she snapped back. "It's cool you're trying to really help people instead of just sucking up. All my friends think he's really cool because he tells it like it is and not like people want to hear. And until you started being such a jerk, I was going to ask how I could help."
"Like hell you're helping!" I blurted before Justin could say a word. "You're going to go to school and ballet and be a nice normal teenager. You are so not getting involved with this."
"You did!" she protested.
"Kayla, when I said I could dodge bullets, I wasn't joking," I reminded her. "And I know I can because I've been shot at more times than I can count. If you can jump a ten foot fence with a pack of guard dogs chasing you, then sure, help all you want, but until then, absolutely not!"
She looked at Justin. "You're normal! You can't do all of that, and you're still alive."
"I'm also twice your size," Justin said coldly. "I can handle myself against a grown man. All you could do is squirm and kick until he got bored and broke your skinny little neck."
"But if Jhondie's there..."
"Then I'm going to be doing what I need to do, so I can't be watching over you." I shook my head. "Kay, it's just too dangerous. Please, after everything you've been through lately, why would you deliberately put yourself in danger again?"
That struck her hard. Maybe it was way too harsh of me to mention it, but she needed to get reminded that bad choices had a way of biting you on the butt. Her lower lip trembled a bit. "If I got caught breaking into some place," she said slowly, "then I would get a spanking from the police before getting let go. If you got caught, then they would take a picture of that distinguishing mark on your neck and then all hell would break loose when certain people got hold of it. After everything you've been through, why would you deliberately put yourself in danger again?"
I had absolutely no way to respond to that. Seriously, none. There was just no way for me to explain to her why I did it and how it made me feel like I was atoning for the things I had done in my life. There were some things that I could never tell her. Justin must have seen that because he answered for me.
"You know, Kay," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "why Jhondie does as she does is of no concern to you. See, the Informant Net here is under me. Everything to and from Eyes Only comes through me. I'm the point man and the decisions are mine. And I say you're not a part of it."
Her little nose went up in the air. "I beg to differ on that. I know. That makes me a part whether you like it or not." She should so not have used that snotty little tone with him. All of a sudden he rounded on her and was in her face in a second.
"GOD DAMN IT KAYLA THIS IS NOT A GAME!" he shouted in her face. If the couch hadn't been so heavy, she might have knocked it backwards with how hard she jumped back. As it was, I realized I had moved closer to make sure he didn't really lose it on her. He must have realized he had her attention now because his voice lowered, but he still was right up on her.
"This is not a game," he repeated. "I don't know how to get that through your selfish little mind. There are lots of lives at stake here. And since none of them are yours there's nothing to make you give a damn. The next time you go out and get drunk what's going to stop you from babbling to all of your friends that you know all about the next hack that's coming. I bet the little drug dealers you hang with would love to know all about the guy that reports on their real activities. Their boss's bosses would love to know how their secrets are coming out despite the cops that they've paid off. I bet Katrina will be so busy taking notes on that, she might forget to feel you up again."
"Justin!" I squeaked, trying to say more, but not able to get it out. I had seen him rough before with street punks. I had never, once, seen him like this with anyone he really knew.
He straightened up and looked at me angrily. "Don't even," he snapped. "It's about time someone said it. And don't even think it's the same as you. You were forced into that situation. She put herself there because it seemed like fun at the time." He glared down at Kayla who was shrinking into the couch. "When you make your bed with filth, don't whine when you get dirty."
Kayla glared at him, battle lights glinting in her eyes. She didn't get a chance to go on the offense. "Oh, are you going to threaten me now?" he growled, the edges of his mouth arcing into a cruel smile. "Think you can scare me into begging and pleading?" He took on a falsetto mocking. "Oh Kayla, please don't tell anyone! You can come along. It'll be *so* much fun and then we can talk about it to all of our friends." He blew out a breath and took back his normal voice. Well, normal plus pissed as hell. "Get real, kid. That's not the way it is. You're playing with things you can't possibly even begin to comprehend. You want to be a grownup? Here's your first rule of being a grownup. When someone tells you to keep your damn mouth shut, you don't think about how cool it would be to tell the world. You keep your damn mouth shut."
Justin stopped talking and just glared at her. I couldn't say a word. Kayla actually used wisdom for once and kept all sarcastic comments to herself. I was stunned. I mean, absolutely stunned. Here was someone that had always been so gentle with me and the only shows of temper I had ever really seen from him were because of an injustice in some way. Holy crap. That was all I could think right then. Holy crap.
Justin looked at me. "You figure out how to keep her quiet," he said, his words coming out more like a threat. I thought he was going to say something else, but I think he realized then that he was on the verge of really losing it. He turned on his heel and walked out the front door, slamming it hard.
Both Kayla and I let out a breath. "No wonder you two get along so well!" she burst out. "You both are total jerks when you think you're being offended." She made a little noise to show her annoyance. "God, I said I wanted to help and he totally freaks. What gives with that?" She looked down, her face tragic. "And he didn't have to say all that other stuff to me. I know I messed up. Don't have to rub my nose in it."
"Kayla," I groaned, sitting heavily on the armrest. "There are two things that are inviolate to him. The people he cares about and then there's Eyes Only and the work he does for the Informant Net. He doesn't want you involved because he knows how dangerous it is."
"But..." she tried to protest.
"But, nothing!" I interrupted. "You're not going into the line of fire. Here's the deal, my darling little sister. Tonight, we tell Mom that you wanted to talk about stuff about boys and breaking up and she's going to get warm fuzzies that we're acting like sisters again. So we went for a drive and all is well. You never, ever mention to her or anyone what you heard or know and I'll forget that a certain party ever took place."
"That's blackmail!" she pouted.
I smirked. "Rule two to being a grownup. Negotiations don't always go your way."
"Fine," she said. She looked up at me. "You know I wouldn't tell anyone, right? I mean, I get how intense the situation is."
"I know," I replied. And I really thought that she did. "But Justin's worried and he has every right to be. This isn't something for someone you to play with. He doesn't want to see you get hurt."
"But he'll let the love of his life risk hers?"
I grinned. "I'm a little different. Not that his male ego will admit, but I've gotten him out of more bad situations than he's rescued me from. Kayla, in all seriousness, you would get hurt. He knows it and he knows you'll still charge full speed ahead and he's worried about you because of it. I have years of training in surveillance and combat skills. If you're really serious, then I'll teach you some stuff and we'll see how it goes, but in the meantime, you have to stay low, okay?"
"Okay," she said grudgingly. There wasn't a chance in Hades that I was going to train her, but hey, it might keep her down long enough to get distracted by something else.
I stood up, pulling my car keys out of my pocket. "I'm going to go talk to Justin," I informed her. "You go down to the car and stay there till I get back."
"Don't trust me up here?"
"I don't trust Justin if he sees you when we get back."
She took the keys. "Fine. But if I have to sit there while you two do it, I'm going to be really pissed."
I rolled my eyes and headed for the door, but Kayla stopped me before I could get out. "Do you think it was my fault?" she asked sadly.
I took a deep breath. I hated loaded questions, I really did. "You made a big mistake going to the party," I replied. "But they didn't have the right to touch you. Nobody has that right without your permission. Nobody. And trust me, they haven't gotten away with it. Nobody on my ass kicking list gets off without a hurting." She shot me a grateful smile and I headed off into the night.
Justin
I like to think of myself as a levelheaded guy. I really do. I think before I speak and make sure what I am going to say is worth the consequences. Being a journalist is a study in cautious attacks. You had to know what you were getting into. It's all part of the game. Then why the hell had I unloaded on Kayla like that?
I'm not saying she didn't need it. Stupid kid needed a big dose of reality to hit her upside the head. I just didn't think it was going to come from me. I mean, one minute we're just sitting there and the next I was in her face snarling threats at her. It was just that happy little smile when she asked how long we had been working for the boss. Who the hell was she to ask about him? This was serious. It was dangerous. And it wasn't just me involved. Jhondie, my family, her family. There was a lot at stake now and it was all as strongly balanced as a house of cards. One breath from her and the whole thing was going to collapse.
Now what? That's what I kept thinking as I paced down the darkened street. Now what was I supposed to do? I was in way too deep to just fold up and say that I couldn't do it anymore. How was I supposed to turn my back on everyone and everything that needed me? I had to keep up the work I was doing. And I knew that it needed to be kept low profile. That's why I moved out of my Dad's house. He could have still used my help with the twins, but the older they got, the more likely it was that they would find out what I was really doing keeping those weird hours. And now Kayla knew. God, might as well take out a billboard advertisement.
As much as I hated to even think along those lines, the facts were that if Manticore found out about Jhondie being here, chances are only one person would get hurt: her. They would believe it that her family had no idea. They were trained in how to keep things secret like that. Minimal exposure. That would be the plan. But the Informant Net affected hundreds, maybe thousands of people. It had to be protected. The work Eyes Only did benefited the world, not just one tiny group of people in this world. And one young girl could bring the whole thing crashing down with one careless word. Damn her. Damn this whole situation.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I was completely taken off guard when hands reached out of an alley and jerked me into it, slamming me against the wall. I grabbed the wrist that was holding my arm and two things hit me. One, it was a very slim wrist and two, trying to move it was like trying to move a steel band that had been clamped to me. My eyes adjusted to the darkness in the alley and I realized who was holding me.
"I don't know if I should be pissed off, freaked out, or just plain turned on," Jhondie greeted me. Most people would have wondered how she managed to pass me up and hide so that I wouldn't see her, but I didn't even think about that anymore. She just could. But that wasn't the point at the moment.
"Terribly sorry," I said sarcastically. "But your darling sister could completely blow open what's taken me years to accomplish."
Jhondie's eyes narrowed. "Yeah and we both know how you've done it all yourself and it means nothing to me." She let me go and stepped back. I wasn't about to apologize for what I had just said. Facts were facts. I was the one that had started building a network here in LA. I was still the one that finessed information out of people and set up detail work. She could flirt with Dink for extra info, but overall, she was the muscle. She was there to do the heavy work. I just backed her up on that. But when it came to the people work, I was the one handling it. And if the personal network fell apart, there wasn't going to be any heavy work left.
"I know it's important to you," I said. "Don't try confusing the issue either. I've always been the one that deals with the contacts and informants. It's taken me a long time to get them to trust me. She starts talking and they're going to stop talking."
Jhondie crossed her arms and just stared at me for a minute. Great. Now she was pissed. Kayla was pissed, Jhondie was pissed, nothing was getting done for Eyes Only that night, and I had my only morning class the next day. God, this night was just getting better and better. And why did I have this really weird feeling like I should say I was sorry for something? Times like this I really understood why so many men were gay.
"She's not going to talk," Jhondie finally said coldly. "Since she doesn't want Mom to hear a word about the party, she knows it's in her best interest to keep quiet."
"And that's going to last how long?" I asked just as coldly.
Jhondie blinked. "Have you ever met my mother? Kayla can be thirty-five when this comes out and she'd still kill her."
Damn her. How the hell did she manage to make me smile with that comment? I had every right to be pissed and she just had to make me smile. You can't fight with someone that's making you laugh. It's impossible. Irritating as hell and totally impossible. She smiled a little back at me. One day I was going to get mad at her and be able to stay mad for a while. But that wasn't going to be today obviously.
Jhondie took my hand. "She really will be careful," she said softly. "Besides, I don't think she's going to be hanging around those kinds of friends for a while. They really did scare her with that party."
"I know," I replied. "But I've never had to deal with someone just knowing like that. I chose you. And Dad...well, that's my father. I have no doubts that I can trust him. The only thing that I wouldn't tell him is about you and that's only because it's your right to decide when you think he should know."
"It's a scary feeling," Jhondie said dryly. "Trust me, I know exactly how you feel." I smiled, remembering how we met. "You scared the bejeezus out of me," she added. "Not only were you a stranger, but you were a journalist as well and this was the story of a lifetime. But you kept to your word, and I know Kay will as well. Remember, at her age, her own skin is the most sacred thing of all. Keeping quiet is the only way of saving it."
I put my arm around her shoulder and we started walking back towards my apartment building. "For the record," I said, "I also had the added incentive to keep quiet because you were hot and could sneak into my bedroom."
Jhondie grinned up at me. "Oh really? You thought I was hot, huh? I thought we were just friends back then."
"We were," I replied. "But I still thought you were totally hot." She laughed and I had to admit I was feeling better. Pissed, freaked or turned on, huh? Well, if it was the latter...damn it, Kayla was there. I knew that kid was always going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Well, not that I would have ever admitted it then, but I thought you were on the cute side," Jhondie teased. I rolled my eyes and she grinned devilishly. "Then I saw you naked and you went more into the hot category. But then we were just going to be friends, so I couldn't say much."
I blinked. "When did you..." I started to ask, but then it hit me and I know I blushed. Funny. She had seen me undressed plenty of times since we became intimately involved, but thinking about her seeing me like that when we first met and she thought I was stalking her or something was just embarrassing.
"Lady, you are going to drive me crazy," I muttered, still feeling the flush in my cheeks. She just grinned back. It was strange. I knew full well that we should be arguing over Kayla right then and saying hurtful things to each other. Instead I had my arm around her and we were playfully teasing each other. And for the first time I wasn't nervous at the thought of our anniversary. I was looking forward to it.
I paced back and forth in Justin's living room. Three times I stopped in front of the couch to say something and then had to stop myself, and resume pacing. I couldn't talk to her. I couldn't look at her. My hands were itching to close around her throat. Justin was sitting, deceptively calm. Most people would think he was calm, but I could see the muscle in his jaw flexing. That was the number one sign he was pissed as hell. I finally stopped pacing, sure that I would be able to handle speaking to Kayla. But she got in there first.
"So how long have you guys been working for Eyes Only?" she asked cheerfully.
One would expect the explosion of temper to come from me following her happy little question. I was the hothead. I was the one that yelled and screamed and kicked tail to calm down. This time, my anger was like a lighter compared to a volcano.
"EYES ONLY IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Justin suddenly yelled at her. Kayla shriveled backwards into her seat and I know my jaw landed somewhere on the floor. Justin was the calm rational one. And for once I might actually have to keep him from going nuts and hurting someone.
He was suddenly on his feet and for a second I really thought I was going to have to physically keep him from hurting her. "It's not funny," he growled at her. "It's not funny and it sure as hell isn't a joke. There's more out there than you can imagine that depends on keeping the Informant Net secret."
Kay looked offended. "Like Manticore isn't as big of a secret? I haven't breathed a word of it anyone."
Justin snorted. "Yeah, but you know that if Manticore caught up to Jhondie, you'd be dead too. This wouldn't get you hurt at all. So what if a lot of people you don't know get hurt or killed if the Informant Net in LA falls. Hell, one of them might be able to trace directly to who Eyes Only really is. Isn't that just too cool," he sneered sarcastically.
Kayla crossed her arms and glared at him. "It is cool," she snapped back. "It's cool you're trying to really help people instead of just sucking up. All my friends think he's really cool because he tells it like it is and not like people want to hear. And until you started being such a jerk, I was going to ask how I could help."
"Like hell you're helping!" I blurted before Justin could say a word. "You're going to go to school and ballet and be a nice normal teenager. You are so not getting involved with this."
"You did!" she protested.
"Kayla, when I said I could dodge bullets, I wasn't joking," I reminded her. "And I know I can because I've been shot at more times than I can count. If you can jump a ten foot fence with a pack of guard dogs chasing you, then sure, help all you want, but until then, absolutely not!"
She looked at Justin. "You're normal! You can't do all of that, and you're still alive."
"I'm also twice your size," Justin said coldly. "I can handle myself against a grown man. All you could do is squirm and kick until he got bored and broke your skinny little neck."
"But if Jhondie's there..."
"Then I'm going to be doing what I need to do, so I can't be watching over you." I shook my head. "Kay, it's just too dangerous. Please, after everything you've been through lately, why would you deliberately put yourself in danger again?"
That struck her hard. Maybe it was way too harsh of me to mention it, but she needed to get reminded that bad choices had a way of biting you on the butt. Her lower lip trembled a bit. "If I got caught breaking into some place," she said slowly, "then I would get a spanking from the police before getting let go. If you got caught, then they would take a picture of that distinguishing mark on your neck and then all hell would break loose when certain people got hold of it. After everything you've been through, why would you deliberately put yourself in danger again?"
I had absolutely no way to respond to that. Seriously, none. There was just no way for me to explain to her why I did it and how it made me feel like I was atoning for the things I had done in my life. There were some things that I could never tell her. Justin must have seen that because he answered for me.
"You know, Kay," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "why Jhondie does as she does is of no concern to you. See, the Informant Net here is under me. Everything to and from Eyes Only comes through me. I'm the point man and the decisions are mine. And I say you're not a part of it."
Her little nose went up in the air. "I beg to differ on that. I know. That makes me a part whether you like it or not." She should so not have used that snotty little tone with him. All of a sudden he rounded on her and was in her face in a second.
"GOD DAMN IT KAYLA THIS IS NOT A GAME!" he shouted in her face. If the couch hadn't been so heavy, she might have knocked it backwards with how hard she jumped back. As it was, I realized I had moved closer to make sure he didn't really lose it on her. He must have realized he had her attention now because his voice lowered, but he still was right up on her.
"This is not a game," he repeated. "I don't know how to get that through your selfish little mind. There are lots of lives at stake here. And since none of them are yours there's nothing to make you give a damn. The next time you go out and get drunk what's going to stop you from babbling to all of your friends that you know all about the next hack that's coming. I bet the little drug dealers you hang with would love to know all about the guy that reports on their real activities. Their boss's bosses would love to know how their secrets are coming out despite the cops that they've paid off. I bet Katrina will be so busy taking notes on that, she might forget to feel you up again."
"Justin!" I squeaked, trying to say more, but not able to get it out. I had seen him rough before with street punks. I had never, once, seen him like this with anyone he really knew.
He straightened up and looked at me angrily. "Don't even," he snapped. "It's about time someone said it. And don't even think it's the same as you. You were forced into that situation. She put herself there because it seemed like fun at the time." He glared down at Kayla who was shrinking into the couch. "When you make your bed with filth, don't whine when you get dirty."
Kayla glared at him, battle lights glinting in her eyes. She didn't get a chance to go on the offense. "Oh, are you going to threaten me now?" he growled, the edges of his mouth arcing into a cruel smile. "Think you can scare me into begging and pleading?" He took on a falsetto mocking. "Oh Kayla, please don't tell anyone! You can come along. It'll be *so* much fun and then we can talk about it to all of our friends." He blew out a breath and took back his normal voice. Well, normal plus pissed as hell. "Get real, kid. That's not the way it is. You're playing with things you can't possibly even begin to comprehend. You want to be a grownup? Here's your first rule of being a grownup. When someone tells you to keep your damn mouth shut, you don't think about how cool it would be to tell the world. You keep your damn mouth shut."
Justin stopped talking and just glared at her. I couldn't say a word. Kayla actually used wisdom for once and kept all sarcastic comments to herself. I was stunned. I mean, absolutely stunned. Here was someone that had always been so gentle with me and the only shows of temper I had ever really seen from him were because of an injustice in some way. Holy crap. That was all I could think right then. Holy crap.
Justin looked at me. "You figure out how to keep her quiet," he said, his words coming out more like a threat. I thought he was going to say something else, but I think he realized then that he was on the verge of really losing it. He turned on his heel and walked out the front door, slamming it hard.
Both Kayla and I let out a breath. "No wonder you two get along so well!" she burst out. "You both are total jerks when you think you're being offended." She made a little noise to show her annoyance. "God, I said I wanted to help and he totally freaks. What gives with that?" She looked down, her face tragic. "And he didn't have to say all that other stuff to me. I know I messed up. Don't have to rub my nose in it."
"Kayla," I groaned, sitting heavily on the armrest. "There are two things that are inviolate to him. The people he cares about and then there's Eyes Only and the work he does for the Informant Net. He doesn't want you involved because he knows how dangerous it is."
"But..." she tried to protest.
"But, nothing!" I interrupted. "You're not going into the line of fire. Here's the deal, my darling little sister. Tonight, we tell Mom that you wanted to talk about stuff about boys and breaking up and she's going to get warm fuzzies that we're acting like sisters again. So we went for a drive and all is well. You never, ever mention to her or anyone what you heard or know and I'll forget that a certain party ever took place."
"That's blackmail!" she pouted.
I smirked. "Rule two to being a grownup. Negotiations don't always go your way."
"Fine," she said. She looked up at me. "You know I wouldn't tell anyone, right? I mean, I get how intense the situation is."
"I know," I replied. And I really thought that she did. "But Justin's worried and he has every right to be. This isn't something for someone you to play with. He doesn't want to see you get hurt."
"But he'll let the love of his life risk hers?"
I grinned. "I'm a little different. Not that his male ego will admit, but I've gotten him out of more bad situations than he's rescued me from. Kayla, in all seriousness, you would get hurt. He knows it and he knows you'll still charge full speed ahead and he's worried about you because of it. I have years of training in surveillance and combat skills. If you're really serious, then I'll teach you some stuff and we'll see how it goes, but in the meantime, you have to stay low, okay?"
"Okay," she said grudgingly. There wasn't a chance in Hades that I was going to train her, but hey, it might keep her down long enough to get distracted by something else.
I stood up, pulling my car keys out of my pocket. "I'm going to go talk to Justin," I informed her. "You go down to the car and stay there till I get back."
"Don't trust me up here?"
"I don't trust Justin if he sees you when we get back."
She took the keys. "Fine. But if I have to sit there while you two do it, I'm going to be really pissed."
I rolled my eyes and headed for the door, but Kayla stopped me before I could get out. "Do you think it was my fault?" she asked sadly.
I took a deep breath. I hated loaded questions, I really did. "You made a big mistake going to the party," I replied. "But they didn't have the right to touch you. Nobody has that right without your permission. Nobody. And trust me, they haven't gotten away with it. Nobody on my ass kicking list gets off without a hurting." She shot me a grateful smile and I headed off into the night.
Justin
I like to think of myself as a levelheaded guy. I really do. I think before I speak and make sure what I am going to say is worth the consequences. Being a journalist is a study in cautious attacks. You had to know what you were getting into. It's all part of the game. Then why the hell had I unloaded on Kayla like that?
I'm not saying she didn't need it. Stupid kid needed a big dose of reality to hit her upside the head. I just didn't think it was going to come from me. I mean, one minute we're just sitting there and the next I was in her face snarling threats at her. It was just that happy little smile when she asked how long we had been working for the boss. Who the hell was she to ask about him? This was serious. It was dangerous. And it wasn't just me involved. Jhondie, my family, her family. There was a lot at stake now and it was all as strongly balanced as a house of cards. One breath from her and the whole thing was going to collapse.
Now what? That's what I kept thinking as I paced down the darkened street. Now what was I supposed to do? I was in way too deep to just fold up and say that I couldn't do it anymore. How was I supposed to turn my back on everyone and everything that needed me? I had to keep up the work I was doing. And I knew that it needed to be kept low profile. That's why I moved out of my Dad's house. He could have still used my help with the twins, but the older they got, the more likely it was that they would find out what I was really doing keeping those weird hours. And now Kayla knew. God, might as well take out a billboard advertisement.
As much as I hated to even think along those lines, the facts were that if Manticore found out about Jhondie being here, chances are only one person would get hurt: her. They would believe it that her family had no idea. They were trained in how to keep things secret like that. Minimal exposure. That would be the plan. But the Informant Net affected hundreds, maybe thousands of people. It had to be protected. The work Eyes Only did benefited the world, not just one tiny group of people in this world. And one young girl could bring the whole thing crashing down with one careless word. Damn her. Damn this whole situation.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I was completely taken off guard when hands reached out of an alley and jerked me into it, slamming me against the wall. I grabbed the wrist that was holding my arm and two things hit me. One, it was a very slim wrist and two, trying to move it was like trying to move a steel band that had been clamped to me. My eyes adjusted to the darkness in the alley and I realized who was holding me.
"I don't know if I should be pissed off, freaked out, or just plain turned on," Jhondie greeted me. Most people would have wondered how she managed to pass me up and hide so that I wouldn't see her, but I didn't even think about that anymore. She just could. But that wasn't the point at the moment.
"Terribly sorry," I said sarcastically. "But your darling sister could completely blow open what's taken me years to accomplish."
Jhondie's eyes narrowed. "Yeah and we both know how you've done it all yourself and it means nothing to me." She let me go and stepped back. I wasn't about to apologize for what I had just said. Facts were facts. I was the one that had started building a network here in LA. I was still the one that finessed information out of people and set up detail work. She could flirt with Dink for extra info, but overall, she was the muscle. She was there to do the heavy work. I just backed her up on that. But when it came to the people work, I was the one handling it. And if the personal network fell apart, there wasn't going to be any heavy work left.
"I know it's important to you," I said. "Don't try confusing the issue either. I've always been the one that deals with the contacts and informants. It's taken me a long time to get them to trust me. She starts talking and they're going to stop talking."
Jhondie crossed her arms and just stared at me for a minute. Great. Now she was pissed. Kayla was pissed, Jhondie was pissed, nothing was getting done for Eyes Only that night, and I had my only morning class the next day. God, this night was just getting better and better. And why did I have this really weird feeling like I should say I was sorry for something? Times like this I really understood why so many men were gay.
"She's not going to talk," Jhondie finally said coldly. "Since she doesn't want Mom to hear a word about the party, she knows it's in her best interest to keep quiet."
"And that's going to last how long?" I asked just as coldly.
Jhondie blinked. "Have you ever met my mother? Kayla can be thirty-five when this comes out and she'd still kill her."
Damn her. How the hell did she manage to make me smile with that comment? I had every right to be pissed and she just had to make me smile. You can't fight with someone that's making you laugh. It's impossible. Irritating as hell and totally impossible. She smiled a little back at me. One day I was going to get mad at her and be able to stay mad for a while. But that wasn't going to be today obviously.
Jhondie took my hand. "She really will be careful," she said softly. "Besides, I don't think she's going to be hanging around those kinds of friends for a while. They really did scare her with that party."
"I know," I replied. "But I've never had to deal with someone just knowing like that. I chose you. And Dad...well, that's my father. I have no doubts that I can trust him. The only thing that I wouldn't tell him is about you and that's only because it's your right to decide when you think he should know."
"It's a scary feeling," Jhondie said dryly. "Trust me, I know exactly how you feel." I smiled, remembering how we met. "You scared the bejeezus out of me," she added. "Not only were you a stranger, but you were a journalist as well and this was the story of a lifetime. But you kept to your word, and I know Kay will as well. Remember, at her age, her own skin is the most sacred thing of all. Keeping quiet is the only way of saving it."
I put my arm around her shoulder and we started walking back towards my apartment building. "For the record," I said, "I also had the added incentive to keep quiet because you were hot and could sneak into my bedroom."
Jhondie grinned up at me. "Oh really? You thought I was hot, huh? I thought we were just friends back then."
"We were," I replied. "But I still thought you were totally hot." She laughed and I had to admit I was feeling better. Pissed, freaked or turned on, huh? Well, if it was the latter...damn it, Kayla was there. I knew that kid was always going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Well, not that I would have ever admitted it then, but I thought you were on the cute side," Jhondie teased. I rolled my eyes and she grinned devilishly. "Then I saw you naked and you went more into the hot category. But then we were just going to be friends, so I couldn't say much."
I blinked. "When did you..." I started to ask, but then it hit me and I know I blushed. Funny. She had seen me undressed plenty of times since we became intimately involved, but thinking about her seeing me like that when we first met and she thought I was stalking her or something was just embarrassing.
"Lady, you are going to drive me crazy," I muttered, still feeling the flush in my cheeks. She just grinned back. It was strange. I knew full well that we should be arguing over Kayla right then and saying hurtful things to each other. Instead I had my arm around her and we were playfully teasing each other. And for the first time I wasn't nervous at the thought of our anniversary. I was looking forward to it.
