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)
Justin picked up the menu lying on the white tablecloth in front of him. “How long have you known our dear Marilyn?”
“Five years. We met on a flight from Amsterdam,” Gabriel said easily, both hands resting on the table. Marilyn gave a little snort and took a larger drink of wine. Oh yeah, that was a big lie, but that was what made it fun. “What about you?”
“High school sweethearts.” Justin flashed the other man a cheeky grin. “I was her first,” he added, dropping his voice to a stage whisper. Gabriel’s eyes narrowed on Justin and the muscles in his jaw jumped, but Justin wasn’t entirely sure whether the man was pissed or if he was trying to hold back a laugh. God, let it be a laugh. Even if they were only working together for a few days, he couldn’t stand the idea of dealing with a humorless prig for more than an hour.
“That explains much,” Gabriel countered.
Justin lifted one eyebrow. “About?”
“When you induct someone into the mile-high club, you have certain expectations.”
Justin threw his head back and laughed, unable to control himself. Sure, the dig was at him and Marilyn, but Gabriel had delivered it with such a dry tone that dust motes danced in the air after his words. He looked over at the deep flush and rage glittering in Marilyn’s eyes and started laughing all over again. Even if they were just making up shit to pass the time, she didn’t find it amusing.
Their server suddenly appeared at Justin’s elbow, filling his water goblet as Justin cleared his throat of the last of his chuckles. He looked drunk or possibly insane as he sat with two stiff-as-a-board companions, but he didn’t care. Pissing off Marilyn was just too much damn fun.
They’d worked together for several years now, and he hated to admit that she’d managed to get the better of him time and again. He didn’t know where the hell she got her information, but she was very good at staying one step ahead of him. And that tended to make the woman very smug.
“I’m sorry to say that I can’t stay,” Marilyn announced as the server started to rattle off the evening’s specials. “Have a wonderful dinner, and we’ll catch up very soon.”
Both men rose and shook her hand when she stood. When Justin leaned in to brush another kiss across her cheek, she shot him a warning look. He was skating on thin ice with her, but he was sure she would forgive him. This deal was too good to pass up. Besides, he had to be one of her easier clients.
Not willing to miss the opportunity, Justin dropped into Marilyn’s seat so that his back was now against the wall. He set her glass of wine aside and pulled over his goblet of water. Both men placed their orders, barely glancing up at the server.
A new tension crackled in the air between them with Marilyn no longer there to act as a buffer. Justin had no illusions about the man seated across from him. He might look like a paper-pushing, number-crunching accountant, but he was at the very least a killer and a thief. Those black eyes knew death intimately, and Justin had survived this long by being cautious. He wasn’t blind to the fact that he’d had a contract on his own head a time or two. He’d pissed off plenty of people in his line of work. Gabriel could take this job now and put a bullet in his head when it was done.
Or Gabriel could put a bullet in his head before the job even started.
But it was that kind of cold ruthlessness and cunning he needed on this job.
Justin questioned his own sanity when he reluctantly admitted that he was a little intrigued by the man sitting opposite him. His earlier quip about Marilyn hinted at a sense of humor at least and a quick mind. And it wasn’t like he often got the chance to sit down with someone in his field and talk.
“You got the specs?” Justin asked, finally breaking the silence after several seconds.
“Yes. It doesn’t seem too difficult.”
Justin bit back a mocking laugh. Difficult was an understatement. Deciding to let it go, he said, “I’m thinking two months.”
“For what?”
“I’ll be ready for you in two months. Give me a way to contact you, and I’ll send for you when I’ve got everything ready.”
“No.”
Justin’s head jerked as if the other man had hit him. He narrowed his gaze on Gabriel and ground his molars together for a moment. Was the asshole just being difficult for the sake of being difficult? He couldn’t possibly misunderstand that Justin was the lead on this contract and he was the help. Gabriel didn’t get to call the shots on how this operation was going to be run. “What? I thought you wanted in.”