16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Jarrett
A week ago, yesterday, is when I dropped Ophelia off at the warehouse in Detroit. It’s fucking killing my insides to not have her at my fingertips, to touch, to hold, to taste, to fuck into oblivion every time she opens that sassy mouth of hers…
With the inside of her home off limits, I’ve continued to watch her from a distance every time she leaves the house, and with the camera I installed on one of the palm trees out the front of her property, it’s easy to see when she’s out and about. She has also kept the bugging app I installed on her cell, which makes finding her location easier than it was for my first few months of stalking. I’m taking it as a good sign—that she wants to be watched by me—because there’s no way she forgot about it. She’s the most intelligent person I’ve ever known, so it’s not a mistake.
Ophelia doesn’t make mistakes.
It was made very clear when we parted that all bets are off. She’s still on this mission, and if she has to kill me, she will. I can understand that, but it won’t fucking happen. My Kitten needs me too much to kill me.
I know this because she’s been blowing off that Logan guy all week when he’s texted to take her out. For me, there’s no other reason that she would do that. Before our weekend, she would spend at least one night a week with him.
Watching her walk across the sand with her two best friends from my position at the beachside bar, I sip at my Miami Vice cocktail. When I first came to Miami, chasing Ophelia, it was the first drink I tried. My love of new-to-me alcoholic concoctions has always been a thing, plus, that show is a fucking classic.
The sun beats down on her golden skin, her blonde hair falling in loose waves down her back, and I’m struggling to not jump from my stool and beat every motherfucker who looks at her.
Is that…?
Fuck off.
Leaving my drink behind, I do the very thing I’ve been avoiding and leap from my stool, storming through the bar towards the cunt approaching the girls from behind. They haven’t seen him yet, as they continue their walk laughing and joking, and he’s far enough behind them for me to grab the fucker by his greasy hair without the girls noticing any commotion.
He swings for me, but I dodge him as I practically drag him away from the main part of the beach to somewhere with less people around.
“What the fuck, man?” He quits struggling when we stop and he gets a good look at me.
“Don’t what the fuck me, Rick. What the fuck to you . Why were you following those girls?” I don’t want to assume that he knows who Ophelia is to The Firm, but it’s pretty fucking coincidental.
The prick laughs, dragging his hand through his ridiculous hair and scraping it back against his scalp. “I think you know, Jarrett. Daddy dearest knows you’ve been keeping secrets, so I’m just here to make sure you haven’t forgotten who you work for.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Internally, I’m berating myself for not being more careful as of late. Since meeting her in that bar, I’ve been sloppy. She’s had me in a chokehold I never want to get out of, and now she’s in more danger than ever before.
Externally, my top lip curls in a snarl and I grab the front of Rick’s T-shirt before stepping into him.
“I know exactly who I work for, Prick. You need to back the fuck off from this or I’ll make fertilizer from your remains. You get me?”
Rick laughs again. “Oh, Jarrett. Fucking try it. Not only would you have your dad on your back, but the rest of The Firm too. You’re a very small fish in this huge-as-fuck pond. You and that girl have barely dipped a fucking toe. If you kill me, you can bet the next person they send won’t just watch her. Consider my appearance your first warning, yeah?”
Shoving him to the ground, I spit on the dirty fucker. “If I see you anywhere near her again, I’ll fucking kill you. Yeah ?” I kick him in the ribs, just because I can, before turning to walk away.
“You should give your dad a call. He’ll put you back in your place.”
This dude just won’t shut the fuck up.
“Your mum really should have fucking swallowed you.” I continue walking back towards the beach, ignoring Rick the Prick’s fucking laughter.
I hate him.
The girls seem to have gone, Ophelia’s Corvette is no longer parked up by the road.
That’s probably for the best because with the mood I’m currently in, I’ll gouge a motherfucker’s eyes out for looking at her in that stunning red bikini again. All the restraint I had before seeing Rick is long gone.
On the walk back to my car, my phone rings and, of course, it’s my fucking dad. Rick the Prick has clearly grassed me up.
Rolling my eyes, I accept the call and bring my phone to my ear.
“Jarrett, why did I just have Terence blasting my eardrums about you and Rick fighting again?”
Okay, so maybe he doesn’t know everything because he doesn’t sound anywhere near as pissed as I thought he would.
“S’up, Dad. Rick’s a giant wanker, you know this. The fact that I’m civil at all should be noted just as much as when I kick the shit outta him.”
“That may be so, son, but you can’t just fight him every time you disagree over something. Especially not when he’s found the assassin we’ve been looking for.”
Ah fuck. There it is. But he’s remaining strangely calm, and it’s worrying.
“My orders were to find her and learn all about her before killing her. To find out what she knows about The Firm.”
“I think six months is plenty of time for that, don’t you? Why didn’t you tell me you found her?” His tone is getting firmer, like a verbal reminder that I kept something from him is what’s now getting him angry. “Did you know the girl who was being sent to the Beauforts in Texas went missing? Saved by this vigilante fucking woman you refuse to kill.”
I have to hold back my laugh because, yeah, I did know about that. I managed to track Caliope’s digital movements as they created a whole new identity for the girl they saved. Ophelia was a fucking wonder to watch as she took out two guards and a driver before grabbing the girl and running like the wind.
“No, I didn’t know about that. Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but she’s higher profile than we thought. We can’t just take her out because people will have questions. That could be bad for The Firm if people start digging into her disappearance or death. It’s gotta be done carefully. Calculated. I need the time to plan properly.” I’m only half lying, because I do need time to plan. Just not her death.
“Hmm. I get it, Son, but the higher ups are putting their foot down. You’re no longer on the case. I told them not to put you on something like this. You were never going to be good enough to climb higher in the ranks than a trainer.”
Okay, so now I’m pissed off. That was fucking uncalled for.
“What the fuck, Dad?” He’s always been a bit of a cunt, but fuck me, he could at least pretend to not be so disappointed.
“Don’t speak to me like that, Jarrett. It’s disrespectful and I’m your elder. You will leave this assassin case alone. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” That one syllable is difficult, but I manage it through gritted teeth. I’m full-on lying now too, because no fucking way am I leaving Ophelia to the wolves.
“Good. Terrence will be sending you two new girls sometime in the next month. Don’t let me down by sending these ones back.” The line goes dead, no goodbyes, just as there were no hellos.
That’s my dad.
A fucking tosser.
Maybe if I took off the block I put on Caliope’s searches for him…nah. I can’t let them kill him. He’s a cunt, yeah, and not particularly the best kind of man, but he’s still my dad and killing him wouldn’t make all my problems go away. The Firm, as a whole, want Ophelia dead, which means they’ll do what they can to make sure that happens.
My insides are bubbling and I can’t fucking concentrate on what the clear path is right now. I’m torn between my loyalty to my dad and wanting to give Ophelia everything she needs to satisfy her thirst for vengeance.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath before walking to my car. I need to clear my head, and the only way I can do that these days is by watching her.
Ophelia.
The taste of her still lingers on my lips. The feel of her is like an imprint on my skin. Her smell is ingrained into my very being, and most importantly, a few of my shirts that I refuse to wash.
Okay, so I’m gonna need to step up my game. If The Firm has sent someone else after her, the only way she’s going to be safe is if she’s with me.
At all times.