~
Caiyan stepped out and extended his hand to me.
“So, this is where you live?”
“Yep, probably not as exciting as your many homes.”
“Let’s take a look.” He pulled my sliding-glass door open, wagging a finger and tsking at me for leaving it unlocked. He looked around, nodding his head in approval of my home. The big gray cat raised his head as we entered; he yawned, then kept one eye on Caiyan, who moved into the kitchen to make a call.
I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and listened intently.
Caiyan used the landline to call Gitmo. I couldn’t wait to find out how much that phone call would cost. He gave them the info on what had gone down in 1915 and got information on the Mafusos’ arrest. He put the phone on speaker mode so I could hear the update on Marco. He was recovering from a slight concussion, broken rib, and collapsed lung. The bullet had been slowed by his suit and deflected by the rib. The broken rib had punctured a lung. He had hit his head when he fell but should recover nicely. They had him sedated and said I could see him tomorrow.
After Caiyan got off the phone, he came over to me.
“Did the WTF arrest all the Mafusos?” I asked.
“Not exactly. Gian-Carlo offered up Mortas in prison for three years in exchange for Mitchell.”
“Three years? That’s it? You mean Mahlia gets off for shooting Marco? And the old man doesn’t even get arrested?” I stomped around. “It’s so wrong, so… so… unfair!”
“True, but this way we have made an arrest for the murder of Marco’s grandfather. The crime was reported in the news and needed to be solved. It will appear to the public that Mortas is getting life imprisonment, but he will be lost in the system and released after three years. Mahlia has been a spy for us for the past year, which goes to her credit. Mitchell is harmless right now, and we have his key, so that puts one vessel out of commission.”
“What about all the counterfeit money?”
“Your CIA is allowing Gian-Carlo to make it disappear.”
“Well, I think it sucks. If this is what our tax dollars are paying for, then we had better do something to make things better.” I sulked.
“Lassie, you might make a fair transporter after all.”
“Really?” I asked. “Is that why you travel? To make things better, not to steal?”
Caiyan put his arms around me and pulled me close, feeling my hesitation.
“You cannae always believe what other people say.”
“So you’re telling me you don’t go back in time and sleep with random women.”
“I didnae say that, but people can change.”
“Are you going to change?”
“Whit’s fur ye’ll no’ go past ye.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, looking up into his deep green eyes, which were clouded with desire.
“It’s Gaelic for ‘what will happen will happen.’”
My heart was racing, and my insides were turning to mush. I wanted him badly, even though I knew the risk. I was now Jennifer Cloud, transporter, agent for the WTF, fearless risk taker, chiropractic assistant, and horny lassie.
Caiyan swept me up into his arms and carried me upstairs. He took me into Gertie’s room and laid me gently down onto the queen-sized bed.
“This is Gertie’s room,” I said.
“It’s pink,” he said, looking around and pulling his shirt off. His hard body was cut to perfection, making me all too eager to run my hands over his torso. Lying there in my white Marilyn Monroe dress, I reached up and took off the pearl earrings as he stood watching me. I turned to set them on Gertie’s nightstand and gasped.
“What is it?” He moved on the bed close to me, concerned.
I picked up the photo that sat on the table next to Gertie’s alarm clock. There in the picture were Slim and Opal Hawkins, their son, Johnny, and Gertie and me smiling back.
“Bloody hell,” Caiyan said.
“Whit’s fur ye’ll no’ go past ye,” I said, mocking Caiyan.
“You know what else?” he asked.
“What?” I said, crossing my legs and admiring my new Fendi strappy heels.
He ran a hand down my leg and pulled off my shoes.
“The shoes come first,” he said as he tossed my new babies to the floor and turned out the light.
—The End—
Janet Leigh is a part time Chiropractor and Acupuncturist. The Shoes Come First is her debut novel in the Jennifer Cloud series.
She lives in Texas, where she splits her time between seeing patients and working on her next Jennifer Cloud adventure.
Visit Janet Leigh at JanetLeighBooks.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/Janetleighbooks.
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