Street. He said he’d be the blond with the loud Hawaiian shirt and straw hat. The password: Aloha.
“That doesn’t sound like you,” Sarah said. “For one thing, you’re definitely not blond.”
“I will be by the time I show up at Whole Foods,” he replied.
Sarah called her friend, Bob—a photographer at the paper—and left a message. Then she called her contact at the district attorney’s office.
“Hey Tim, I’ve a tip for you for a change.” She cleared her throat. “Involving political corruption, love triangle, and murder for hire.”
She listened for a bit. “I can’t tell you more, but if things turn out the way I think they will, you’ll have definite proof.”
Sarah raked her fingers through her hair. “We’ve worked long enough together, you have to trust me on this.” She blew out a breath. “I have a source who can nail the governor’s ass, but this person will need some favors.”
Her gaze strayed to him. The worry and warmth in her eyes sent a shiver up his spine. No one but his da had ever given a rat’s ass about him. Guilt festered like a wound. He needed to come clean about his Djinn part. Tell her everything.
“He’ll need immunity and witness protection.” She sighed. “I guess I can call your boss and try to deal with him.”
His email pinged. Rukh tuned out the phone call and clicked on the reply. His contact wanted more, he didn’t want to risk speaking to the wrong person. Yeah, unknowns could come back to bite.
Rukh took a deep breath, released it, then typed. “Ask me the time and get back a global answer.” Cryptic as hell, but he couldn’t come up with anything else to reassure the guy at such short notice.
Once that was taken care of, he shut the computer down and turned toward Sarah. She stood by the window, in profile, chewing on her thumb.
He went to her, encircled her in his arms from behind, placed a soft kiss at the warm nape of her neck. Below them, Lady Bird Lake glittered blue-green in the sunlight.
“How did you become an assassin?”
He told her about his dad. Daniel O’Shay had been a decent dad. He’d also been a two-bit crook and did petty jobs—from lookout to getaway car driver and delivery guy—for bigger, badder crooks. Rukh had accompanied him on jobs, helped out. His djinn talents to shadow, stalk and travel through the ethereal plane had helped him rise through the ranks. The world of humans, at least the more criminal part of it, had welcomed him with open arms no questions asked.
“What happened to him?” she asked.
“He drank himself to death,” Rukh said.
“I’m sorry.” She turned in his arms and kissed him. “I can tell you miss him.”
He cradled her in his arms, enjoying the sharing, the acceptance, the trust…. He took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For trying to get me a deal with the district attorney’s office.”
“Now that I’ve seen what you can do in bed, I want to keep you here,” she said, smiling. Then her eyes darkened. “And I want to keep you safe. Like you said, Texas has a death penalty.”
He should have known his words would return to bite him in the ass. Rukh licked his dry lips. He needed to stop pussyfooting around and tell her all. Now.
“Hakuna Matata,” the “no worries” song, belted into the room and she whipped out her cell phone. “Sorry, I have to get this.”
He nodded and moved away from her.
“Hey Bob, thanks for calling me back. I need you and your camera.”
While she was on the phone, Rukh stepped into the bathroom and transformed himself into a tall, slender man, pale as cream with a drop of coffee. A curtain of honey-wheat blond hair fell straight and silky to just below his shoulders. He made sure that his face was elongated, the square chin softened, the full lips turned thin. A few days’ growth of facial hair gave him the look of a guy on vacation. Only his eyes remained the color of oceans. Within minutes he was dressed
“That doesn’t sound like you,” Sarah said. “For one thing, you’re definitely not blond.”
“I will be by the time I show up at Whole Foods,” he replied.
Sarah called her friend, Bob—a photographer at the paper—and left a message. Then she called her contact at the district attorney’s office.
“Hey Tim, I’ve a tip for you for a change.” She cleared her throat. “Involving political corruption, love triangle, and murder for hire.”
She listened for a bit. “I can’t tell you more, but if things turn out the way I think they will, you’ll have definite proof.”
Sarah raked her fingers through her hair. “We’ve worked long enough together, you have to trust me on this.” She blew out a breath. “I have a source who can nail the governor’s ass, but this person will need some favors.”
Her gaze strayed to him. The worry and warmth in her eyes sent a shiver up his spine. No one but his da had ever given a rat’s ass about him. Guilt festered like a wound. He needed to come clean about his Djinn part. Tell her everything.
“He’ll need immunity and witness protection.” She sighed. “I guess I can call your boss and try to deal with him.”
His email pinged. Rukh tuned out the phone call and clicked on the reply. His contact wanted more, he didn’t want to risk speaking to the wrong person. Yeah, unknowns could come back to bite.
Rukh took a deep breath, released it, then typed. “Ask me the time and get back a global answer.” Cryptic as hell, but he couldn’t come up with anything else to reassure the guy at such short notice.
Once that was taken care of, he shut the computer down and turned toward Sarah. She stood by the window, in profile, chewing on her thumb.
He went to her, encircled her in his arms from behind, placed a soft kiss at the warm nape of her neck. Below them, Lady Bird Lake glittered blue-green in the sunlight.
“How did you become an assassin?”
He told her about his dad. Daniel O’Shay had been a decent dad. He’d also been a two-bit crook and did petty jobs—from lookout to getaway car driver and delivery guy—for bigger, badder crooks. Rukh had accompanied him on jobs, helped out. His djinn talents to shadow, stalk and travel through the ethereal plane had helped him rise through the ranks. The world of humans, at least the more criminal part of it, had welcomed him with open arms no questions asked.
“What happened to him?” she asked.
“He drank himself to death,” Rukh said.
“I’m sorry.” She turned in his arms and kissed him. “I can tell you miss him.”
He cradled her in his arms, enjoying the sharing, the acceptance, the trust…. He took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For trying to get me a deal with the district attorney’s office.”
“Now that I’ve seen what you can do in bed, I want to keep you here,” she said, smiling. Then her eyes darkened. “And I want to keep you safe. Like you said, Texas has a death penalty.”
He should have known his words would return to bite him in the ass. Rukh licked his dry lips. He needed to stop pussyfooting around and tell her all. Now.
“Hakuna Matata,” the “no worries” song, belted into the room and she whipped out her cell phone. “Sorry, I have to get this.”
He nodded and moved away from her.
“Hey Bob, thanks for calling me back. I need you and your camera.”
While she was on the phone, Rukh stepped into the bathroom and transformed himself into a tall, slender man, pale as cream with a drop of coffee. A curtain of honey-wheat blond hair fell straight and silky to just below his shoulders. He made sure that his face was elongated, the square chin softened, the full lips turned thin. A few days’ growth of facial hair gave him the look of a guy on vacation. Only his eyes remained the color of oceans. Within minutes he was dressed
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