Page 18

Jason

Eve’s eyes are filled with homicidal rage: I swear she could be holding a knife to my throat and I would still think she was the most beautiful woman on earth.

“And how alike do you think we are, really, Jason? Because I’m pretty sure I haven’t hidden any deep secrets from you.”

Stepping aside, I let her open the door and walk out in a huff. I follow, closing the door securely behind me.

She’s almost cute when she’s mad.

“Eve, do you remember the first day we met at Everlast? How you told me the story about wanting an obsidian urn because of some ancient ritual of carving out one’s heart?”

She stops in the hallway, turning slightly towards me.

“Well,” I continue. “I’m not just called the ‘King of Hearts’ because it’s a cute nickname. All of our names–our monikers–represent our signatures. How we finish a kill. I will take my time with my client, using a variety of tools at my disposal. But in the end, I remove their hearts from their chests. By any means necessary.”

The anger in her eyes melts away and makes room for intrigue. Crossing her arms, she remains quiet. Scanning me, devouring my body with her gaze until she meets my eyes again.

I know that look. She’s spent her adult life studying torture, sacrifice and death, and now that she has seen it up close, she wants to understand every detail.

And I am more than willing to teach her.

“Ace and Jack put the group together. Ace is like those techy, cyber-geniuses you see in movies. Used to work for the government doing cybersecurity and analysis, hunting down the baddest of the bad. He can find almost anyone, anywhere, and makes sure our activity online is so encrypted that nobody stands a chance of finding us.”

Her head cocks to the side as she purses her lips in thought.

“Jack, is the ‘Jack of Clubs,’ because of his past. He likes to bludgeon people. To beat them with hammers, bats, clubs, you name it. Whatever his aversion to blood and guts may be, he enjoys breaking bones, turning their insides into mush without ever breaking the skin.”

Eve’s eyes widen a little, but not with fear. It is fascination.

“Go on…” she says, stepping towards me.

“Maya is the Queen of Spades, because of her affinity for knives,” I say, matching Eve and moving towards her slowly. The flush of her skin, the heavy rise and fall of her chest, the way she ever so slightly licks her lips…if I didn’t know better I’d say she’s enjoying this.

“She only uses knives, and enjoys slicing sensitive parts of her clients. Like deep between their fingers…”

I take Eve’s hand, spreading her fingers slightly and kissing the pads of her hand.

“Under their armpit, severing the tendons…”

I slide my hand up her arm to her shoulder, tracing her skin as I drag my finger along her shoulder to her collarbone, and slowly down the side of her body. She shivers.

“The Achilles heel…”

My hand roams her side and over her hips. I slowly drop to my knees and move my hand down to her ankle, gently grasping it and lifting it up. Eve obliges, relaxing and letting me lead.

“And her personal favorite…the groin…”

I put her leg over my shoulder, the crook of her knee coming to rest on me as I move my hand up to the apex of her legs, lifting her dress and kissing the inside of her thighs.

A husky moan escapes Eve’s lips, her eyes closing and head falling backwards as she grasps my head, steadying herself. I plant kiss after kiss as close to her pussy as I dare, reveling in the feeling of her muscles tightening under my lips.

No sooner does another moan escape her lips than Ace’s door handle jiggles, the door swinging open.

“AHEM,” Ace clears his throat, and I pull my head back and look behind Eve just in time to see him cross his arms like a disapproving parent.

“What are you guys, a couple high school kids?” He scoffs, closing the door behind him, and that’s when I notice that his face is dripping with sweat. His sleeves are rolled up and his breathing is heavy.

I ease Eve’s leg off of my shoulder and stand, adjusting her dress and tossing her a sly smile before walking around her.

“You were in there for a while, boss,” I say, genuinely interested. “What happened in there?”

Ace grabs the bottom of his shirt, straightening it and shooting a glance towards his door.

“I told him he needed to tell me about where his friend ran off to. Told him that I’m going to keep him down here until I find said friend. Told him that if he DIDN’T tell me everything he knew about the trafficking ring he works for, that I’d send all of his information to his wife, including how he had a hand in the disappearance of one of his daughter’s schoolmates. And that we’d kill him.”

I nod, placing my hands in my pockets and feeling the air shift around me as Eve walks up to stand by my side. Torso exposed, wearing only a bra and her bandages, she has no shame being in front of Ace.

“So what did he say? Didn’t you already know their names, I thought they were on the papers you gave me.” Eve asks, placing her hand inside my pocket and caressing my fingers with hers.

Ace directs his attention to Eve, doing a phenomenal job of keeping his eyes on hers. I have to remind myself, after all Ace has seen, he has no desire to objectify women. Despite how beautiful Eve is, Ace has respect, and I’ve always admired that about him.

“Well I already had all three of their names after running their faces through my software, yes, but hangouts are an entirely different animal. Their listed addresses aren’t where they would spend their time, and I’m not about to drag a man out of his home in front of his wife and kids. That risks exposing us, and that cannot happen.”

“Yeah that makes sense,” Eve says, straightening her back and lifting her chin. “So I’m guessing you know where they hang out, then? And what’s gonna happen to the guy tied up in that room?”

Ace cocks his head slightly, raising an eyebrow and giving Eve a look. The silence between them says more than words could, and Eve drops her head slightly.

“You already killed him.”

Ace shrugs, rolling his sleeves back down and fastening the cuffs.

“I don’t have the time or finesse that J has,” he says. “Asphyxiation works fine for me. But yes, Eve, he is dead.”

A sigh escapes her lips as she looks towards the door.

Ace looks at me, tilting his head in her direction. I know what he’s asking, and honestly, it’s not something I would’ve considered. I know how secretive we must be, how selective Ace is of the people who know about the Suits. But he already gave the OK for me to tell Eve about what we do here, and after his separate talks with her and I, he’s well aware of her penchant for violence.

“That’s up to you,” I answer him, and Eve tears her eyes off of the door to look back my way.

“I should have the last man’s whereabouts shortly, and it’s only a matter of time before I have Jack collect him. If it’s something you think she needs, then work it out between you two,” he says, looking from me to Eve. “But bear in mind, it’s not like acting in self-defense. There’s no going back from vengeance. Make sure she knows it.”

Eve holds Ace’s gaze, not asking any questions as she reads his face, letting his words settle between the three of us before he leaves.

Her hand in my pocket tightens its grip on mine as she faces me.

“Jason…what is he talking about?”

I pull my hand out of my pocket, taking hers with me as I lead us down the hallway back to the main room.

“He is offering you revenge, Princess. The chance to claim the last remaining man who plotted to hurt you.”

I can see the muscles in her jaw working, trying hard to mask the joy that flashes across her face.

“Oh,” she says, her lips betraying her as the corner curls into the slightest of smiles. “Well how very thoughtful of him.”

We approach the cot, and I notice the first aid kit is gone and the blood has been cleaned. A piece of paper rests on a stack of folded clothing, and Eve reaches over to pick it up. She reads it and chuckles, handing it to me.

WELCOME

The Jokers apparently have a sense of humor.

As Eve pulls the oversized shirt off of the pile, she slips it over her head and wriggles out of her dress. Something about seeing her in a big T-shirt, legs bare, hair a mess…for a moment I have a fleeting glimpse of what a normal life would look like with her. Breakfast in the morning, a kiss on the forehead before we leave for work, hanging out with friends in the evenings and binging our favorite TV shows before bed: it’s the kind of life I’ve always seen in movies, in the people that I encounter every day, yet never the life I had thought I could have.

“That’s something I could wake up to every morning,” I say, biting my lip and hungrily devouring every inch of her.

“Very funny,” she says as she pulls the pants on. “I don’t think you could ever live a normal life, Jason. Not after seeing what your REAL job is.”

I shake my head, walking towards her and picking up her dress from the floor.

“You never know. In any case, we won’t be able to rest easy until this last man is taken care of, and soon. Two of his partners dead? I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he gets help and comes back to find you.”

She looks up at me, and grins widely.

“Not if we find him first. And give him what’s coming to him.”

I wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to me and resting my head on hers. She stiffens in my arms, and remembering the wound on her back, I loosen my grip.

“Eve, you need to know something. Killing someone in cold blood, even if they deserve it? It changes you. Some people can’t live with themselves, and some people…some people develop a hunger for it.”

She pulls away slightly and looks up at me, the green in her eyes darkening like mist through a forest.

“Are you afraid, Jason? Are you afraid I’m going to like it too much?”

I search her face. I try to dive deep into her soul to find any remaining shreds of hesitation, of worry or concern. But I can’t find any of them. She has been given the promise of revenge, and in return has sacrificed her humanity.

“Yes, Eve. Yes, I am.”