The Deception (23 page)

Stuck in house. Have to wait for right time to escape.

Feet shuffled towards her. Jaz quickly tucked her phone away in case she needed both hands to defend herself. The target, Paul Turner, farted and lit a smoke. A risky move on his behalf in this small house, she thought. The fridge door opened and a can cracked open. Then he shuffled away, maybe to the lounge room? With a bit of breathing space she slipped out her phone. Cody had sent her three messages.

Fuck

Are you safe? Shit

Maybe I can create a diversion? Yes?

She quickly told him she was fine and wondered if she should wait for him to go to the toilet, then escape.

The feet returned, she could hear the bottom of his jeans dragging against the floor. Jaz held her breath. Something went into the microwave and he turned it on. Minutes later, she heard him slurping.

‘Shit!’

He swore loudly, jolting her alert. Had he seen her?

Suddenly he appeared in the laundry. Jaz held her breath, keeping herself hidden behind the door. He stepped towards the back corner to the old washing machine. Jaz leant her head to the side as Paul pulled off his shirt and shoved it in the open machine. He was all skin and bones, the ink on his arm making his skin look even whiter. A circle on his back, right between his shoulder blades, caught her eye. She squinted, wondering if what she saw was right.

Paul began to move so she snapped her head back behind the door just as someone knocked at the door. Paul went to answer it while Jaz remained still, but her thoughts raced on.

Who was at the door? A drug pick-up? Did he have a stash hidden in the house? Crap, was it in the laundry? Or maybe it was Cody!

‘Yo dude, I’m looking for Jimmy?’ Cody’s voice travelled through the house. He was alerting Jaz by being overly loud.

‘No Jimmy here, man,’ replied Paul.

‘Yeah, Jimmy said he lived on this street, dude. Red brick house, dude.’

‘You sure it’s not the one down further? What number?’

‘I don’t know, dude. Red brick.’ Cody was doing a great impression of a wasted guy, hopefully it worked to draw Paul outside.

She heard the flywire door bang shut and their voices grow quieter. Jaz quickly glanced around the corner, out the front door, and saw Paul, shirtless, pointing further down the street. Jaz didn’t waste another moment, she went for the back door, unlocked it and slipped out the door and closed it as quietly as possible. Around the side she lifted herself over the fence. It rattled as she jumped down. Quickly she hid behind Paul’s car and waited. Had he heard that?

She listened until she heard the front door shut and then worked her way down the side of the car, ducking down in case he glanced out the side window. When she was clear, she sprinted down the driveway and turned right into the neighbour’s shrub on the fence line. Hidden behind the bush she waited a minute, just to be sure, before walking up the street to where Cody’s car had been left. After two minutes Cody came running around the corner; he’d done a lap of the block.

They got into the car before either of them talked.

‘You okay?’ he asked when he caught his breath.

‘Yep, thanks. It worked a treat,’ she said, giving him a free smile. ‘His name is Paul Turner, but I’m guessing you guys already found that out.’

Cody nodded but kept his eyes on Paul’s house.

‘Did you know he was a member of the Shesha Serpents?’

He snapped his head in her direction. ‘What? How do you know? We haven’t been able to find a link.’

Jaz smiled. Lucky for her she already knew what the Shesha Serpents tattoo looked like and extra lucky that Paul slopped his meal down his shirt. If he hadn’t been such a slob they might never have found out he was connected.

She told Cody how she got inside and saw his tattoo. His first reaction was to laugh.

‘What?’ Jaz frowned but it only made Cody splutter even more.

He brushed his blond hair back as he tried to talk between chuckles. ‘It’s just … I’m just trying to picture you wiggling your way through that doggy door.’ He shook his head. ‘I would have paid money to see that.’

Jaz punched him in the arm. It only made him laugh louder. It was infectious and she found herself smirking too.

Chapter 20

‘Please tell me what you have planned for my birthday. I promise I won’t let on,’ said Jaz as Taylor drove into the city for his appointment with James.

‘No way. You know Anna would take one look at your faked surprise and then I’ll be in the shit for telling you. Sorry Jaz, you may punch harder but I fear Anna more,’ he said with a grin.

‘Gotta give a girl points for trying,’ she added with a shrug. If the roles were reversed she’d do the same. Anna could be hell scary but in the sweetest way. Besides, Jaz wouldn’t be able to handle seeing the disappointment on Anna’s face knowing her surprise was ruined. Especially when she puts her whole heart into everything she does. ‘So how’s things at home? Is your dad any better?’ she asked after a few minutes.

His reply took time. ‘A little. Ryan said the man who’d been following me was also the one receiving Dad’s information calls. Ryan destroyed his phone but it will only be a matter of time before they make contact again. Even if Ryan had killed him and the other guys, they’d just replace them. In saying that, I haven’t noticed anyone following,’ he said, glancing in the rear-vision mirror. ‘If I do I think I just might stop and shoot their arse.’

It was habit now for Jaz to watch the mirrors, looking for tags. Since that night with the frying pan, she hadn’t seen any. It was good but also a little unnerving. Like Tay said, it was probably only a matter of time before they came back like flies to a roast dinner.

‘Shall we do that?’ she said, turning her eyes back to the road. ‘I saw it on a TV show once. These guys were being followed so they jammed on the brakes, jumped out with guns aimed and ran at the car. I think it would be awesome! Totally catch them out.’

‘How funny would it be if we’d got it wrong and they weren’t following us,’ he said with smile. ‘Give someone something to talk about to their mates.’

‘They’d probably want to send you their dry-cleaning bill,’ she joked.

Tay pulled into the car park Jaz had told him about and found a vacant spot. ‘Hey Jaz?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Thanks. For everything. Helping me out and coming with me today. I’m just glad to have this chance to be included, you know. To be a part of what you, Ryan and Cody all do. Especially with Anna involved. I feel as if we have this great big family now. It’s not just us three against the rest of the world anymore.’

Tay dragged his lip between his teeth, a sign he was a little nervous.

‘I get it, Tay. And I agree, it’s great having you all at The Ring. And not having to lie anymore to you guys, we share the same secret.’ Jaz watched a woman a few cars down as she tried to get her child into his pram. Outside life went on as normal, yet her mind was drawn into her mum’s lies and secrets.

‘I’m sorry about Pax and your mum, Jaz. Must suck to find out like that.’

Neither of them made a move to leave the cosy interior of the Mustang. The old leather seats were similar to the leather in the gym, making her naturally at ease in Taylor’s car.

‘It does but I’m glad I know.’ She hadn’t really talked about this much with Tay. He was more the listener and Anna asked all the questions. ‘Just hurts knowing that Pax and Mum are still keeping it from me. I’m sure you guys felt exactly the same when you found out about me and the Agency.’

‘Jaz, they are
so
not in the same league.’ Tay waited until she glanced at him. ‘I know you must be confused about whether you’re a Montenegro or a Thomas, but your friends know exactly who you are. Just look to us if you ever forget that, won’t you?’

A massive lump had worked its way up her throat with Tay’s speech. He didn’t say much, but when he did it left a lasting impression. She would throw herself in front of a bus to save him. ‘Thanks, Tay.’ Her words came out at a whisper, her love for him choking her.

‘Shall we do this then? Go see your uncle?’

Clearing her throat and sucking in a breath, she nodded her head. ‘Yep, let’s.’

On the way to the building, Jaz had to remind herself to slow down when all she wanted to do was sprint. Tay reached for her hand and pulled her back, grounding her.

‘It’s okay,’ is all he said as he shook their joined hands.

They headed inside the building and Tay shot her a look of disbelief. He’d been past this place many times, as she had. It made you wonder how many more secrets were hidden in the city behind the big corporations and businesses.

‘Hi Janice. This is Taylor,’ she said when they reached the reception desk.

Janice smiled, creases fanned from the corner of her eyes. ‘Hi Jasmine. I can’t get over how young you kids seem these days, but I wasn’t much older either,’ she said with a bemused smile. As if knowing they had no reply to her comment she continued. ‘James is waiting for you both, head through.’

‘Thanks Janice.’

One day Jaz would love to ask Janice what her life with the Agency had been like in the beginning. Now she knew her family legacy was the Agency, it interested her tenfold.

‘This way,’ she said, directing Tay through the big door, which Janice unlocked with the push of a button.

She stopped down the corridor at the second door on the right. Last time she was here, she was just as nervous, only this time her nerves were for something completely different. Raising her fist, she knocked on the door.

‘Come in.’

Jaz turned the knob and stepped inside James Montenegro’s office, Tay right behind her.

James got up and came around his desk to shake both their hands. Right from her first meeting with him she’d felt comfortable around him. He didn’t big-note himself by hiding behind his big desk, instead he made you feel on the same level as him. The touch of his hand was warm, she stared at it in wonder and almost forgot to let it go. It could have been worse, she had contemplated giving him a hug.

‘Hello,’ said Tay and introduced himself, which was great, because Jaz’s throat had gone as dry as the dead plants that Pax neglected to water.

‘It’s good to see you again, Jaz. I’ve been informed of all your current work and your successful operation,’ said James, meaning the night they caught out Carl.

Opening her mouth, she hoped the words she formulated worked. ‘Thank you.’

‘It’s quite unusual to have someone of your age doing what you do. You seem to have an apparent knack for these things.’

‘Trouble has always found Jaz, sir,’ said Taylor with a smirk.

She knew he was thinking of her doggie door incident.

James didn’t seem deterred. ‘Nonetheless, it produces results and results are what we are all about.’ He indicated for them to take a seat while he sat on the end of his desk. His navy suit jacket hung from his chair, the sleeves of his white work shirt rolled up his lean arms and his blue tie loosened.

Jaz studied his features. His eyes were definitely like her mum’s and her own. His face structure was similar, high cheekbones, and their smiles also. It took every ounce of strength not blurt out the truth. She’d never had an uncle, no close family except on Paul’s side, but that wasn’t the same, not blood relations. James noticed her expression, maybe felt her assessing eyes on him.

‘Would you like me to wait outside?’ she added, trying to throw him off her scent.

He stood up. ‘No, you’re fine. Seems like you two work well as a team anyway, be a shame to split you up. And I believe your other friend Anna is learning the ropes from Pax? A deadly trio you guys will make,’ he said, pleased.

‘Yes, she will be great. Very smart,’ said Tay.

As James made his way back behind his desk to find the paperwork for Taylor, he added, ‘Ryan did well to stumble upon you all. He thinks you will make a formidable team and my gut feeling is the same.’

James did his little spiel on the Agency, filling Taylor in on what was expected, and the dangers, but none of it deterred Tay. The firm expression on his face and in his eyes said nothing would change his mind.

Tay began his formal paperwork while Jaz discussed the latest findings with James.

‘So did you really crawl through the dog flap?’ asked James.

Jaz pressed her lips together, surprised and a little embarrassed.

Taylor snickered but went back to filling out his forms when she glared at him.

‘Don’t look so worried, Jaz,’ said James. ‘Cody told me.’

Jaz resisted the urge to roll her eyes. God only knows how Cody would have explained that situation.

‘And he was impressed. Don’t let it worry you. The fact that you could fit through there is another reason why women are so important as agents. You have ways of accessing information some of us just can’t gather. And spotting the tattoo, that’s something we may never have found. So be proud of how you gather intel, by whatever means necessary.’ He glanced at his desk as if in deep thought, but continued to speak. ‘My sister was slight, like you and she’d always be the one to go through a small bathroom window or under a low fence. But she loved it, as it meant she got to be the one doing the hard yards and putting herself at risk for the mission. Sometimes I think she felt she had to prove herself because she was a woman.’

‘Were you an agent, sir? I mean before the desk,’ asked Taylor.

James frowned. ‘Call me James, and yes, I worked in the field. My father believed you couldn’t sit behind a desk putting agents in danger without first experiencing what it was like. I would have stayed out in the field longer except he passed away and I ended up here.’ He waved to his desk.

Jaz saw a familiar glint in his eyes, the excitement of a mission. James missed the action. It was a hard thing to give up, the adrenaline rush, the feeling of accomplishment and saving people.

‘And your sister? She loved it too?’ she asked. Hopefully he would tell her more about Mum, this new side of her, which seemed strange and still a little unbelievable.

‘Oh yeah, Natasha, we called her Nat, well, she loved going out in the field. She had an uncanny way of attracting people to her. Not because of her looks, more because she made people feel good when they were around her, she lifted their spirits.’ James smiled and reached over his desk. ‘I take this with me everywhere, just so I don’t feel like an only child.’