DX Read Free Page A

her and caught West staring down her shirt. Perv. She glanced at Jaden. He wasn’t looking. “Hey, Lightfeather. When do you want to meet up?”
    Jaden shook his head. “I stick with you twenty-four seven.”
    “Great,” she said. “That’s really great.” She put the black folder on top of the others, looking at Lightfeather while she did. “Come on then, gorgeous. Let’s go bag ourselves a dog, a fang and a DX.”

CHAPTER 2
    With a couple of hours to kill before they were due at Mimouza, she and Jaden agreed he’d drive them to her place so she could change clothes and review the files. From the outside, his sedan looked like no-big-deal. Hell was terrible at deciphering automobile logos and couldn’t tell if his was American or an Asian import, but it was black with shiny hubcaps and a low-to-the-ground body. Inside was gadget heaven. She didn’t know what half the gizmos attached to the dashboard did.
    When he turned the ignition, the engine thrummed in her ears and vibrated under her feet. Definitely not your average car. She settled herself on the seat. Her bare skin touched leather, and she flashed back to the first time she rode in one of Tuan’s cars. Tuan had a penchant for Italian sports cars, which he liked to drive too fast on Highway 1. Their first weekend away had been in Santa Barbara. She’d worn her bikini on the way back to their hotel, and she’d never forgotten the sensation of her skin against the leather seat. Funny, the things that spark a memory. She’d wondered at the time if Tuan was the one .
    In Jaden’s I-Ops issue car, she tried crossing her legs, but her foot tangled in the strap of her bike-messenger bag cum briefcase. What with a smaller tote containing all the crap she’d taken from her car balanced on her lap, she couldn’t untangle herself without looking dorky. She didn’t mind having long legs except when she was in a car built for speed over comfort. After Tuan, she’d sworn off men, but if she remembered her ancient history, long legs were a perk when it came to the opposite sex. Jaden the Incredible Hunk looked, but it was when she was flailing around trying to get settled. Crap.
    He punched her address into the GPS— he knew where she lived, wasn’t that unsettling? —and they were off, too fast. Without navigation as a subject for conversation, all there was to listen to was the motor. Or she could watch lights and dials glow on the dash. It was dark out and getting darker. Traffic wasn’t bad, not bumper to bumper anymore. Jaden seemed happy with silence so she crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window. His car was frighteningly clean. New-car smell lingered in the air.
    He shifted and punched the gas to merge into a gap in traffic. Hell grabbed the dashboard as her tote went sliding off her lap, spilling the contents on the floor. At least six cars hit their horns. When her heart was back in her throat, she exploded. “Clue, Agent Leadfoot! You probably think people are always honking their horns, but they aren’t. They’re trying to tell you that you drive like a goddamn— Oh Jesus! Look out!” She clutched the emergency brake. Horns blared. “Would you please slow down?”
    He shifted again and tailgated a car getting onto the freeway on the expiring yellow. “I didn’t want this assignment,” he said without looking at her.
    She picked up her keys and her cell. Her heart banged against her ribs. “You didn’t have to say yes.”
    “Yes I did.”
    “Gee, too bad.”
    He merged into freeway traffic. “Let’s be professional about this.”
    “Don’t worry,” she said politely. “I think you’re being as professional as you can.”
    Something on the dashboard beeped and several lights flashed. Jaden punched a button, swore, and pushed another series of buttons. “Take notes, honey.”
    Sixty-five. “If I live, sure.”
    “Fuck you,” he said as he switched lanes and cut off a truck.
    “You wish.” Eighty-five.