Attempted Assassination(8)

He continued deeper into the market. Vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, oils, and flowers had been packed into the area so tightly, they almost stood on top of each other. The pungent odor of the daisies, tulips, and roses stirred something within him, and he stopped at one stall and picked up a bouquet, feeling as though he'd done it before. He inhaled the scent, then smiled at the vendor as he put them back. Yes, this place had really gotten under his skin and had given him a bad case of déjà vu, which he didn't understand, nor did he like the feeling.

Trying to shake it, he kept moving.

He walked down the old, wooden stairs to where the shops were located, and he paused in front of the magic store and watched a magician perform a trick involving sponge balls for a group of kids.

As he studied the magician's sleight of hand skill, the strange feeling he'd had in his hotel room and upstairs at the flower stall only intensified. He glanced around, wondering if someone hunted him, but didn't see anyone eyeing him suspiciously. 

Deciding the best thing to do would be to focus and get back to work, he took the stairs up to the street and slipped on his sunglasses in the bright, summer sunlight.

Across the way, he saw her, and he stopped in his tracks.

She wore her long, wavy blonde hair in a ponytail over one shoulder, her slim body covered in a pair of blue Bermuda shorts and a grey tank top. She stood silently looking his way with her hands in her pockets, but he couldn't see if she stared at him, or just in his direction, as she wore dark sunglasses.

The muscles throughout his body tightened with panic.

He felt he knew her. Surely, he'd seen her before, but where? The answer sat just out of reach, like when he sometimes walked into a room and couldn't remember why. Usually, it was something stupid like his keys or his wallet, but for a few seconds, he stood in the middle of the room, completely baffled until he had his 'aha' moment.

The back of his neck tingled as he glanced around the area again. Could she be here to arrest him? Maybe she worked for one of the branches of the government who didn't like Group Nine, and he had a price on his head. He had, after all, just killed a major in the US Army.

However, she didn't seem threatening, and as he gazed around, she appeared to be alone. His chest constricted, and he found it hard to breathe as a stifling headache began in the back of his skull.

Should he run, or confront her?

It almost seemed as if he didn't have a choice. He felt drawn to her, and the image of a paperclip traveling across a table to latch onto a magnet filled his mind. He had to talk to her. He had to go to her, to find out what she wanted, to find out who she was and how he knew her. Maybe it would all be a big misunderstanding, and once he got closer, he'd realize he didn't recognize her.

Weaving through the congested street, he didn't take his gaze off of her. A few people honked at him, but he ignored them. She watched him coming at her, and his breathing grew even shallower. Yes, she was here for him, but who was she? How did he know her? His pain in the back of his neck only increased as he searched his memory for something  …  anything that he could tie to her.

A large truck barreled down on him, its horn blaring. He turned just in time to step out of the way. When the truck had passed, she had gone.

Running the rest of the way to where she had stood, he looked around, but it was like she'd disappeared into thin air. He studied each face near him, more panic settling in his chest like he'd just taken a hit to the sternum.

He glanced around once more, his training urging him to get the hell out of there because he could be in danger, but another small part of him needed to know who the blonde had been.

After a moment, he cursed as a feeling of defeat and loss washed through him, and finally, he headed back to his hotel.





8





Ava watched Jordan walk away from inside the Starbucks. As he'd crossed the street in her direction and got caught up behind the truck, Garrett had stepped out of the Starbucks behind her and pulled her into the store, shoving her through the throngs of people to the back. He'd stood in front of her, his gun in his hand at his side. She couldn't see past his wide shoulders at first, but after a moment, he'd relaxed and they'd inched through the crowd toward the window to see Jordan walking away from the area.

"I think he's heading back to the hotel."

She nodded, unable to speak, her emotions rattling her so hard, she wished the floor would open and swallow her so that she could just get away.



       
         
       
        

They'd followed him down here from the Four Seasons. Garrett had tracked him through the market while she'd waited at the coffee shop. When he'd called her and told her to step outside, she'd done so on creaky legs. As she'd locked gazes with Jordan, she hadn't been able to move. Although she'd been told he lived, shock had still rolled through when she'd seen him in the flesh.

She shook from head to toe now, her reaction to the sight of her husband who she'd thought dead for over a year. He looked the same, but somehow, he had become different. Still tall and strong with thick, wavy black hair, yet, his movements now seemed more precise, more efficient. Before, he used to stroll about in almost a lazy way, but not anymore. He seemed to be all action, not the laid back man she'd married.

Garrett turned to her. "You look pale, Ava. Are you okay?"

Was she okay? As she stared out into the street, she didn't know, and she couldn't seem to find any words to speak. Right now, so many emotions ran through her-fear of what Jordan would have done if he'd reached her, anger that he'd been taken away from her, and despair that they'd never get him back.

"Ava?"

Finally, she met his gaze. "I-I think so. He knew me."

"Yeah, he did. He came directly for you."

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as a chill spread throughout her body despite the warm summer day. "What do you think he would have done if he'd reached me?"

Garrett pulled her in for a hug, his big, warm body helping her to stop trembling.

"I don't know, but I didn't want to find out."

She nodded against his chest. This little experiment to see if Jordan recognized her had turned out to be more difficult than she'd thought it would be. All she'd wanted to do was rush into his arms, to hold him, to feel his lips on hers, but she'd had to remind herself that a cold, efficient killer had replaced the warm, gentle man she'd married.

The plan had been for her to show herself to him a couple more times today, but she didn't think she could do it.

Garrett seemed to sense it. "I think it would be a good idea for us to head back to the island now. We can do this again tomorrow."

She nodded and allowed him to lead her out of the store and up the hill to the parking garage. With each step, her legs felt heavier, as did her heart. She wanted her husband back, but seeing him again had been so difficult, especially knowing how much he'd been changed.

As she slid into the car, she buckled her seatbelt and laid her head back against the headrest.

Garrett placed his hand over hers. "I know this is hard, Ava. It's not easy for me to see Jordan and know that he's not the same man that he used to be. But, we have to have faith that guy is in there somewhere, and we will get him back." 

They then weaved through the city streets until they finally hit the freeway. Garrett had been right-this task was difficult for all of them. He and the others had been like brothers to Jordan. If they could do it, so could she.

She would need to toughen up and not fall apart if she wanted Jordan back.





9





By the time Jordan returned to the hotel, he'd calmed down a bit. His heart rate had returned to normal, and the panic had subsided. The only remnants of his encounter with the blonde woman seemed to be a bit of the headache that had assaulted him when he'd seen her.

As he entered the hotel, he kept his sunglasses on and his gaze down, but was aware of everyone around him. He stopped at the case that housed all the tourist brochures and picked up one, not really seeing what great attraction it featured. Turning toward the lobby, he pretended to read it while scanning the area. He didn't see anyone or anything that seemed out of place, and no one even glanced his way.

Just to be safe, he watched the lobby for a couple more minutes. Satisfied, he turned and placed the brochure back into the holder.

One caught his eye-whale watching. He stared at the large, grey beast breaching the water as smiling people on a boat a couple dozen feet away watched it.

Whale watching.

"Oh, Jordan! Look at how beautiful it is!"

The woman's words echoed in his head as if she stood next to him. His heart quickened again, and the headache intensified. He knew that voice, but couldn't place the face it belonged to. He glanced around, feeling as though he had begun to lose his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he walked away from the brochures and tried to forget the day's strange events. He had an assassination to plan, and he couldn't be distracted.

He approached the front desk, slipped off his sunglasses, and smiled at the pretty clerk.

"How can I help you, sir?"

As he stared at her dark hair and full mouth, his cock thickened, and he felt the urge to have sex. The blonde-haired woman flashed back into his mind, and the feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come, but the headache worsened again.