Page 5 of The Hitman and the Psychic

Again, a corner of Mr. Vanetti’s mouth twitched. “Look, Ms. Jones, I’ve invested a lot into Nathan here, and if I didn’t firmly believe you could help, I wouldn’t have hired you.”

“And… the whole keep-him-from-getting-killed thing?”

Stone glared at me again.

“Find the culprit,and Nate’s safe.”

I let out a breath. A hundred and fifty thousand dollars was a lot of money. “Okay, you’ve got a deal.” I’d better not regret this.

“Good.”

Vanetti stepped to his desk to write me a check for seventy-five grand. As he wrote it out, I tried to ignore Stone’s murderous glare. He jumped from his seat and began prowling back and forth like a caged panther. Was he trying to intimidate me? No way was I going to let that work.

Heat came off him in waves, and I swallowed. This was definitely a mistake. But I could handle it. A few days and I’d be done. All I had to do was find the person who wanted him dead. With my psychometry, that shouldn’t take long. In fact, I could figure it out by tomorrow, right?

Vanetti handed me the check, and I examined all those zeros before stuffing it in my purse. I stood and gave him a fist bump instead of shaking his hand. “Thanks Mr. Vanetti, I won’t let you down.”

“I know. Did you bring everything you need?”

I nodded. “I have a bag in my car.”

Vanetti glanced at Stone, and his lips flattened. Stepping to his side, he put his hand on Stone’s shoulder. “I have a few things I need you to do, but I want you to spend most of your time finding the son-of-a-bitch who’s after you. Why don’t you take Serenity to your office and give her the rundown of what you know?”

Stone’s jaw was so tight, I worried that his teeth would crack. It surprised me that he didn’t start yelling and complaining, but after our chat at the table, he held it all in, only giving Vanetti a curt nod before striding to the door.

I figured he’d just march right out, leaving me in the dust, but, after pulling the door open, he glanced my way. “Coming?”

The danger in his tone sent shivers down my spine. Knowing this wasn’t the time to back down, I rose to the challenge and sent him a regal nod. “Of course.”

Holding my head high, I followed him out.

Chapter 3

Stone

The door closed behind us and I sent Serenity a glare. “Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t need anyone to protect me.”

“Of course you don’t, but I’ve got a job to do, so let’s start with a few questions.”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

I headed down the hall while she quizzed me, but my head pounded, and I hurt in so many places that I didn’t know which felt worse. It didn’t help that I was stuck with apsychicday and night until this was over. What the hell was the old man thinking? She was like a babysitter. I’d never been so humiliated in my life, not even in the army.

The moment Serenity realized the job could be dangerous, I’d hoped she’d refuse, but then Vanetti had to go and offer her a hundred and fifty grand. No one in theirright mind would pass that up, so of course, she took it. Dammit.

Still, that didn’t change my mind about making her life miserable. In fact, I’d make sure she earned every penny of that money, and I’d enjoy every moment it took.

She’d quit talking, so I glanced her way. Her brows drew together, and her eyes shone with blue fire. “You’re not even listening to me.”

I raised a brow. “We’ll talk in my office. I’m not a fan of airing my personal problems in front of everyone.” That may have worked better if there were more people around.

“Oh? You meanallthe people here?” She gestured to the empty hall. “Yeah, I can see how you’d need more privacy.

Rolling my eyes, I continued to my office. It was at the end of the hall, right next door to my apartment. As I pulled the door open, it was tempting to let the door shut in her face, especially after that snarky remark, but my manners got the better of me, and I held it open for her.

“After you.” I motioned her inside, raising an eyebrow and not trying to hide my sarcasm.

Mouth twisting, she slid past me, keeping as much distance between us as possible. For some reason, her distance made my stomach twinge, but I pushed the feeling away. Maybe I could actually get her to quit.

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