Revenge for Hire (The Get Even Agency) by Janice Lynn Read Free Book Online Page B

her.
    There was a tiger inside her clawing to escape the cage she hid
within. Jude longed to be the man to set that tiger free. To be the one to
experience her wildness unleashed.
    Only, how far could he go when Angela was involved without
breaking his vow?
    Probably a silly thing most men would ignore and go for the
gold, rather than stick by a vow they’d made to their self. After all, a woman
like her didn’t come along every day. But a vow made by Jude Layman meant
something. His word meant something. If his parents taught him nothing else,
they’d drilled honesty and pride into him.
    He never knowingly lied. Never promised things he didn’t intend
to deliver. Jude wouldn’t break his vow.
    But he might play dirty to achieve it.
    He picked up the phone and started to hit the number for Mrs. Sedwick . Just in time, he recalled Angela would be the one
to pick up the phone. He didn’t want her handling this particular job. She
might ask questions he didn’t want to answer. Like why any sane man would vow
not to have sex until his best friend got laid.
    Then again, perhaps his sanity hadn’t come into play during
that decision.
    He called one of his editorial assistants, Harriet, a
long-timer he trusted to be discrete and who’d done odd jobs for him in the
past without question.
    “Find Joy Long. Get me a number and an address and any social
routines/plans, etc. you can discover. ASAP.”
    When he sat the phone down, he felt better.
    He glanced at his watch. 11:29 AM. Close enough to lunch.
    He closed his office door behind him. “Come on. We’re going to
lunch.”
    Angela frowned. The prim-and-proper persona was back on full
force. “It isn’t lunch time.”
    He rolled his eyes. He’d thought she’d warmed to him after he
stuck the daisy in her hair. Apparently he’d been wrong or she’d changed her
mind. “Yes, it is lunch time, because I’m starved. Let’s go.”
    Her lips thinned into a tight line. She didn’t like things to
go other than as planned. Interesting. His angel was a control freak. Yet he
knew he hadn’t interpreted her facial expressions wrong earlier. She got off on
the thought of being bad, of possibly getting caught.
    The mental image of her being bad while controlling him had him
shifting his weight, readjusting the crotch of his jeans before he passed out.
    She slid her black bag onto her shoulder and stood.
    “I really don’t like Chinese.” Although she didn’t say it out
loud, her body language screamed that she also really didn’t like him.
    “You will after today.”
    Jude wasn’t sure whether he meant the Chinese or him.
    * * *
    “This is delicious.” The paper thin pastry wrap melted in
Avery’s mouth. The blend of sweet and sour spices teased her taste buds,
tickled her fancy.
    Avery hadn’t ever liked Chinese. Not that she’d tried much. There
hadn’t even been a Chinese restaurant in the small Kentucky town she’d grown up
in and now that she could dine anywhere she pleased, Chinese just never
appealed. Or it hadn’t before today. Definitely, she’d never had anything that
compared to this out-of-the-way shop tucked into the corner of a building. A
shop so small one would miss it if not looking.
    The décor was typical of what she expected of a Chinese
restaurant. A big Buddha occupied one corner. A watercolor hung on one wall. Exotic
green plants sat at the ends of a silk screen. The middle of the restaurant
showcased a buffet table that offered up goodies straight from heaven.
    She hadn’t intended to like the food. Hadn’t intended to enjoy
the man sitting across from her. Sara Brown’s sad story had reconfirmed all the
hurtful things Jude was capable of. The man used women with no regards to how
hurtful his actions were. He needed to pay. To pay in the worst possible way.
    Jude grinned. He seemed determined to keep the conversation
light no matter how many times she snapped at him. “Is this the part where I
say I told you so?”
    She feigned