Merciless (Option Zero 1)

“I am, but ‘close’ is a relative term. It could still be months away.”

“Then I’ll stick it out until then or until I no longer have a choice, whichever comes first.”

“You know he’ll find out the truth eventually.”

“Not necessarily. I’ve covered my tracks.”

“He’s the best in the business of uncovering tracks.”

Asher Drake had definitely proven that tonight. Not once had she anticipated that he would find out about her penchant for hunting serial killers. Still, she believed this cover was as solid as possible.

“I’m worried for you, Jules. You might get more than you bargained for.”

“I thought you trusted me to handle this.”

“I do. Or at least I did until Ash texted me that you told him you want to work for him.”

When Jules didn’t reply, Kate sighed and added, “You planned to ask him for a job all along, didn’t you?”

“Yes and no. I didn’t start out with that intention, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.”

“I thought you were just going to observe for a while before you introduced yourself.”

“He made me. I had no choice but to play it out.”

“That’s because he’s the best there is, Jules. You know that. You’re playing a dangerous game with a very dangerous man. I know you don’t necessarily see him that way, but you don’t know Asher Drake like I do.”

“I thought you liked and admired him.”

“I do, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see him for what he is.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“Guess it wouldn’t do any good to ask you to reconsider telling him who you really are.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I think you’d be surprised at his reaction.”

“Let’s not do this again, Kate. If I tell him, you know what he’ll do. He’ll want to know everything, and we’ll be right back where we started.”

“All right. I’ll drop it for now. Now tell me what happened.”

“I figure you know most of it. Ash said he checked in with you.”

“Ha. That just shows you how little you know about the man. His text was five words. Your name and then ‘Tell me everything.’”

“Whatever you told him must have worked.”

“I just told him that I think a lot of you and he can trust you. I imagine I’ll hear from him again.”

“Considering he caught me in a lie, he might question your judgment from now on.”

“Uh-oh. I told you he’s got some kind of sixth sense when it comes to lies. How angry was he?”

“Enough to threaten that if I do it again, I won’t like the consequences. Not angry enough to walk away.”

“I just hope you don’t regret this decision.”