Hidden Impact (Safeguard #1)(75)

Jewel was kneeling over her, gun held in her left hand as she cradled her right close to her chest. “Little bitch.”

Dead was better than taken. Maylin swallowed hard. It’d be better if the mercenary killed her than use her against people she loved. Like An-mei, or Gabe.

And he didn’t even know she loved him.

But Jewel only held the gun steady and cocked her head sideways. “Gutsy. I’ll give you that. I’ve blown you up, driven you through glass, and now I’m holding a gun to your head. Did it even occur to you to leave Gabe? It’s not a major concern to me, mind you, more a point of curiosity.”

Leave?

Jewel regarded her with a small, patient smile.

“He...he’s not staying.” Maylin blurted it out. No idea where Jewel was going with this. The woman was crazy.

“With you?” Jewel cocked an eyebrow.

“Here.” Maylin blinked over and over again, trying to clear her vision past the pounding of her head. “This place is only temporary.”

Jewel had to know that. It was for rest and recovery only.

“Yeah, yeah. I do know.” Jewel sounded exasperated. Maybe Maylin had been babbling out loud. “And what about the two of you? Did either of you talk about anything besides what was directly in front of you?”

Maylin’s throat tightened. “I don’t know. We haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Did it occur to you to take your sister and leave once they all bring her back?”

“Without saying good-bye?” Leave things unfinished? “No. There’s too much. Too many questions.”

“So you were going to just play house here until they came back?” Jewel laughed, a genuine sound of mirth bubbling up from deep inside. The amusement chased away the hard lines and made her look years younger. For a moment, you’d think she was a normal woman. Not capable of shooting people in the back. Not holding a gun on Maylin.

Embarrassment burned Maylin’s cheeks. “It’s what I can do for them. Have something comforting when they get back. I couldn’t go with them, be real help to them. I don’t have the medical training to treat their injuries. This is what I could do.”

And it was something. It was needed.

“You know, I mistook your quiet little demeanor for submissive.” Jewel nudged Maylin’s hip with a booted foot. “You’ve obviously got no combat skills. You played the respect game very well inside the embassy back in DC. Most American Chinese would’ve gone in there and tried to roll over everyone and gotten nothing but passive-aggressive bullshit in return. But you, you walked the fine line and got results. Give a little ground, gain a lot more than they realized, until they were tripping over themselves to help you. More effective than I figured you could be. Takes a lot of patience to be that kind of person.”

Maylin tried to squirm away, but Jewel nudged her harder.

“Ah. Don’t move. I’ve got a point here and I’m going to take my sweet time getting to it. You don’t give up and I like that too, but now’s not the time to get all uppity.” Jewel spit to one side.

Better than on her. Maylin was grateful for small blessings.

“You know the problem with the kind of life we lead?” Jewel continued. “We’re not patient. And if we happen to fall in love, the people we fall in love with aren’t either. It’s not a common enough virtue. There’s too many other priorities out there. And we find ourselves having to choose. But you. You kept your focus through this and you’re loyal to a fault. You belong with them, with him.”

How...? Maylin opened her mouth to ask but Jewel hushed her.

“Nope. Don’t want to hear you talk. You might be headstrong enough to be good for him. Maybe. If you don’t get yourself killed first.” Jewel’s gun hand steadied and the musing expression wiped away from her face until there was nothing at all. “Me and him, we butt heads, but in a bad way. You, you’re better for him, and I’d have to scratch out my eyes not to see it. The problem with the both of you is tunnel vision. You only see what’s in front of you. It’s too simple. You want to do real good? Learn to notice the other things.”

Fear pinned Maylin down as she stared back up at death. Not too melodramatic, not when Jewel looked as cold-blooded as she did. The word was meant for Jewel when she looked like this. Then Maylin couldn’t look at her face anymore, not when she could only stare at the woman’s finger as it tightened on the trigger.

Another loud click.

“Good. Don’t ever close your eyes when there’s a chance to get away. I like that about you.” Jewel stepped away from her. “You keep that stubborn streak and stay with him. Give him what he deserves.” She turned then and disappeared down the corridor, past the kitchen and right into Gabe’s room.

Maylin wanted to have the courage to go after her, see where she was going. But her practical mind told her it’d be stupid. And the part of her that was truthful admitted she was too frightened to do it. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Because twice there, she’d thought she was about to die.

People came in the front door then and crowded around her. Caleb was there, and others, moving to secure the building and asking her if she was hurt. She was in shock, they were telling her. And yes, she was. But she was busy remembering what Jewel had said. Because it was important.