Hunger (Seductors #2) (2 page)

I couldn’t let Oliver weaken me, though. Yes, I loved him, but what did that matter now? It could never work. He wasn’t in love with
me
, anyway. He loved the Jade I had created for him.   

“You. Love. Him?” Georgie’s mouth hung open as she gawked at me.

“It doesn’t matter now. I’m never going to see him again. Besides, when he discovers what I stole from him, he’ll hate me forever. It’s better this way.”

“Jade, you’ve fallen in love with someone. You can’t just sweep this under the rug. With your past, you know how significant this is.”  

“Can we not go into my past right now?” I stressed. “This has nothing to do with that.”

“Bullshit! It has
everything
to do with that.”

“Don’t fucking start, Georgie,” I threatened. I wasn’t prepared to talk about my past right now.

“Jade, it’s not a crime to want to be loved. That’s what makes the world go ’round.”

“It’s a little different when the guy you love doesn’t actually know the real you.”

“There are parts of ourselves in the characters we play. Don’t you pay attention to any of the workshops or lessons we have?” She shook her head at me. “Anyway, how do you know the real parts aren’t what he loves the most?” She really wasn’t helping, and wanting to avoid eye contact, I looked down at the floor. “You see! You can’t be sure, can you?”

“None of this matters.”

“If you’re thinking of leaving the Seductors, I’d say it
all
matters. Jade, you can’t run. They’d kill you before you were even out of St. Petersburg. You know the response team is ruthless.”

“It’s not going to come to that. I’m not going anywhere. I just need time to adjust, that’s all.”

“Promise you’ll call me if you need anything in the next few weeks. I hate having to leave you, but I fly out to Miami on Monday.”    

“I’ll be fine. What trouble am I going to get into here?”

“Please don’t keep your feelings inside, Jade. I’ll only be a phone call away. If I’m busy, I will call you back as soon as I can.”

“I know.” I was lucky to have Georgie as my friend. She may be blunt and take no shit from anyone, but she had such a big heart.  

“It will get better, Jelly Bean. Trust me.” I had to have faith in her words. Besides, right now it couldn’t get much worse. The only way to go when you’d hit rock bottom was up.

I held my tongue and counted to ten.

“Did you hear me, Jade?” Alicia questioned while my back was to her. How could I
not
have heard her? She was right behind me!

“Your paperwork is almost ready. We just need to run a few more checks and get clearance for your new passport.”  

“I leave tomorrow morning. This is a big case, so you better tell Miles to hurry up.”

“He’s going as fast as he can!” I fumed. “Believe it or not, Alicia, your mission isn’t the only one we have to prepare for. It will be done. Has Miles ever been late?”

“You’re extra bitchy today. Is the lockdown finally getting to you?” Taking a deep breath, I was able to maintain my composure. I wasn’t going to stoop to her level and retaliate. Yes, I had been on lockdown for almost four months, but it was for my own safety.

The lengths Oliver had gone to in trying to find me were unbelievable. I don’t think a target had
ever
gotten as close to the Seductors as he had, but the organization was too secure to penetrate. Miles was always one step ahead, and even after four months of searching for me, it seemed Oliver wasn’t going to admit defeat. Hence me still being on lockdown.

I had no idea if he had learned about the stolen blueprints yet or not. Being trapped at headquarters meant I didn’t have much access to the outside world.

“Are you going to speak to Miles, then?” Alicia snapped, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder, snapping me from my thoughts.

“You’ll get it in plenty of time. Why don’t you go and jump on Mario’s dick one last time while you wait? You won’t see him for a while, after all,” I joked. I had noticed that her paperwork for the new mission spanned six months. It must have been a top assignment for it to be that long. If I hadn’t still been on lockdown, I suspected it would have been mine to undertake, but Alicia was running all the large assignments for the time being.

“Fuck you, Jade.” Yeah, that was her usual tone toward me.

“I don’t have to be nice to you when you’re acting like such a bitch, Alicia. I’m just helping Miles out.”

“You think you’re so special, don’t you? Well, I have news for you—I’ve been assigned the largest mission in Seductor history. It’s time you were knocked off the pedestal that Sonia put you on.” Alicia had a gleam in her eye as she smirked at me.

“I can guarantee if I wasn’t on lockdown, things would be different.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Something in her tone made me think she was hiding something—something that involved me. I had always been good at reading people, and Alicia was no different. “Just make sure the paperwork is done.” With that, she strutted off, tossing her horsetail hair in my face as she went.

“Argh,” I moaned, walking back into the intelligence office.

“What’s up?” Miles called from his computer. He was your typical computer geek, with dark curly hair and big thick glasses. I kept telling him the glasses were too big for his face and hid his pretty blue eyes, but he always played it off. I had the feeling I made him a little nervous. He ran the intelligence center here with his team and was a genius.

“Alicia,” I snarled. “She is such a bitch.”

“What actually went on with you two last year?”

“It’s a long story. We’d be here all day.”

“Well, you’re not going anywhere for awhile, are you? You can tell me about it tomorrow. We could even have lunch somewhere low key,” Miles suggested. Did he really just ask me out to lunch? I wasn’t allowed off these grounds.

“Alicia asked if her paperwork could all be ready first thing in the morning.”

“Wow, you really don’t want to talk about it, do you?”

“Nope. Is this mission of hers really the biggest in Seductor history? ”

“Where did you hear that?” He looked up in alarm from his computer screen.

“Alicia told me.”

“She shouldn’t be shouting her mouth off like that. It will get her into trouble one day.”

“Where is she flying out to tomorrow?” I don’t know why I was asking. It wasn’t allowed and I knew that, but something was beginning to worry me. I was probably just being paranoid, but Alicia had been deliberately goading me earlier. Why? What did she know that I didn’t?  

“Why are you asking?”

“I was just curious.”

“You know the rules, Jade. You shouldn’t pry into other cases. You’re becoming as bad as Molly. Why don’t you start uploading those files into the database for me? Mandy said she’d be in a little later today to finish them off.”

“I don’t care about the mission. I’m only curious where she is flying out to.”

“New York!” He snapped. “Can I concentrate now? I have thirteen threats on our databases right now, seven fake accounts to create, four prototypes to check, and my mother to call. It’s her birthday today. It’s not easy running a team of ten people who all think they are science geniuses in these small conditions!”
New York?
I was thinking too much into it. Oliver wasn’t the only person who lived in New York. Just because Alicia was going there, that didn’t mean
he
was her target.

“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered numbly, going back to my desk and ignoring his rant.

It didn’t matter how much I tried to shake the thought from my mind, though. Alicia’s gloating tone and the fact she was on her way to New York tomorrow kept clouding my mind.

What were the odds? No, it couldn’t be. I
was
being paranoid. What would our client want with Oliver again? Surely the blueprints for the machine were enough.

Four months, and I still couldn’t get him out of my head. I was even becoming delusional and suspicious.
Oliver, what have you done to me?

Alicia being assigned a mission with Oliver Kirkham—that was
crazy
. The Seductors never pursued a target more than once. It was too dangerous.

I had finally gone insane. There was no doubt about it.

Yet, until I was released from lockdown, I knew that was all I was going to think about.

I had to pray my confinement wasn’t going to last much longer. Four months was a really long time.

I needed to get out of here, and not just for my sanity. I needed to make sure my suspicions were wrong.

Chapter One

“At least try and crack a smile, Jade,” Molly moaned as I threw my suitcase down on my bed.
Smile
! I’d just been called back to headquarters from a break in Hawaii as a matter of urgency. How could I be
happy
about that?

“Molly, I’m so pissed right now. I’m sick of looking at these damn walls. If Sonia is going to put me on lockdown again, I’ll go insane.” I was trying not to stress myself out, but months of confinement had taken its toll on me.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Oliver would search for me as long as he did, but finally, after
six months
of every lead he followed being a dead end. He had admitted defeat and I was released from lockdown. I couldn’t believe after only eight days away, I’d been called back, though.

“It could be a new mission,” Molly mused, sitting on the edge of my bed.

“I hope so,” I sighed, opening my suitcase and starting to unpack. If I were heading out on a mission soon, I’d need to sort out my laundry quickly.  

“How was Hawaii until you were called back?”

“Good. I lay on the beach for a week, read a few books, and had a few cocktails. It was pure relaxation.” I could feel Molly’s eyes on me as I continued to go through my clothes. I wasn’t in the mood for her questions today.

“Did you get it on with anyone?”

“No, I wasn’t really away long enough.” I snorted at her question.
Oh, Molly. She was never very subtle
. If it could only be that simple. I wasn’t even sure how to move on from Oliver. He was all I could think about. In fact, I was still bringing myself to orgasm thinking about the way he touched my body. I knew that was pretty messed up after six months, but I doubted
any
man would ever wield the same power over me.

Having to get back on the saddle wasn’t something I was looking forward to. This was the longest I’d ever gone without
physical
sex. I knew I had to get it over and done with eventually, though. Sex was part of my job, and holding onto something that was never going to happen wasn’t going to help me move on.

“You know there are plenty of guys here that would be happy to help you out. I still think Miles has a soft spot for you,” Molly grinned, nudging me playfully.

“Miles isn’t my type. Not to mention, I’d probably scare the guy with my sexual appetite,” I giggled, thinking about poor Miles. I’d had an eventful few months working for him in intelligence. He was an amazing guy, but just not my type at all.    

“Aren’t you horny, though?”

“Molly,” I snorted. “If I want sex, I’ll go and get it. Don’t worry.”

“Well, if Miss S brought you back for a mission, I’m sure you’ll get some soon enough,” she winked.   

“We’ll see,” I mused, looking at my watch. I had almost an hour until I was due to see Sonia. Secretly, I was hoping this
was
about a mission. Taking on a new target was just what I needed.

“Are you still feeling down about you know who?”

I gawked at her. Did she really just ask about Oliver? How the hell was that going to help me? “It’s been over six months. I hardly think about him anymore,” I lied, grabbing my laundry that needed to be washed.