Jennifer Rardin [Jaz Parks series book 2] Another One Bites The Dust

 “If . . . Yeah, I think you’ll do fine.”

 “What were you going to say to start with?”

 Sigh. I really need to learn how to lie to people I care for.“I was going to say, if you survive long enough to get the experience. But then I decided I’d just make sure you did.”

 He looked at me then and grinned. “Excellent.”

 “So let’s quit slacking and get to work, huh?”

 We took the clothes inside. The atmosphere had cooled considerably, and not just because Cassandra had ditched the kitchen in favor of the living area. Bergman had left the RV altogether.

 “His frustration just mushroomed,” Cassandra told us. “He swore several times. Then he threw some parts. Then he yelled, ‘I’m not set up to do this kind of work!’ He finally decided he needed a special tool, and as soon as the Internet showed him a store in the city that carried it, he left.”

 I couldn’t decide. Should I feel guilty for nearly driving my old friend nuts? Or should I continue to try to keep him busy so he wouldn’t drive everyone else crazy with his infantile social graces?Um, Alex, could I have Never Hire Your Former Roommates for $200 please?

 I threw Lung’s clothes beside Cole on Mary-Kate and held up the two dresses Pengfei had taken to the cleaners. “Which one should I wear tonight?”

 Cassandra considered them both. “I like the black with the green phoenixes. Or is it phoenixi?”

 “No idea,” I replied. “Black it is. I’m taking the rest to the yacht now. Cole, could you go to the marina and rent us a speedboat? And not one that’s going to sink any minute like the Seven Seas Succulents’ ferry, okay?”

 “Will do.” Cole took off. I went to the bedroom, taking the dry-cleaning with me. I hung my chosen dress in the closet and pulled out my weapons bag. If, indeed, Wu had turned reaver, he’d be a tough kill even as a newbie. So I wanted lots of options.

 With Grief already snug in my shoulder holster, I slid Great-Great-Grandpa’s bolo into its built-in pocket sheath. The .38 went between my belt and the small of my back. I strapped a sheath full of throwing knives to my right wrist, although they were for last-ditch attacks. My front-line weapon slid out of a ten-by-twelve envelope. A translucent sheet of robotic cells some think tank at the DOD had created, it adhered naturally to almost any surface. I pressed it against the plastic covering Lung’s suit and stood back. Yup, it blended seamlessly. I ran my hand across the plastic. Easy to feel where the sheet left off and the real plastic began. Good.

 With my offensive strategy in place, I felt prepared to deal with Wu, who, I reminded myself sternly, wasn’t Wu at all. As I moved to leave, I brushed my fingers along the outside of Vayl’s sleeping tent.

 Maybe I won’t be back,I thought.These reavers are badass. I have a feeling one of them may actually get me one of these days.

 I realized with a sort of shock the thought wouldn’t have bothered me at all a couple of months ago. But now I understood a lot better why my boss kept coming back to this life. It was so damned interesting. Especially when you shared part of your day with someone who could make your heart do gymnastics with the barest touch of his hand. Problem was, I knew firsthand what could happen when you fell off the balance beam.

 I found Cole at the dock, manning a bright red speedboat that actually looked seaworthy. He’d found himself a captain’s hat, which he wore backward.

 “You know,” I said as I handed him the plastic-wrapped clothing and scrambled aboard, “you’re probably breaking some mariner’s law with that headgear.”

 He blew a green bubble. “Does that make me a pirate?”

 I rolled my eyes. It was becoming such a typical reaction to him that I feared they might stick that way and people would begin to confuse me with Rodney Dangerfield. “Okay, Johnny Depp, reel it in. I need you to be alert if things start to fall apart. On the face of it we’re just delivering the dry-cleaning. That’s all the rest of the crew knows. My guess is they’re all Lung supporters, so they’ll behave until given contrary orders. You stay in the boat. Be ready to move out fast.”

 “What if I hear loud noises?”

 “Like what kind?”

 “Like fighting noises? Do I come investigate?”

 “Cole,I can barely kill reavers andI can see their shields. No offense, but you wouldn’t have a chance. Stay in the boat until I come out or you’re sure I’m dead. Then leave. Got it?”

 His second bubble went limp when I said the word “dead.” But he nodded. “It sucks being the rookie.”

 “Yes, it does. Look at it this way: I can’t get off the yacht without you.”

 He brightened at that thought. Just call me the feel-good girl.

 CHAPTERTHIRTY

 What I’d said to Cole about managing fear was about four parts BS and one part wishful thinking. Fear is like a pig at the 4-H Fair. You can follow it around the ring with your little pig prodder and most of the time it’ll go where you tell it. But the sucker weighs over three hundred pounds, and if it decides it wants to jump the fence and run down the road, leaving a trail of green poop plops all the way back to the farm, by God it’ll do just that.

 Mine still trotted in obedient circles, but that fence was starting to look damn appealing. I had learned long ago that kindness and/or bribery do not work with my particular pig.Just keep moving, I told it bluntly.I’m tired of wading in crap and you are not adding to the pile .

 As Cole pulled up to theConstance Malloy , I grabbed the dry-cleaning and hopped on deck. I let him take care of the tying off since Wu had appeared on the deck above and leaned over the rail, a toothy smile on his face. “You must be Miss Robinson from the dry-cleaners! Please to come up. I will show you where to hang the clothes.”

 Yeah, he just oozed nice-guy attitude, but he let me climb the ladder to his deck holding three hangers full of heavy brocade and silk clothing. Not an easy feat, especially when you’re anticipating an attack.