Jennifer Rardin - [Jaz Parks 1] - Once Bitten, Twice Shy

'Goddammit, I didn't come all this way to blow smoke up your ass, Daz. Don't go through that door!'

He looked straight at me. 'You haven't called me Daz since West Virginia. Not even in my dreams.' It was my pet name for him, the one I'd used to remind him he was a part of me despite his hip friends, his athletic prowess, his ability to make even little old librarians laugh.

'You haven't called me at all,' I whispered.

He murmured orders into the radio and waited, Neither of us spoke. I didn't want to spook him further. He didn't want to understand how I was, and wasn't, there. I heard frantic whispering.

'You were right, Jaz. The door is wired like a bale of hay.'

'Good. Good. I'm glad you listened. Thanks.'

'Thank you.' He shucked his goggles and looked at me then, making sure I saw that he meant it for himself. But he meant it even more for his team, twelve men and three women who kicked terrorist ass all over the globe without most people even knowing they existed. 'It's…' he grimaced, 'it's not easy keeping them all alive. I know that now.'

It was the closest he'd ever come to apologizing about the rift he'd opened between us.

I just nodded. 'I have to go.' I had stood in the eye of the storm as long as I could. It was pulling me back, now, blowing me home.

David held onto me with his eyes, which had suddenly filled with alarm. 'How did you do this, Jazzy? You're not… dead are you? Because you look awful damn ghostly standing there.'

'No,' I laughed uneasily, 'of course not. I'm just weird.'

Relief cleared David's expression. 'Okay, then. I'll… I'll call you. Soon. I promise.'

'I'm holding you to that one, Daz. Take care.'

I let the storm whip me away from my twin and his crew. Back to the gypsy den I flew, dropping into myself at a jarring rate of speed. I gasped and looked around. Lucky me, somehow I'd made it onto one of the couches. Cole, Bergman and Cassandra hovered over me like emergency room nurses.

'Wow, what just happened?' I asked. 'I mean, what did I say?'

'Not much,' Cole told me. 'You just went white and started to sway, so we sat you down here. You said 'David' a few times. Is that your…'

'Brother,' I supplied. 'My twin.'

Cole looked impressed. 'A twin. Wow. I'd have bet money they broke the mold after you.'

'Thanks, I think.'

Cassandra was wringing her hands, looking more and more agitated. 'But, now, surely there is someone you can call? Someone who can stop David before…'

'Yes, of course,' I said, inserting worry into my voice. No sense in sharing the story of my latest adventure right now. Maybe later, when I could figure out a way to keep it from sounding like a bad episode of Star Trek.

I dug my phone out of my pocket. 'Is there a place I can talk privately?' I asked.

Cassandra nodded, ushering the men out of the room and gently closing the door.

I dialed a number without even thinking about it. I was probably even more surprised than Albert when he answered the phone to find me on the other end.

'Dad?'

'Jasmine? What's wrong?'

'Nothing, now. There was something, but it's okay.' I stopped. Had to. Tears had thrown a hitch into my voice, and the next step was crying on the phone to Daddy. No. Way. Maybe Albert sensed that because the next thing he said was, 'The nurse came. Damndest thing, Jaz, she's a he! I mean, Shelby's a fella. He was a medic in the marines, can you believe it? Plays a mean game of poker too.'

'Really? That's great!' I put so much bright and perky into my tone a cheerleader would've gagged.

Albert took a second to wipe the crap out of his ear, then he said, 'Jasmine, hang up. I'm calling you back on the other phone.'

'Okay.' I disconnected. I sat on the couch and waited, and when the phone rang I punched the button and said, 'Dad, you don't have another phone.'

'Yes, I do.' He sounded more serious, more like the dad I'd grown up admiring and fearing, than he had in years. 'It's safe to talk. I have a scrambled line.'

'Dad, did you just eat a big piece of chocolate cake? Because you said 'scrambled line' when I'm pretty sure you meant to say 'scrambled eggs.''

'I'll make this quick, because Shelby's in the kitchen whipping up a meal he says I'll actually eat and I don't want him getting curious. I have a scrambled line because when I retired from the service I did some freelance work for the C.I.A. Still consult for them from time to time, which is why I still have the phone.'

'But… you retired because of the diabetes. Why would—'

'Didn't have it then,' said Albert. 'What I did have was some expertise in military intelligence that the C.I.A. thought they could use. The diabetes, well, that turned out to be a case of life imitating lies.' He paused, giving it time to sink in. Then he went on. 'I know what you do for a living, Jaz. Have from the start. So when you call sounding like you just dodged a cannonball, I'm naturally going to want to help out. So, first of all, are you really o.k.?'

I thought about it. 'No, but I'm not in any danger.' After another second I added, 'At the moment.'