Stone Cold Seduction - By Jess Macallan Page 0,1

of silver. Most days, they reflect a sense of calm and knowledge that you associate with the very old, very patient, and very wise.

The strange thing: he’s only thirty-four.

While I stared at him, unable to form a coherent explanation, he leaned out of the window and softly cleared his throat. “Hi, boss.”

His voice reminded me of my favorite chocolate. Dark, smooth, and so delicious, you can only eat one small bite at a time, because you want to wrap it around yourself to savor every little bit. Too bad this was the wrong place, wrong time.

Thankful for the dark of night, I offered him a stiff smile he probably couldn’t see. “Hi, Jax. Fancy meeting you here.”

He crossed his arms and settled against the window frame as if he had all night. One black brow lifted, but he said nothing.

Jax was good at silence. There were days he’d work for hours without saying a single word. I didn’t get the impression he was anti-social, just quiet and observant. He didn’t miss a thing, but he rarely offered his two cents. His silent presence was usually calming. Right now, I felt anything but calm.

Gritting my teeth in disgust, mostly at myself, I lifted my gaze toward the dark October night sky. He was going to be difficult, and I didn’t have time to offer up the harsh details of why I was here. Plus, I really wanted to get out of this catsuit. Sweat accumulated in uncomfortable places when wearing leather.

Teryl would have to die for this.

“I know this looks bad, but if you’d let me—” I bit off the rest of my words when Jax’s head whipped around to look at something in my father’s office. He put a hand up to silence me.

I heard the voices, and my blood ran cold. My heart began to pound hard against my chest. If my father’s men found me… I couldn’t even finish the thought as my stomach began to churn. I wondered if jumping would be a better option.

Jax motioned for me to remain quiet, and he carefully climbed onto the ledge without making a sound. He managed to close the window most of the way before the men walked into the room.

I inched my way over, so Jax could slide beside me on the slippery, narrow brick ledge.

At least I’ll die with a gorgeous man, I thought morbidly, trying not to panic.

I could hear the men shuffling around in the room, their voices tense and angry. Holding my breath, I kept as still as I could. I’d never been this close to being caught. I felt knots forming into hard, heavy lumps in my stomach as I pressed into the stone wall.

“Mr. Warlow is gonna be pissed if another one goes missing,” a raspy voice pronounced.

“That’s an understatement” was the sarcastic reply.

I didn’t recognize the first voice, but I knew the second.

It haunted me.

I hadn’t seen Luke for over ten years. Hearing his voice…it was as if the nightmare had ended only yesterday. Except it hadn’t really ended. I’d merely been given a reprieve.

Luke is my father’s right-hand goon. He is pure nastiness behind an ugly mug of a face. Built like a tank, Luke enjoys inflicting pain in ways that go far beyond disturbing. No amount of therapy or medication would ever get through to him. Some people are born evil, and Luke fit that description to a T. I had nightmares about that man more often than I liked to admit.

If he was involved tonight, things were going to get ugly, soon. I pushed distant memories into the furthest corners of my mind and laid my cheek against the cold, wet stone. It would be embarrassing if I got caught and cried in front of Jax in the same night.

On the bright side, if Luke was on the job, my father must be getting irritated. Maybe I was finally getting results. It thrilled and terrified me at the same time.

“Seriously man, we’ve got to find this bastard.” The raspy voice sounded slightly panicked. “This will be the third one in four months. You know how Mr. Warlow is. Heads will roll.”

Luke’s reply was muffled, and I sent up a quick thanks. I didn’t want to hear anything he might have to say about what he’d do when he caught me.

I could hear the men moving things around, probably looking for the small bag of gemstones I had secured against my chest. Were the police on their way? I