“Whatever. I promise I won’t.” He reached for her hand. “Come on over here.”
She took his hand and he pulled her onto his lap. She settled on his thighs, light as a feather, and they kissed—not a long one, but long enough to warm him up.
“There. That’s better. Now… let’s get down to practicalities. Who’s hiring me?”
“I spoke to Dr. Clayton—she’s the acting director.”
Jack felt his insides tighten. “You told her you know me?”
He’d warned Gia about that. Never let on you know me—to anyone. Even your best friend. He’d made too many enemies over the years. And if one of them thought he could get back at him through Gia… or Vicky…
He shuddered.
“No,” Gia said. “I said I knew of someone who might be able to help get the toys back. Didn’t mention any names. Just said I’d try to contact him and see if he was available.”
Jack relaxed. “I guess that’s okay.”
Still, if he got involved in this, it would leave a link—at least in this Dr. Clayton’s mind—between Gia and a guy named Jack who “fixed” something. Probably be okay, but he didn’t like it.
“Well?” she said.
“Well what?”
“Are you available?”
“I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?”
“Well, there’s a problem. I mean, the Center can’t hire me, because I can’t work for a legit business. They’ve got to account for their expenses, and I don’t exactly take checks.”
He didn’t even have a social security number.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay you.”
“Oh, right. Like I’ll take money from you.”
“No, I mean it, Jack. This is my idea. I want this. What’s your usual and customary fee?”
“Forget it.”
“No, I’m serious. Tell me.”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Please?”
“Oh, all right.” He told her.
She gaped at him. “You charge that much?”
“Well, as you said, ‘it’s stupid and dangerous and violent and dangerous’ and if I don’t end up dead I’m going to wind up in jail for the rest of my life. So yeah, that’s what I charge.” He kissed her. “And I’m worth every penny.”
“I’m sure you are. Okay. It’s a deal.”
“No, it’s not. Told you: I’m not taking money from you.”
“But you’ve told me you never do freebies. It’s against your religion or something.”
“It’s just a policy. But let’s forget about money for now. Let’s first see if this is something I can deliver on.”
“Fair enough.” She was staring at the TV screen. “Why do I know that actor?”
“He’s Dwight Frye. You’ve seen him before.”
“Didn’t he play that guy in Dracula who was always eating flies?”
“Until he graduated to ‘big, juicy spiders.’ Yeah. He played Renfield.”
Gia buried her face in his shoulder. “I can’t believe I know that. I’ve been hanging around you much too long.”
“And getting educated in the process. Now… where can I meet this Dr. Clayton?”
“In her office.”
“When?”
“This afternoon at four.”