Author's Note: This story was edited by Tim413413. His work was embarrassingly difficult. I actually think he spent more time on this than I did. Thank you sir!
*****
Jayden put the sleeping Susan into the SUV. They woke up early to beat the Atlanta/Macon traffic. Beverly was feeling a lot better after being woken by an amorous Jayden. The morning affection was one of the good parts of love. The jealousy she brooded about the day before had receded to a small speck of a feeling. Not gone, but manageable. She caressed Jayden's thigh as he drove out of the hotel lot. The petting was becoming natural. Beverly wondered when that started. It was foreign to both of them.
Jayden knew they would reach Fort Myers today. He was concerned about his plan to have Sandra watch Susan. If Marissa caused Beverly heartache, Sandra was bound to double it. They really didn't have a good alternative. He debated waiting to have the discussion to make the trip a bit smoother. He decided it would be better to have the discussion while Susan was asleep.
"I should tell you, I have a past with Sandra," Jayden stated in a neutral tone.
"Sandra who?" Beverly asked.
"The lady who is going to watch Susan," Jayden answered as neutrally as possible. He hoped this would remain a civil conversation.
"What kind of past?" Beverly queried as she retracted her hand from Jayden's leg.
Jayden didn't think there would be a good way to spin it, so he just laid it out, "I hired her for a night."
"You want to leave Susan with a hooker you spent a night with?" Beverly was incredulous. "What is wrong with you?"
"It's not like that... Well sort of," Jayden stammered, defending himself. "She's a really smart woman and the only one I know who isn't involved in any way."
"Well as long as she's a smart hooker!" Beverly exaggerated, "what were you thinking?"
"I was thinking we don't have any better options. I trust Sandra to watch Susan for a day or two as long as we pay her. You think she could be any worse than us? Who would you hire to watch your children, an assassin or a hooker?" Jayden inquired.
Beverly was taken aback by his question. She never thought of herself or Jayden as being unfit to care for Susan. On the surface, it did look like Susan had two poor choices. But Sandra was the unknown quantity.
"She must have really impressed you in one night," Beverly said callously,"what did she do, give you her ass?" Beverly felt the speck of jealousy start to grow again.
Jayden looked into the back seat with a frown. Luckily, Susan was still asleep. "No. She actually gave good fantasy," Jayden replied defensively. "She quickly figured out what excited me, and then we played Cribbage and watched a movie. It was a pleasant evening." Beverly felt the speck grow into a stain. "I feel we can trust her."
"Do you know how fucked up this is?" Beverly asked, seething. She wanted to hate him again. But it was before she meet him. She shouldn't be affected by his past, but it gnawed at her. The bitch figured him out - that's what he said. She hadn't figured him out yet, how could the bitch do it? Love hurts on so many levels.
"You're mad again," Jayden said, trying to keep his temper down. This roller coaster was starting to grate on his nerves. He would have never given Sandra the time of day if he had known Beverly at the time. It wasn't his fault he met Sandra first.
"Yes," Beverly stated smartly while folding her arms across her chest. She hated the way she felt. One minute, everything was right with the world, and the next it all came crashing down. Ways of killing the bitch ran through her head. She looked straight ahead, hating that her eyes were welling up.
Jayden was about to vigorously defend himself. His temper was climbing and Beverly had no right to be angry with his past. He looked over to lay down the law, but stopped when he saw her watery eyes. His stomach churned. Jayden felt like crap. He didn't think he would ever see pain in Beverly's eyes. Anger, yes, but not pain. She was too strong, wasn't she?
"I'm sorry, Beverly." Jayden's tone was contrite. "I would never have touched her if I had known you." He reached over and caressed behind her ear. Beverly leaned into his hand.
"I want to be your pleasant evening." Beverly couldn't believe she said it. A tear started to run down her cheek. She sounded like a blubbering girl. She was a skilled assassin, not a love-struck teenager. Why did his hand feel so good? Why did she hate a hooker she had never met? Why did her insides feel like a sewer?
Jayden took an off ramp and pulled over. He got out of the SUV, walked to the passenger side and opened the door. Beverly had tears running freely and didn't want to look at Jayden. She couldn't control herself. "I don't even know what Cribbage is," she sobbed.
Jayden half climbed into Beverly's seat and surrounded her head with his hands. He pulled her lips to his and kissed her deeply. Beverly melted into him. Tears flowed as she fisted the hair on the back of his head and pulled him tighter. She wanted all of Jayden. Why did there have to be other women in the world? Sharing just wasn't in her nature.
Jayden broke the kiss and whispered, "I love you too." Beverly pulled him back to her lips. They felt so wonderful on hers. She could spend a lifetime on the off ramp. Jayden slipped his lips to her ear. "Let's get Vincent and save Susan. Then I will teach you Cribbage and we'll share a lifetime of pleasant evenings together." Beverly smiled at the thought. She took her jealousy and anger and focused it on Vincent. The sooner he was off the planet, the sooner she and Jayden could move on, together. They were an insurmountable force together.
Beverly lightly pushed Jayden out of the car. "Drive, lover, we have a date with an asshole." Jayden smiled as Beverly's confidence returned. He jogged to the driver's side and climbed in.
Jayden looked over at Beverly as he started the car. "Our last job, baby." He grinned at her tear-stained, smiling face. Beverly loved that grin. She hated herself for breaking down in front of him and loved him for cherishing her because of it.
"Yes, the last job. Let's get the fucker!" Beverly exclaimed as the car pulled forward. An unfathomable future lay before them. Something neither had ever thought they could have. One last job and the world was theirs.
Jayden called Sandra on the burner phone as they passed near Tampa Bay. His "Rolodex" was as sharp as ever. Sandra was a bit surprised Jayden wanted to meet her at her place. Jayden's place was a hell of a lot nicer, but a gold mine is a gold mine. She agreed, gave him the address and started cleaning as soon as the call ended.
Before Jayden's call, Sandra's week was going badly. She was late on the rent and her second attempt at wooing a man at the café was thwarted by a screaming wife and an angry café manager. That was the first time she had felt less than human. The contempt in the wife's eyes told the whole story. She had cried herself to sleep that night.
Jayden's call perked her up. The night she spent with him barely felt like work. She briefly wondered if she should attempt to make the relationship more permanent. A shudder involuntarily traveled her spine. Sandra remembered his almost scary confidence and her thoughts took a step back. Jayden was not the kind of man she wanted a real relationship with. Whatever he was in to, it was best left as a mystery.
Sandra fished through her closet. She found a nice summer dress, softly colored with surrealistic flowers. It was short enough to show some nice leg, but long enough to not look slutty. The thin straps exposed her soft shoulders. It was cut just low enough to hint at her cleavage. In a word, it was cute. That was what Jayden wanted. She would be his girlfriend again tonight. At least it was more fun than being his whore.
The doorbell rang about two hours after Jayden's call. Sandra adjusted the ribbon she had tied her hair with and straightened her dress. "Girlfriend, fiancée," she whispered to herself as she prepared her mind for the role. She moved to the door and opened it with an I'm-so-glad-you're-home smile. The smile disappeared.
When the door opened, Beverly's apprehension was replaced by instant hate. 'Another skinny cute one,' she thought to herself. Why were they all so skinny? How could Jayden like all these twigs and then love her? How she hated the bad parts of love. Jayden grabbed her hand.
"Sandra, this is my girlfriend Beverly," Jayden said proudly for Beverly's benefit, "and this is Susan," he continued, mussing Susan's hair. Beverly's hate went down to dislike with the "girlfriend" honorific.
"I'm not sure I understand, Jayden." Sandra spoke with confusion. She winced at Beverly's eyes. The vision of the wife at the café still smarted and it now looked like there would be a repeat. Her week was still shit.
"Can we come it for a minute?" Jayden asked, not wanting to talk in a public area.
"Ahh... Sure," Sandra stuttered as she stepped aside and reluctantly let in Jayden, Susan and Beverly, who looked like she was about to strangle her. When the door was closed she stood uncomfortably, looking at Jayden.
"Sorry about springing this on you," Jayden apologized. "We are in a tight situation and need someone to take care of Susan for a couple of days." Beverly snarled to herself. Sandra stared in disbelief. She could barely take care of herself, why would anyone think she could care for a child? This week was getting shittier by the minute.
"I don't babysit children, Jayden. You know that," Susan replied forcefully.
"It pays twenty-five hundred a day," Jayden countered. Susan was staring again. "In advance," he added. Susan was doing the math. Five thousand for two days smelled of trouble. A lot of trouble. She really needed the money and Jayden didn't cheat her the first time. But Jayden and Beverly seemed like trouble. Either they were in trouble or they created it. Susan needed more information.
"Why?" Susan inquired. Beverly was surprised she asked. Beverly raised her opinion of Susan by a few notches.
"Can we talk in private?" Jayden asked, glancing quickly at Susan, indicating Susan shouldn't hear this. Beverly didn't like the idea of a private conversation and her opinion of Sandra dropped.
