Burn Out *18+*

Chapter 18

Zara looked incredible the next day. As much as I wanted to let my mind run wild, she was my focus now. And her red tuxedo was thunderous. A high collared, white lace blouse beneath brought a spark of femininity as well as some Christmas charm. The pants were long enough to cover her high heels entirely and she looked like some kind of sultry Mrs. Claus.

"What are we thinking for hair and makeup?" she wondered, eyeing herself up in her full-length mirror with obvious satisfaction.

"Hair goes up, I'm thinking a bun like you normally have it. I found some little snowflake pins that we can poke in if you are feeling it. Makeup is going to be simple. Your tux speaks enough. I would do a high gloss lip and some subtle shimmer on the eyes," I rambled.

A door opened and closed when Jasper entered the dressing room. While his wife was dressed to kill – festively of course – he looked as casual as ever, apparently opting for a lazy day with Dallas. "You look stunning," he praised, taking his wife's hand and giving her a little twirl.

"You don't think I'm going to fill tabloids with this look, do you?" she asked.

"Of course, you will," Jasper murmured. "You're here to make history, my love." His voice was filled with pride and his eyes filled with love. Then, he turned to me and all of that faded away. "Are you done prepping? I need to brief you on your assignment."

I had to get ready for the gala myself, but my wine-coloured gown would have to wait. What the hell had Dex done to make him my assignment? And how was I supposed to deal with him being my date after I had pretty much spit in his face and told him to fuck off? Most importantly, how was I going to use this to get access to information that would get me closer to my mother?

Jasper led me to a secluded part of the palace, guiding me to a small room that was not too far from mine. And seeing Dex's stuff splayed out on a four-poster bed, knowing that he had been here, right under my nose the whole time, felt like an insult. It made me feel a little better when Dex's expression was one of shock.

"London, what are you doing here?" he blurted as if he had more right to be in Zara's palace than I did.

"Care to fill us in, Jasper?" I asked, trying to keep the venom out of my voice.

"Well, obviously, you know that Dexter received a threatening letter," Jasper began. I did my best not to flinch, but I was no match for the agent within Jasper. He took one look at my face, quirked one of his eyebrows, and sighed. "Okay, guess not."

"I said that I'm not worried about the letter. Besides, the letter is gone." Dex's protest was weak at best.

"Ah yes, the vanishing letter," Jasper said. "Just because evidence is gone, doesn't mean that the case stops. And, I feel that if you were concerned enough to come to me with it, then it must have some merit. As someone who works in protective services, I need to take all threats seriously. If we dismissed this as nothing and something happened to you, I would never forgive myself."

I felt like I had been punched in the chest. When had this happened? I almost opened my mouth to demand why Dexter hadn't told me, then remembered our last meeting when he had shown up at my house. How could I reasonably expect him to come to me after something like that? I had been so caught up in my own drama I hadn't even considered that something could have happened to him.

"Great, now that we have that covered, we can move along. I know that you were barred from any work within the organization, but you are clearly not thriving. This is going to be a good distraction so that you can focus on something other than your mom."

Brown eyes snapped to my face. "Lonny, what happened to your mom?"

"Oh Jesus Christ," Jasper groaned, scraping a hand over his face.