Free Agent S5: Jaydan by Joni Hahn

scan, he hadn’t been seen since his disappearance a few months ago.”
    “He’s heard of us. Any ties to Matheson?”
    “Not that I can find,” Mitchell said. “Think he’s working with him?”
    Jaydan shrugged. The thought had crossed his mind that the entire note and luau situation had been a setup. He was convinced McCall sent the note.
    But, to set him up? His gut said otherwise.
    “I don’t think so, Mitchell. He helped me tonight until Matheson showed up. Then, he disappeared.”
    “And Hope?”
    Beautiful, sexy, cool under pressure Hope. He’d destroyed her tonight.
    He could never forgive himself for it.
    “She’s determined to see this through, Mitchell.”
    “You’d better damn well make sure she returns unharmed. If you don’t, Luke will have your head on a pike.”

Chapter 7
     
    Hope punched her pillow before settling her cheek against the cool cotton. Bathed in total darkness, the room swaddled her in feigned comfort, her phone playing Taylor Swift on the nightstand.
    “Get over it, Hope. It was a quick, lusty romp. That’s all.”
    Why did she make a big deal of it? Her friends slept with just about every guy they dated. Why should she admonish herself like this?
    You don’t sleep around .
    So, why did she sleep with Jaydan Rose, of all people?
    She buried her face in the soft down. God, she’d acted like a complete tramp. A whore.
    He’d ripped her clothes from her body .
    Shaking her head, she tried to make it go away. However, she knew it would haunt her the rest of her life. She’d let him take her, use her like some insecure, lovesick schoolgirl. He’d discarded her when he was done and told her he was sorry.
    Uuugggh …
    You’re a better person than that, Hope .
    She was better. She’d come a long way.
    Tonight, she lost what little ground she’d held.
    Flipping onto her back, she cursed the tears that trailed down her temples and into her hair. To deny the sex had satisfied her, thrilled her, would be a lie. As a mater of fact, she’d gained from the experience.
    She knew what excited her - and what mistakes she wouldn’t make again.
    She’d had sex with Jaydan Rose. She refused to call it making love anymore. He had the body of a Greek sculpture, the dark, rugged good looks of a cowboy and one of the most adventurous and dangerous jobs in the world. If she had to lose her self-respect to a man again, she’d hit overachiever status.
    Blue ribbon for you, Hope .
    Laying the back of her hand against her forehead, she sighed. Funny, how it’d been nothing like her vision. No tenderness, no heartfelt passion, no slow, luxurious lovemaking.
    Just blinding lust.
    It was times like these that she wished her mother were around. She would’ve understood her despair.
    Hope was only five years old when Kimberly DePaul Powers lost her battle with cancer. To this day, she was the best friend Hope had ever known.
    Warm memories of playing dress up with her mother had given Hope her love of fashion. She couldn’t count the number of times her father walked in on them laughing as they paraded in front of the mirror wearing feather boas and tiaras. When Hope raucously insisted they bury Kim with her favorite, hot pink boa, Luke had indulged her.
    He even smiled when Hope wore her favorite tiara to the funeral.
    Fisting the hand on her forehead, she told herself to woman-up. She had no one to talk to, and no one to blame but herself.
    It was time to get on with the task at hand. Now that they’d found Keegan, they had to figure out how to get her back to Natalie.
    Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind to prepare for a remote view. She had to connect with Keegan again to learn her mental state, to see her thoughts now that she knew they were in Hawaii.
    Why she’d suddenly backed away from her earlier, Hope didn’t know. Something had happened but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what she’d done to cause her reaction.
    She did know the reason for the light in