Vanishing Point - Marc Cerasini [26]
In the beginning, Jack believed this undercover assignment would allow him time to visit his family — a weekend here and there, at the very least. Los Angeles was just a few hours away from Vegas by car, even quicker by plane. And Christopher Henderson agreed that an occasional visit would not jeopardize the success of the mission.
During the first two months, Jack had made several trips to see his family. But each homecoming proved more difficult than the last. There was a world of difference between Jack Bauer, loving husband and father, and the dangerous, violent double-life of Jaycee Jager. To his dismay, Jack discovered that he could not easily bridge that gap. After playing the role of Jager twenty-four hours a day, for weeks on end, shifting personas proved difficult. The last time he'd been home, Jack actually felt alienated from his own family. Instead of the respite it was supposed to be, life in his own home seemed to sap more of Jack's energy than his undercover existence at the Cha-Cha Lounge.
So Jack stopped going home, warning Teri that he would be "overseas" for an extended and as yet undetermined period of time. Of course, his wife accepted his explanation. She always did. Teri had learned to accept the nature of his work and no longer asked questions.
Jack secretly worried that if she knew the truth, she'd be as relieved to see him go as he was to be gone.
By his side, Jack felt Stella move again. She wrapped her warm, naked body around his. The woman's knee curled and he felt the platinum bells circling her ankle tickle his calf. Holding him close, she sighed and muttered something in her sleep. He noticed her bright pink lipstick was smeared from their quick, passionate coupling.
He'd brought Stella up to the tiny suite of rooms that doubled as Jaycee Jager's home and his office. As soon as the door had closed behind them, she'd thrown herself at him, her physical demands insistent and unconstrained. He'd surrendered, knowing she would be more pliable to his questioning after their tryst.
Jack hadn't heard from Jaycee Jager's volatile girlfriend in over a week, but he was impressed with the woman's timing. Stella was connected to the underbelly of this city; and, thus far, her knowledge had proven accurate and useful. Now he was hoping she'd gotten wind of Hugo Bix's scheme to peddle classified technology to lowlife gambling cheats. Why should she know? Because before Jaycee Jager had rolled in from КС, Stella Hawk had belonged to Bix.
Jack had already planned to grill the woman when their paths crossed again. If she hadn't shown up today, he would have sent Curtis over to the Babylon to fetch her. But she had shown up... and now that Stella had her "afternoon delight," as she put it, it was time to collect some answers.
Jack sat up and ran his hands through his hair. He pulled the sheets aside and slapped Stella's naked bottom. "Wake up, doll. I gotta get back to work."
The woman's eyes flew open and she squealed in protest.
"Get up or I'll give it to you again." Jack forced a grin, and she moved out of his way.
"Cut it out, Jaycee!" Stella cried, rubbing her tender flesh. "I've got a show tonight and I hate wearing that damn body makeup."
Despite her protests, Stella's luminous eyes laughed and her generous mouth was smiling. She sat up in bed, not bothering to cover her nakedness. Her wanton behavior came as no surprise. Stella had once told Jaycee that strutting completely nude on stage five nights a week had pretty much annihilated any shred of modesty she may have possessed, but Jack doubted she'd ever had a shred of modesty. The woman he'd gotten to know was the most uninhibited female he'd ever met.
"I need some coffee, Jaycee," Stella moaned, one hand pulling back her hair.
"I'll have someone bring it up."
While Jack made the call from a phone on the nightstand, Stella rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with the backs of her hands, then