Jack (Eidolon Black Ops #8) - Maddie Wade Page 0,15
to his room to call Will, he kept up that mantra in his head. It was just friendship, and sex if he was lucky. No emotions involved. Picking up the phone, he felt confident again that he could keep his head on straight with Astrid.
“Hey, bro.”
“Hi, did you get the details on that pap we caught trying to get in here?”
“Hi, Will. How are you, Will? Is Aubrey okay? Why yes, Jack, we’re both fine, thanks for asking.”
Jack rubbed his eyes. “Don’t bust my chops. I’m tired and have my hands full here.”
“Fine, and in answer to your actual question, then yes, I have the details. He’s a photographer working for one of the rags.”
“So, no hidden agenda there? Just your run of the mill parasite.”
“Exactly.”
“Any news on Frederick?”
He’d started to refer to his father as Frederick to distance himself mentally. He knew one day soon he may have to take the man down, and while he knew it was right and he’d do it, he also knew it would cost him. They were essentially the Queen’s private mercenaries and killing people was part of the job. It didn’t matter how shitty a father he was or what he’d done though, Jack knew killing the man who’d given him life would gouge a hole inside him that he’d never come back from.
“I might have a lead in Canada, but it’s tentative. I have Kanan checking it out for me.”
“Kanan is in Canada?”
“He is now. He flew out this morning to check it out.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Secrets were something that had almost wrecked his relationship with his little brother. They’d promised not to keep any more after it had come out that Will was the mystery investor behind Eidolon and owned the company. Jack was now a fifty per cent shareholder, but it had been rough going for a while.
“If I tell you about every little lead, I’d be on the phone every few minutes. I wanted to check it out and wait until we had something substantial before I told you.”
“Fine but keep me in the loop on this one.”
“I will.”
“How’s my favourite sister-in-law?”
“Fine. She’s working so I’m home alone.”
“Eating your body weight in red liquorice laces I bet.”
“If you tell her, I’ll hack all your passwords and change them.”
“Fine, I won’t, but can you do me a favour?”
“What?”
“Can you email me the background check we did on Astrid?”
“Sure. Why?”
“No reason, I just want to check something in her file.”
“It should be in your inbox now. Is she working out okay?”
“Yes, she’s perfect.”
“Perfect hey? That doesn’t sound like a very Jack thing to say. Is there a story there?”
“I’m hanging up now, Will. Give my love to Aubrey.”
He clicked his phone off and went to his email and clicked on the link Will had sent. He wondered if there were any more clues to what Astrid was hiding from him, and he had no doubt she was hiding something. A better man would wait for her to tell him, but he wasn’t a better man; he was a cautious one.
Chapter Six
Astrid stayed two paces behind Queen Lydia as they moved down the line greeting guests at the Governor’s reception. She had half an ear on what they were saying, and the other listening out for potential threats. She was armed as much as she could be in a formal dress—her stiletto had a blade in the heel, and the pocket of her gown gave her access to the small pistol in her thigh holster.
The most dangerous weapon in the room was Jack Granger in a tux. She’d almost swallowed her tongue when she’d seen him. He looked like he could slip into the role of James Bond at any second. He’d caught her eye from across the room and she felt every single touch of his eyes on her as they burned a trail of heat over her skin.
Astrid had studiously avoided making eye contact since then and was relieved he’d positioned himself towards the back of the room. She was seated three seats down from the Monarch and next to the Trade and Industry Minister and his wife. The food was high quality, but she hardly tasted it as she took small bites and pushed it around her plate. Luckily, there was some crazy rule that when the Queen stopped eating and laid her knife and fork down, so did everyone else, so she didn’t have to fake it for long.
Waggs, Decker, and Liam were in the room,