home in Mexico, and it’s all quiet.”
“And how do we know this?”
“Because you’re one of us and the second Roz heard someone attacked you, she pulled Mustique and Laverne in and sent them to Mexico.”
“She shouldn’t have done that. This is my mess.”
“Hey!”
“No!”
Both Jack and Bebe started to speak, and Bebe let him go first with a knowing grin but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t have her blaming herself for any of this. Jack strode forward, his hand reaching for Astrid and pulling her against his body, surprised when she came so easily.
“Don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your mess as you put it, this is on Ravelino and what happened with Adeline. It’s natural you’d go looking for your sister. God knows I chased Will across the world when he went off half-cocked to save Aubrey, and I’d do it again because he’s my brother and I love him. Of course you’d look for Adeline.”
She looked up at him her eyes twinkling. “Does Will know how lucky he is to have you?”
Jack pursed his lips and shook his head sadly. “No, and I try and tell him at least once a day, too.”
Astrid laughed, and he felt the tightness in his chest loosen. “Idiot.”
Bebe pointed a thumb back towards her room. “As that’s out of the way, I’ll get back to work. I have a few leads to follow up, and I’m meeting an informant later.”
“You need back-up?” Jack didn’t like the idea of anyone working this alone, and it had nothing to with their sex. He knew the women of Zenobi were easily as deadly as his men, not least because people never saw it coming with them.
“No, this one is a little jumpy, so if I show up with back-up, he’ll run.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, now go rest, and I assume tomorrow is as planned?”
“Not sure. I meet with Fitz in the morning, and we’ll decide.”
“Let me know.”
Astrid grabbed some stuff and shoved it in a bag before they made their way back to his room down the hall.
Jack used the key card and cleared the room with Astrid beside him, her own weapon drawn. He liked that she was as dangerous and confident as he was. Something about a strong woman was attractive to him, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to take care of her, which was new.
Normally he found that part of a relationship exhausting, the constant need to think about someone else and consider their feelings. Still, with Astrid, it was coming naturally, and they weren’t even in a relationship. The truth was he didn’t know what they were, just that it was important to him in a way nothing that had come before had been. Was it love? Not yet, but he could see it going that way very easily.
Astrid dumped her bag on the floor in the middle of the room and turned, flopping on the bed. “What do you want to eat?”
“Not bothered as long as it has meat.”
Astrid cocked her head. “Neanderthal.”
Jack laughed. “No, I just like my protein and it’s good for healing.”
“Is that a scientific fact or a Jack fact?”
He sat beside her, his shoulder bumping hers. “Is there a difference?”
“Um, I’m thinking not in your world.” She grabbed the room service menu from the table across the room and paced towards him as she looked through it. “How about steak and fries?”
“How about steak and new potatoes and we can share some chocolate cake?”
“Jack, something you should know about me before this, whatever this is, goes any further and it’s that I do not share chocolate cake. Ever.”
He tugged her hand until she was standing in front of him, wincing when his shoulder protested but not caring, he wanted her close. Her scent teased him, and he knew the only reason he’d let Aubrey leave that damned scented candle at his place last time she visited was that it reminded him of Astrid.
“Good to know, but I feel I need to set things straight about my expectations from you.”
Astrid shook her head. “No, you don’t, Jack. I get it. You made it clear it’s just sex, nothing more, and I have no expectations of anything else.” She tried to put space between them by pulling away, so they weren’t touching, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“Will you let me get a word in edgewise?” He ran his hands up the back of her firm thighs, the skin supple and warm as her hands rested on his shoulders.
Astrid squinted