I grimaced. "I wasn't Lucian's sole bed partner. Not only was he bedding a dark sorceress, but we're pretty sure the two of them were partners in crime with the sorcerer who stole the keys."
"Well, speaking from experience, the man had to have superman's stamina if he could cope with more than you in his bed."
I raised an eyebrow. "You and I are over, so you really can stop with all the compliments."
"Hey, throwing a compliment doesn't mean I want back in your bed. I mean, yeah, I'd love it, but I've come to accept it's not going to happen." He paused, then added more seriously, "So we're looking for something to pin down the sorceress?"
"No, because we know who she is. However, we're not looking for anything. I'm looking. I don't believe you were invited to this particular party."
"Unfortunately, you're stuck with me. I mean, considering the options and all, what choice do you have?"
"That sounded like a threat, and really? That's not a place you want to go."
"It wasn't so much a threat," he murmured. "Not considering you could probably get your uncle to throw my ass into jail or erase my memory."
"Then what the hell was it?"
"More a… reminder. I know what I know, simply because I have the contacts. Contacts you still need."
I should have been annoyed, but the reality was, he was right. I'd gone to Jak in the first place because of those contacts, and I still very much needed them.
But given the fact that everything that could go wrong had gone wrong, I at least owed him the chance to back away. Not that I thought he would – not when the scent of a story was in his nostrils.
"Jak, the people who want the keys are threatening the life of everyone I care about." I met his gaze again, hoping he'd see that I was totally serious. "The more you attach yourself to this quest, the more likely the chance of you becoming one of its victims."
"And tomorrow I could die crossing the road," he said, with a shrug.
"Jak, I'm not kidding —"