had dated. There was no posturing with Jack, no attempts to impress or need for ego stroking. He was sweet, funny, and charming. Something about him just hit all of Fitz’s buttons.
“Thank you for lunch,” Jack said as he washed up their plates after insisting on it.
“Thank you for… everything.” Fitz’s smile faded when Jack turned around, his expression filled with worry. “What is it?”
Jack dried his hands on a dish towel and leaned back against the counter. “I need to talk to you about last night.”
Fitz nodded, his heart in his throat. “Which part?”
“The part where I came looking for you because I was worried about you. After we danced, King came to let me know Frank needed me. I went to his office, and Frank was having trouble accessing information on his computer. When I scanned his system, a message window popped up. It said, ‘Can you trust him?’ and was followed by photos…”
Fitz leaned back against the island counter and gripped the edge tight, his stomach threatening to reacquaint him with his lunch. “What kind of photos?”
“Of you and Sacha sitting on the beach talking. I thought maybe someone was trying to get between me and my best friend, but then I realized someone had purposefully lured me into Frank’s office to show me those pictures. I needed to check on you, and that’s when I found you.”
“Drugged.”
Jack nodded. “On some guy’s lap.”
A cold shiver went through Fitz, and he didn’t hesitate in walking into Jack’s arms when Jack stepped toward him. Jack pulled him into a hug, and Fitz welcomed the embrace. In Jack’s arms, he was safe. It made no sense, feeling like this with a man he barely knew. No, that wasn’t true. He knew plenty about Jack. He’d just learned about him through their friends rather than through Jack himself. He’d have to change that. Jack held him close, one hand rubbing soothing circles on his back.
“I’ll find whoever did this. I promise you.”
Why would someone want Jack to distrust him? Enough for them to drug him. Fitz gasped and pulled away. “This is about you.”
“What?”
“They sent you pictures of me and your best friend alone on the beach together at night, then they drug me, and you find me with some other guy all over me. For all they knew, you’d see me and decide that was it. Any other guy would have.”
Jack frowned but didn’t deny it.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“I’m not ruling anything out until I have more information. I wish I could say it’s not likely, but I’ve seen all kinds of messed-up stuff in my career, and I’m not talking about my time in SF.”
“SF?”
“Special Forces.”
Fitz lifted a hand to run it through his hair and found it was shaking.
“Hey.” Jack gently took hold of his wrist and slipped his hand into Fitz’s before bringing their hands to his chest over his heart. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“But something already happened,” Fitz replied, his voice almost a whisper.
“I know. I wasn’t aware something was going on, and I’m sorry. But I know now. I don’t suppose you’d let me assign you one of our security officers?”
Fitz blinked at him until he realized what Jack was suggesting. “A bodyguard?” He pulled his hand out of Jack’s and took a quick step back. “You think I need a bodyguard?”
“I don’t think anything at this point. It would just be a precaution. And might deter any further threats.”
“Or they’ll double down and take more drastic measures.”
Jack seemed to think about it. “Whoever did this is good. I had Leo try to find something that could tell us where the photos came from, and we hit a dead end. They were sent from a tiny public library in Madeira Beach with one user interface and no security cameras, but the photos were sent remotely. They were bounced around the world, so there’s no telling where they originated, but judging from the angle, they were shot from the water. Joker mentioned seeing some boats on the water that night. We believe the photos were taken by someone on one of those boats.”
“Shit. Are you saying Leo can’t find this person?”
“I’m saying this person is good enough to cover their tracks, but what they did wasn’t hard for someone who’s good at what they do. That doesn’t mean they’ll be able to pull off something bigger as successfully. Every hacker thinks they’re the best, but there’s always someone better.”