slammed the door behind her.
“This better be good,” Jack said as he answered the phone.
“Better than good,” Logan said. “I found out some very interesting things while visiting Mexico. Things that I can’t share over an open phone line.”
“Any trouble?”
“No more than usual, though I ran into a couple of goons who didn’t care for my questions.”
“You always did have trouble keeping your mouth shut. How soon can you get back to London?”
“I’m about to fly out of Mexico City. I’ll be there by midafternoon.”
“See you then.” Jack disconnected and went to search out Leanne. He’d never met a woman he couldn’t talk out of her mad, and he was in the mood to finish what they’d started.
Gabe felt like he’d been run over by a truck. He and Grace were standing upright against the wall, their bodies still joined and the sweat cooling on their skin. She shivered as chill bumps covered her skin.
“You’re cold.” He didn’t recognize the sound of his voice. It was raspy—lethargic—and then he cursed himself for speaking at all as she stiffened in his arms.
He pulled out of her slowly and watched her face as their bodies separated. She closed her eyes and covered her breasts with her arms. Gabe fell back into the chair, his legs weak and his mind muddled. An apology was on the tip of his tongue just as his phone chimed a series of beeps.
“I have to get that. It’s Ethan.”
Grace passed him his phone and said, “I’m going to take a shower and get some sleep.” Her voice was steady, but he could feel the emotion vibrating just under the surface.
He let the phone continue to beep as he watched her. “Grace, I…”
“Don’t apologize, Gabe. We both know we would have ended up here eventually.”
“We still have things unsettled between us.”
“Answer the phone, Gabe. You’ve always been able to have my body. I accept that. But my mind is my own. Nothing will ever be settled between us.” She walked out of the room—gloriously naked—the impression of his fingers already showing up on her skin as pale blue bruises.
“What?” Gabe growled into the phone.
“Is this a bad time?” Ethan asked.
“No more than usual. What’s going on?”
“Standridge is in Boston. I figured you’d like to take an impromptu trip to pay him a little visit.”
“Yeah, we’ll take care of it.” Gabe rubbed his eyes with his thumb and first finger and thought of sleep.
“I’ll send his address and a map to your phone.”
“Thanks. Has Logan checked in with you guys?”
“Not with me, but he might have called Jack.”
Gabe raised his brows at the way Ethan said Jack’s name. “Is there a problem with Jack?”
“Everything’s great. He’s screwing himself across London last I checked.”
Gabe laughed at Ethan’s obvious disgruntlement. “He doesn’t mean anything by it. It’s just the way he is. You’ll get used to him.”
“Yeah, like a hole in the head. Let me know what happens with Standridge. Are you going to try and bring him back with you?”
“We’ll play it by ear.”
“How’s the mercenary? Has she had any more lucrative offers while you’ve been gone?”
“Lay off, Ethan. She’s doing what she’s supposed to.” He knew he sounded harsher than he should have, and Ethan was a smart enough guy to pick up on it. The silence on the other end of the line told him Ethan understood he’d gone too far.
“I apologize, sir.” Gabe rolled his eyes at the formal title and the sullen attitude. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m expected online for a
The line went dead, and Gabe was left alone with his thoughts.
“Shit.” Alone with his thoughts was the last place he wanted to be. He put his clothes back on and went to talk to the pilot. It looked like they were headed to Boston.
Jack whistled tunelessly as he made his way through the dark streets of Westminster. His body was relaxed and his muscles thoroughly stretched. That woman could fuck like a thoroughbred and had the stamina to match. But it was time to cut her loose. In his mind, after a couple of nights together, a woman started to think in terms of relationships. And he didn’t do relationships. At least not anymore. He’d learned his lesson. And he’d be damned if he repeated his mistakes.
Unlike Gabe and Grace. He shook his head as he thought of his friends. They were both just begging for more heartache, and by the looks of Grace, he didn’t think she could take too much more. Jack had told Gabe they were being too obvious about their involvement, and damned if Ethan hadn’t already picked up on it. It would be best for everyone if Gabe and Grace could put their problems on hold until after the mission was over, but Jack knew them too well. He just hoped they were both still standing once the dust cleared.
He breathed in the night air. His thoughts were clear and his eyes alert. Sex didn’t muddle his brain—it made everything come into sharp focus. So he noticed immediately when he picked up the two tails. They weren’t trying to be subtle. They were big bruisers, but he’d faced down bigger.
He kept his pace steady, and his eyes saw everything. He was only a couple of blocks from headquarters, and he had to assume the Worthington Financial cover had been compromised.
One of the men split off, and Jack assumed he was going to try to loop around and take him from the front. Jack kept his hands loose at his sides and almost welcomed the fight. It had been a long time since he’d gotten into a good brawl. His fists ached for the contact.
He turned off the main street into a narrow alleyway. The smell of rotten garbage was overwhelming, and rats scurried from dumpster to dumpster, looking for food. Jack leaned back against a brick wall and waited patiently.
The two men didn’t disappoint him. They blocked his escape, one on each end of the alley, and moved toward him. They were scruffy and sported black leather jackets. The one on his left was just shy of six feet, but was thickly muscled. He had a tattoo that snaked up his neck and scrolled around his eye. The other guy was taller and leaner. He had dirty-blond hair tied back in a tail and carried a crowbar like he knew how to use it.
“What can I do for you boys?” Jack asked with a lazy smile. He made sure his posture was relaxed but kept his feet spread for balance. “I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before.”
“We’re going to ask you a couple of questions, mate,” Tattoo said. “If we don’t like the answers, then you’re going to suffer.” Brass knuckles gleamed in the streetlight, and he flexed his meaty fingers. His accent was thick enough that some of his words were unintelligible, but Jack got the gist.
“Well, you’re certainly welcome to ask. When you’re done, I’d like to ask you guys some questions too.”
The guy with the ponytail came up on him fast. The crowbar grazed his ribs just before Jack grabbed the guy’s wrist and squeezed. He felt the bone give beneath his fingers, and the guy sucked in a silent scream. The crowbar fell to the ground with a clatter.
Tattoo rushed him from the opposite side, and a fist in the gut with those brass knuckles stole Jack’s breath. The flash of silver had him dodging on instinct, and a wicked blade cut into the flesh of his arm instead of burying itself straight into his heart.
“This was my favorite shirt, asshole.” He gave two short jabs to the guy who’d stabbed him, bringing him to his knees. Jack snapped his neck with a quick twist of his hands and watched the guy slump into the garbage where he belonged.
Jack put his foot on the neck of the other guy and grabbed his broken wrist. His eyes were pain filled, and his breath came in shallow pants. “Now, I’m going to ask you a couple of questions, mate, and you’re going to answer me. Do we understand each other?”
The guy nodded, and his eyes glazed over as Jack squeezed his wrist. “Yeah, man. But I swear I don’t know anything.”
“Wrong answer.” Jack squeezed a little harder, and the man squealed. “Who hired you?”
