"Yeah, I suppose."
"Tell me about your sister?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. AJ was like every other big sister, I suppose. Annoying. As a kid I desperately wanted her to see me, you know? She was always off at some tennis tournament or something. And there are some moments where I had to miss football matches and things because she was so damn good at tennis, and I really had to be there and see it. There were moments I was jealous of her. I always thought I was never going to be some wildly famous football player. But she—she could have gone all the way. But, you know, other than the annoying brother-sister stuff, we were close."
"You two seem so close now."
He nodded. "We are. I don't know, though. Something changed that night. There was a party at our house. Mom and Dad… We'll just say they were noticeably absent for a lot of our teenage years. God only knows where they were at the time. I still remember the look on AJ's face after Jameson left her bedroom. She looked shell-shocked. I didn't know what to do or what to say, how to offer her comfort.” He released a ragged sigh. “So I just placed a hand on her back and rubbed. It was a gesture I remembered Mom used to do for me when I was little. As it was, I didn't get much myself in the way of comfort. I didn't realize how much I really missed it. Not that I needed much, but that easy knowledge that somebody was there and cared for me would have been nice."
The deep timbre of his voice sent a lull through me, even though I was the one comforting him.
"AJ was never really the same after that."
"Did you try talking to her?"
"I did. All the time. I can understand Mom and Dad not knowing, but me, I was her brother. I saw it. I had to always take it upon myself to protect her. From what I didn't know. I'd never thought I'd have to protect her from a mate. Someone I knew well from school. She tried to tell me he'd just called her names. That he just made her feel uncomfortable, but the way Jameson looked at her that night, the way he looked at me with derision, I knew something had happened. I knew. But I couldn't do anything about it. Not then, and now I could, but I'm an adult, and beating a man within an inch of his life, well, that's not how things are done."
I frowned. "Do you want me to look into him? If he did hurt your sister, he's done it to someone else. Maybe someone wants to come forward and speak up."
His brows furrowed as he turned his attention to me. "What?"
"I mean, since I've seen firsthand for myself how handsy he gets, if he's taken it further, I'm sure someone somewhere has reported it."
He blinked at me. "So you'd look it up, just like that?"
I nodded. What didn’t he understand? "I mean, if you want me to. Because how many girls were just like your sister? Too scared to say anything, to even talk about it. I'm sure he's done it before.” I spread my hands in front of me. “I can look."
He studied me for a moment, his eyes warm and going darker. "You're an interesting woman, Nyla Kincade."
I shrugged. "You know, I'll take interesting over beautiful any day."
His lips twisted into a smirk. "The thing is, you're interesting in a way that your beauty isn't worn around you like an armor or shield. Sure, your face is stunning, and your body is, wow, and even though you’ve got a tough shell, you feel deeply. I can see it."
"Don't get excited. I can't guarantee anything, but I can certainly look."
He shook his head slowly. "I really appreciate the gesture, but I've already looked."
"Oh, come on. I have access to databases you've never even heard of."
He chuckled low. "Trust me, I understand, and I appreciate it, but when I say I’ve looked, I have really looked. I’ve had a poke at SIS and MI5 and anything anyone might have on him. There's nothing that will stick."
I blinked. "You expect me to believe that you have access to the agencies? Hell, I can't even get into the SIS."
"It's amazing what money will buy you access to."
"You really will use your money for anything, won't you?"
He shrugged. "For my sister, yes. But I couldn’t find evidence to put him away. Nothing that's not circumstantial anyway. And I know good agents like you demand things like proof."
"Well, what he just tried to do to me was proof enough.” I released a sigh. “But tangible and usable in court, I'm not sure."
"Isn’t that the kicker."
"So what, you're just going to give up?" How could he not want to kill Jameson? Hell the idiot had barely touched me, and I felt like I could take a blow torch to his feet.
“No.” He shook his head. “But I need to tread lightly. Vengeance is on the horizon, but it needs to be done carefully.”
“I don’t understand. He’s done this horrible thing. He should pay.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “Fuck, he will, but my hands are tied. I have to follow a code.”
My brows snapped down. “What do you mean?”
“Nyla, I can’t talk about it. The more you know, the more dangerous it is for you.”
My brain whirred, and I staggered back from him. “What do you mean? What are you planning?”
He shook his head. “Nyla, once you know, you can’t unknow. And there are people who would hurt you for that knowledge.”
I’d been right. From the beginning, I’d been right. “You are hiding something. You and your mates. There is a reason you seem untouchable. It’s because you are.”
He sighed then licked his lips. “We call ourselves the Elite.”
My
