Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“Why should I?”
“B-because I…” Because I’m falling in love with you. I swallowed. “Anything I say right now, you’re not going to believe.”
His thumb moved the tiniest bit, smoothing down over my pulse. I tried not to let my eyes flutter closed to focus on the feeling and imagine it being a caress.
Bzzt-bzzt-bzzt.
Our phones both went off at once from the bedside table. The only thing it could be was a breaking news alert.
He moved to grab his, tossing mine at me in the process.
Blockage in Kiel Canal prevents mass casualty in factory explosion.
I stared at the headline before clicking through.
“Are you seeing this?” I asked, reading about an explosion at a plant not far from where I’d found Locke’s spot on the canal. Because of some kind of “accidental ship blockade,” there was no canal traffic nearby when the explosion sent fireballs of flaming debris raining down over the water.
“Fuck. This… this is…”
“Did you cause this explosion?” I asked incredulously. “Is that why you wanted me to find a place on the canal? To minimize casualties?”
He looked up from his phone. “What? No! I didn’t have anything to do with the explosion.”
“You can’t tell me you didn’t know about it, Locke! You had me fucking scout for the spot. This exact fucking spot!”
He reached for my hand, but I yanked it out of reach. “I swear to you, Jett. I knew about the blockade, but I didn’t even know there was a plant there.” His eyes glittered with anger. “I did not cause this.”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t fucking know! How would I?”
“Was it someone here?” I asked.
Locke shook his head, his dark hair still sleep-rumpled. “No. No one here needed to do this. The purpose of the blockade itself was to create a diversion from something happening somewhere else. The canal blockade was enough. It should have been enough. But…”
“But what?”
He glanced back down at his news app. His phone was lighting up with notifications. Then he looked back up at me. “This is better.”
29
LOCKE
The whole time I was showering and dressing, I couldn’t manage to wrap my head around what was happening with Jett.
For the first time last night, I’d reached out to someone and tried to make an actual connection when the world felt too heavy. And he’d repaid me with lies and manipulation.
Hell, he’d been lying to me from the very beginning about who he was—he had to have been. There were too many inconsistencies in his story. Too many facts that didn’t add up. And now that I saw them, I couldn’t unsee them.
I fucking hated liars and double-dealers. Half the reason I didn’t get close to people was so I wouldn’t have to lie about what I did. So I should want nothing more than to toss Jett out of the villa on his ear.
And still—still—when Jett begged me to believe that he was on my side, part of me genuinely wanted to.
And when he’d thought I might have had something to do with the explosion at the plant near the Kiel Canal, I’d been panicked with the need to convince him I hadn’t.
So much for keeping things simple with a man who wouldn’t require explanations or excuses from me. So much for not being distracted.
I refused to waste another minute thinking about any of that. Not when there was an operation being carried out. Not when there was a potential double-dealer on the Paxis Council. I knew what my priorities needed to be.
“I need your help today,” I said abruptly, stalking out of the bathroom fully dressed.
Jett was still sitting on my bed, still looking shell-shocked and uncertain. I ached to hold him, to murmur reassurances… but they would have been lies.
Head in the game, Locke.
Jett looked at me with suspicion but nodded once.
“Keep checking my phone and email while I’m in the game room. If any news comes in on a ship called the MV Helvig Star or anything involving Nyborg, I need to know about it.”
I could tell he wanted to ask why, but he didn’t. He simply nodded and moved off to his room to shower and dress.
After notifying the group of an earlier start to the morning’s game session, I quickly dressed and found Concetta to request coffee and pastries in the game room.
When I got in there, the only person who’d arrived before me was al-Qadiri. His warm smile welcomed me as I took my seat. “Locke! I am glad you called an early start.”
I blew out a breath, shrugging off my concerns about the situation with Jett, and felt the familiar ease of Saleem’s company.
Saleem al-Qadiri was one of the players here I could trust. Like Selene, al-Qadiri’s family had always made a point to extend their friendship to my grandfather beyond the game and the council.
“It’s strange not having Mehmet here,” I said, making small talk while we waited for the others.