Chapter 8

Emma

I unlocked the office door and waved Jack in, then locked it again behind us. “What do you have?” I asked, excited to hear his reply. I’d been working for Shadow Security for three years now, and the most interesting thing I’d done was carry on a lukewarm flirtation with the package delivery guy.

Dad had kept me isolated from any hint of danger, and Matt, now that he was working here, was just as bad. Maybe Jack would let me help with something more exciting than reconciling payroll.

Jack stopped at my desk and turned to face me. I saw the tight look on his face and realized he wasn’t thrilled to be having this conversation. Shit. Just like Dad and Matt.

“Oh no,” I said, pointing my finger at the muscled chest I’d been obsessing about for most of the week. “You’re not shutting me out now. I know that Dad brushed aside your concerns, but I trust your instincts. Dexter Jansen is a grade-A asshole. Nothing you have to say will surprise me.”

“Emma,” he said, his heavy voice sending a wanton shiver down my spine. I love when he says my name. “I don’t think—.”

“Then leave the thinking to me,” I said. My finger pressed into his chest. “You’re going to tell me what you have on Jansen. Or I swear I’ll start losing your paperwork, serving you cold coffee, and accidentally deleting your paychecks.”

It was an indication of the sad state of affairs that I had to resort to threatening him. But since my Dad kept insisting I grow a backbone, I decided to start now. Hopefully, it would be reflected in my next performance review.

“Fine,” he said tightly, after a moment. “I went through Jansen’s desk while he was in the washroom.”

“You did?” My heart started beating faster. It must have been anxiety-inducing, never knowing when Jansen would walk back in. It made my paltry attempts at a backbone seem ridiculous in comparison.

“Yes,” he replied, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I found an envelope with some photos. I managed to get a few snaps before Jansen finished up.”

Jack tapped his phone then held up the screen. It was filled with a group of men standing against a brick wall. They were in an alley somewhere, five older guys, none of them smiling. Then I recognized one of them.

“That’s Councilman Drake,” I said, pointing to the short, balding man in a brown suit. “He’s speaking at the fundraiser tonight.”

Jack swept his finger across the screen, revealing a page filled with handwritten script. “What’s this?” I asked.

“There were a few of these,” he said. “I only managed to get a shot of one of them, though.”

“It looks like some kind of list.” I squinted my eyes, trying to make out the words.

“A ledger, I think.” He started tapping on his phone. “I’m emailing it to you.”

I sat down behind my desk and pulled up my email. Opening the message, I pulled up the photo attachment. It did appear to be of some kind of ledger. There was a list of names next to columns of numbers.

The list of names was weird. Instead of normal first names or last name, every line started with ‘Mr.’ The names that followed were bird names, like ‘Raven’ and ‘Jay.’

I felt the heat of him behind me and tried to keep my mind on the task at hand. He leaned over my shoulder. “It’s got to be a code.”

I nodded my head, swallowing hard when I caught a whiff of his masculine scent. Jack smelled like the outdoors. Like pine needles and sunlight, and it was driving me crazy. “We need a key,” I said, “or we’ll never know what these names and numbers mean.”

I pulled up the picture of the group of men. Although I’d easily spotted Drake, none of the other men looked familiar. Pulling up a search engine, I began cropping the photo, taking headshots of the unfamiliar men and running a reverse image search. Unfortunately, none of them came up.

That meant our only lead was Councilman Drake. I began running a search on the councilman, looking for any little breadcrumbs that could make any sense out of the photos. Was there a connection between the councilman and the ledger? Could it be related to the blackmail phone call Jack had mentioned? Just what was Jansen up to?

My stomach rumbled, but I ignored it. I could feel Jack straighten behind me. “You should eat,” he said, but I waved him away, too engrossed in the hunt. For once I was part of something exciting, something Dad and Matt didn’t know about and therefore couldn’t overprotect me from.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I was brought back to reality by the smell of something delicious. Jack was waving a slice of hot pizza under my nose. “Time to come up for air,” he said, his voice a low rumble that started an answering hum in my body. I watched as a slow smile spread across his handsome face. “And for pizza.”

He pulled the pizza slowly away and I followed, feeling like a cartoon character being lured into a trap by some savory morsel. The thing was, I was more than willing to be lured into any trap that Jack Walsh might set.

The pizza was laid out on the conference room table. There were napkins, paper plates, and a couple of bottles of soda. Jack set the piece of pizza he’d used to draw me here on a plate and handed it to me.

I smiled, grabbing a bottle of soda and then a seat. I was touched that Jack had ordered dinner and insisted on my eating it. It was a simple gesture, but one that showed he’d thought about my well-being.

Or maybe he was just hungry too.

Jack grabbed a slice and held it so that the pizza formed a U-shape. Biting off a chunk, he stared out the glass walls into the dim office. I leaned back in the office chair, letting myself stare at him. His rugged good looks were currently wreaking havoc on my fantasy life. Jack was too attractive for his own good.

“We need the key,” he said after he’d swallowed and taken a swig of soda. “The ledger won’t make sense without it.”

I nodded. “Do you think you can gets pictures of the rest of the photos?” There had to be more clues in that envelope in Jansen’s desk.

His brow furrowed. “I was lucky to get these.”

It was true. He’d taken a risk. If he’d gotten caught, the chances of explaining it away would have been slim, and Jack would have messed up his first assignment of his new job. Still, he was Special Forces. Didn’t that mean he had some ninja training?

I decided to tease him a little. “Yeah, I bet your heart was beating a mile a minute. Watching the door, wondering when Jansen would pop up. Were your hands shaking when you dug around in his desk?”

Jack’s brown eyes narrowed. He didn’t respond for a moment, then arched a dark brow. “I see what you’re doing, little girl.”

It was the name my father called me, but for some reason, coming out of Jack’s mouth, it took on a whole new dimension. “What?” I said innocently, batting my lashes at him.

“I’ll try to get more pics,” he said, and I saw the hint of a smile toying with his lips.

I ate another slice, delighted at his reaction. It was likely the height of foolishness on my part, but I’d fallen headlong back into my crush on my big brother’s best friend. Verbal sparring like this got my blood pumping.

Jack pulled his phone up and enlarged the ledger photo. “You think the numbers could be related to payouts?”

Wiping my hands on a napkin, I held one out for the phone. Jack passed it to me and I moved the screen close to my face. “Maybe,” I said. The numbers ranged from three to five digits. They could be monetary amounts.

Intending to return to the picture of the men in the alley, I swiped across his screen. I must have swiped the wrong direction, because a picture of Jack and Matt in matching fatigues appeared. I laughed, thinking my brother looked like a complete dork.

Unable to resist, I kept swiping. Matt was posed in front of a camel. It had markings on its tan face, like someone had shaved patterns into the hair there. Jack and Matt on a tank. Jack and Matt and a few other guys posed with a group of locals.

I swiped again, and the photo that appeared gave me pause. It was of a smallish wooden coffin, dark against the dust around it. I wondered who the coffin belonged to.

His arm reached over my shoulder and Jack removed the phone from my hands. I realized suddenly how rude I’d been.

“I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “I was looking for the group pic, and I swiped the wrong way and saw those pictures of you and my brother. I didn’t mean to pry.”

Jack stared at her without saying a word. Then he turned on his heel, leaving the conference room. I watched as he grabbed his jacket and put it on. He was leaving.

“Hey,” I called after him, but he ignored me. Unlocking the door, he let himself out. I watched as he stalked under the streetlamp.

Fuck.