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)
When she said it like that, I felt like a complete idiot.
“I, ah… overheard someone mention the Kiel Canal,” I said, cringing in expectation of getting Locke into trouble or torching my own career.
She sounded incredulous. “In what context?”
“No context. I don’t know. I just heard it while I was eating lunch. It got my attention. I don’t know how it relates to any of this.” Also true.
“Jesus.”
“The conversation was mostly stuff about the game and general niceties. There was nothing at all about their businesses or anything clandestine.”
“Well, there wouldn’t be, would there? It’s not like a gathering of bad actors is going to chat about their criminal enterprise at a restaurant.”
I closed my eyes and inhaled. It wasn’t a restaurant. It’s a private villa with armed guards, and I’m sleeping with one of the supposed bad actors. “Right.”
“Keep your eyes and ears open, Jett. In the meantime, I’m going to put together some surveillance tech and overnight it to you at your hotel.”
“I’m staying with a friend,” I said. “I don’t want him involved. Let me find another place for you to send it.”
I looked both ways and began walking on the road again in the direction of the town. As soon as I was warmed up again, I picked up the pace with a jog.
“Be careful,” she said, sounding more serious than the situation seemed to call for. No one at the villa was going to suspect me of being an intelligence agent. A whore, maybe, but not a spy.
“I’ll text you an address.”
After ending the call, I quickly made my way into town, inquired about a place to receive a package, and discovered the local post office allowed Fermo Posta. I sent the information to her, signed the email Jethro Davis, and then cleared the relevant data from my phone before heading back at as fast a pace as I could manage.
By the time I returned, I was drenched and noodle-legged. I made my way through the front door, handing my phone and earbuds over to the guard before walking through the hidden metal detector bars that had been set up.
He nodded and returned my items to me, causing me to wonder how the hell I would be able to get the surveillance equipment through the door.
It was a problem for another time.
Just like the fact I’d held a single name back from Rocky on my list of who’s who here at the Italian “hotel.”
The thought of Locke getting pulled into an ESP investigation filled me with dread. I told myself I was protecting him. But the truth was messier. The moment I said J. Locke Maris’s name out loud, he would be forever—officially—off-limits to me.
And that was a line I couldn’t bring myself to cross.
24
LOCKE
I found it hard to concentrate on the game that afternoon.
The memory of Jett’s tight ass squeezing my dick was hard to ignore. It had never been like this for me before. With anyone. And I was beginning to wonder if the difference went beyond the physical. That the reason sex with Jett was so much better was because it was him.
And the only way to figure it out was to spend more time with him.
Throughout the afternoon session, I’d felt myself becoming more and more resentful of my role in the Paxis Council. I knew why it was important—how could I not when my grandfather had reminded me over and over? But today, I was annoyed as fuck.
Why couldn’t European and American militaries run this shit down without turning it into a spiderweb of diplomatic posturing, double-dealing trade agreements, and useless sanctions?
Yes, it was efficient for the council to nip shit like this in the bud before it turned into something bigger. But it felt like the barrage of global clusterfucks we had to handle was as never-ending as the tide. And just as relentless and destructive.
“Good game today,” al-Qadiri said, eying me from the seat next to mine as we all reset our pieces to their neutral positions in preparation for the morning’s session.
“Maybe.”
“You play like your grandfather.”
I felt the compliment. My grandfather had been deeply respected by his fellow council members. “Thank you. I always hope to honor him and the rest of the council with my moves.”
“You do. I am impressed.” He continued studying me, but then his eyes flicked to Esteban and back to me. “Patience and action are difficult to balance. Do not expect to get it right all of the time.”
“Mistakes are costly,” I said carefully. When spoken about, the interaction we had during a Paxis session always had to be referred to in game language. “I fear losing.”
He nodded slowly. “As do I. As do all of us. But there cannot always be wins. And remember, we can only do our best.” He hesitated before meeting my eyes. “It is only a game, Locke. Your life is important also.”