The sunset cast an eerie yellow hue to the sky. It was nothing like the sweeping vistas in South Dakota, but it was… urban beautiful, if that was a thing. She could appreciate the architecture and city skyline. The abrupt rise and fall of hard structures held a beauty all of their own. Her lungs filled with the unique scent of the city. Yeah, this was her vibe, more so than the ranch where her mom lived, or the home she owned in Virginia. She felt the pulsing energy of the city beneath her and longed for the distractions the metropolis provided. Her knee was healing well; it still hurt when she pushed it hard, but life hurt so what else was new? She took a long sip of the amber liquid in her hand. A distinct oak flavor followed the warm slide of the top-shelf hooch. God, life was so good. She had no idea how it could get better. She was on top of the world and flying.
"It didn't take you long to break into my best scotch."
Jade twirled toward the open French doors. It took two seconds to hop across the space that separated her from her brother. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down and in for a hug. "Damn, it is so good to see you!" Jade pulled back and gave him a once over. Even after a transatlantic flight, the man looked immaculate. Except for the dark circles under his eyes.
"Good to see you, too." Justin released her and tipped his head toward the bar. She followed as he rounded a marble-topped counter and pulled down a crystal tumbler. He dropped two ice cubes into his glass and poured a healthy dose of a vodka with a label she couldn't pronounce. He lifted it in a silent toast to her and took a sip. "Heard you got yourself into a sticky situation." Justin motioned toward the leather seats, and Jade headed that way.
"What? Who said that? No, I didn't." What the hell was he talking about?
"Oh, so Jacob and Jared didn't have to come rescue you from your last assignment?" The corners of his mouth twitched at his taunt.
Jade stuck out her tongue at him. "Brat, you know I don't need them to take care of me. No, they had intel that my cover was compromised, but as far as I can tell, that was never validated. I was doing fine, thank you very much." Jade wasn't about to tell him or anyone else that she was more than happy they'd shown up when they did. That was information nobody needed to have in his or her back pocket.
"Glad to hear it." His smile contradicted the obvious disbelief in his deep voice. "What brings you to New York?"
Jade dropped her head back on the couch, scrunched her eyes shut and blew out a lungful of air. She tapped her glass and rolled her head to look at him. "I'm here to blow off some steam, destress and let my hair down. I was on that last assignment for over a year. I deserve some me time." All of that was true. She was also trying to forget the man who was responsible for her trip up from D.C.
"Sounds like a plan. I'm starving. You?" Justin took a long pull on his drink.
"I could eat." Hell, she was ravenous.
"I'll call the restaurant from my bedroom and have them send up two specials." Justin palmed his cell phone and stood.
"I guess it is good to have one of your restaurants in the same building, huh?" Jade teased her brother after he finished his call.
"It's even better to own the building. I'm going to go take a shower and wash off the travel dust. They'll call my cell when the wait staff is on the way up. Answer it will you?" Justin threw his phone onto the ottoman and headed toward the master suite.
"Sure, that's why I came all the way to New York, to answer your phone for you," Jade called after his retreating back. His hand came up, his middle finger waving back at her. She laughed and grabbed the remote off the huge ottoman. Twenty minutes later she'd landed on BBC America because watching any of the American news channels led to a headache of biblical proportions. Jade sat transfixed watching a news report on a corporate espionage-slash-theft that had happened sometime over the last two days in London. Closed for the weekend, when employees went back to work they found the contents of their server and hard copy backups in a hardened vault were gone. According to Scotland Yard, the company's high dollar alarms never activated, but it was not releasing any further information. God, she'd love to be part of the team working that case. It was rare for Guardian to get gigs like that, especially overseas, but if the client was big enough, they could afford to bring in Guardian. Unfortunately, that kind of case wasn't her forte. She didn't doubt she'd fall back into the rotation on the personal security side of the house as soon as she was cleared and done blowing off steam. It wasn't an easy job, and Jade loved meeting new people and experiencing their lives for a short period of time. But what she loved the most about PSO duties was the unknown. She was on a knife's edge every minute she was with a primary, and the thrill of that adrenaline rush was sexy, alluring and addictive. She fucking loved getting new assignments.
"Have they called yet?"
Jade jumped at Justin's voice behind her. "Huh? Ahhh… she peeked at the phone and shook her head. "Nope." Her eyes flitted back to the talking head on the television.
"What's so interesting?" Justin, now clad in designer blue jeans and a silky looking t-shirt, walked back to the bar.
"Corporate espionage thingy over in England."
Justin contemplated the television and shrugged. "As long as they didn't steal the building I acquired for my restaurant, I'm good." His phone vibrated beside her.
Jade picked it up and swiped the face. "Hello, this is Jade, Justin's indentured phone servant. He's too damn important to answer his own line, but I'll be glad to speak with you. How may I direct your call?" Justin snorted in laughter behind her while she waited for whoever was on the line to answer. When no one spoke, she pulled the phone away from her face and looked at the display. Nope, still connected to a number in Virginia. ND displayed above the number. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She wanted to bust out with the chorus of Adele's song, but with her tone-deaf music sense, that stunt could break someone's eardrum. She wasn't that cruel.
A man cleared his throat. "Hey, Jade, is Justin available?"
Oh, holy fuck. Of all the people in the world. Did she have to fly to New Delhi to get some space from the man? "Hey Nic, just a minute." She pulled the phone from her ear and held it up in the air pretending to focus on the London news coverage. "Nic DeMarco for you."
Justin grabbed the phone from her. "Hey, Nic. What? I'm pretty sure I did, but I'll admit I'm jet lagged and can't be one hundred percent positive. Let me double check and make sure that it was done." Justin headed off toward his home office. Jade heard her brother laugh as he walked down the hall. His low rumble disappeared when he went into the office and shut the door. Jade reached for her scotch and downed the remainder. She drew a breath, battling the burn of her throat. She would not let one man get to her, not when there were so many fish in the sea. Wait, bad choice. She hated fish. Okay, so many steaks to eat. Yeah, that was better.
"Yeah, I have you set up. A table for four at seven thirty for this Friday."
Nic listened to Justin's response with half his mind. The other half was trying to decide if he was pissed about Jade lying to him about going to the ranch.
"Thanks. My family doesn't get together very often. I appreciate you squeezing us in." His mom's voice floated toward him. She was talking on the phone in her den. The sound sent a warm feeling of comfort around him.
Justin casually pushed off his gratitude with a laugh. "Not a problem. I always have two or three tables I hold for family and friends or the occasional senator, Supreme Court Justice, or Hollywood A-lister."
"Yeah, well the DeMarcos don't qualify as any of those, so I appreciate it. You and Jade hitting the town?" Nic squeezed his eyes shut and tried to figure out where the fuck that question came from.
"Nah, I just flew in. I think she's hitting the clubs with some of her friends. Said she wants to blow off some steam and destress. I guess her last assignment was epic, but you'd know more about that than I would."
"Yeah, she did a great job and deserves to have some fun." Nic acknowledged Jade's work.
"Hey, if you're in town all week, maybe we can get together and have a drink. I know Jade would be down with that."
"Yeah, unfortunately, the family and other obligations will prevent that. But the next time you get down to your place in D.C., I'm taking you out for a night on the town."
"Dude, I might take you up on that. Seems the only thing I do now is work."
"Hell, I feel your pain, man. We need to learn how to relax." Nic couldn't remember the last time he took a week off. He felt guilty for sticking Jared with the administration of the caseloads they had now, but his partner had swatted away his objections, reminding him that Nic had held down the fort while he and Christian had taken several trips and short vacations.
"Isn't that the truth? Speaking of which, I'm going to eat and then fall into bed. Flying back from Europe always messes up my body clock. You'd think it would get easier."
"Never does. Thanks again."
"No problem. Take care"
"You too." Nic pushed end on the call and stood staring out the window into his family's neighborhood. The long row of brownstones had gone through a revitalization, and instead of bicycles and scooters lining aging wrought iron fences, perfectly manicured stoops now welcomed home professionals and people with seven figure incomes. The families who used to live in these houses had sold out, taking the money and moving to less desirable areas. His mother and old Mr. Conti, who owned Pappi Conti's Pizza, were the only two from the original families, or at least the families that Nic remembered growing up. Old man Conti had franchised his restaurants, and it was now a national chain. His daughter, Carla Conti, had been Nic's high school sweetheart. God, he hadn't thought of her in years.
"What's holding your interest out there?" His mom came up beside him and put her small hand on his back, rubbing it as if her touch could soothe away the tensions of the world. Once upon a time, it had done just that. Those were good memories that Nic held onto.
"Whatever happened to Carla Conti?" Nic stared across the street toward the Conti house.
"She got married, had a baby. A tragic accident took both her husband and son from her. She comes around sometimes. Gio talks about her whenever we see each other. Why?"
Nic shook his head. Life really had a way of wearing a person down. "Just thinking about years gone by. The neighborhood is so different now."
"Ahhh… that is true. I'm not complaining. When your dad and I bought this house, it was the best we could do. If I sold it now, it could fund a third world country for a week."
"Only a week?" Nic turned his smile toward his mom.
She swatted at his arm. "Two if they're frugal."
A comfortable silence settled over them. Nic continued his wander down memory lane.
"Do you want Carla's number? I have it. She is still as beautiful as ever, and I think she'd enjoy a cup of coffee to catch up. I gather from Gio, she doesn't have many close friends. She works all the time. He worries."
Nic blinked back to the present from his mental road trip. He focused across the street again. Why the hell not? It wasn't as if he had any better prospects, other than a countless string of one night stands, and even that had run its course. He wasn't interested in the chase anymore. "Yeah. Okay."
"Okay? Really?" His mother's shock drew a chuckle from him.
"Yeah. I'd like to see how she's doing." She was a friend from back in the day. He was here for the week and contrary to what he'd told Justin, he didn't have any solid plans except for Friday night. Dinner with the entire family. Meeting up with Jade for a drink was the last thing he wanted to do. His brain floated a vision of her long legs through his mind. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the last thing, but meeting with her outside the office would be a mistake.
Chapter Ten
Jade cracked her eye open then shut it immediately. She said a simple silent prayer to the porcelain god that whoever was pounding her fucking skull with a sledgehammer would die. Die a brutal fucking death, the bastards.
Her mouth felt like the floor of a New York City subway platform. Disgusting, smelly and sticky. It would take a jackhammer to peel her tongue off the roof of her mouth.
One heavy eyelid opened at a soft tap on her door. "What?" The morning after taste of tequila pushed a bile-inducing, double-flip action through her gut.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, but Jared said he called you three times. He told me to tell you, and I quote here, "Unless her cell is dead, or she is, her ass needs to call in for a briefing." Justin kept his voice low.
"Fuck me. When?" Jade lifted her head and immediately dropped it back down.
"Forty-five minutes. I brought you something for the hangover." Shit. His voice right next to her shocked her. She hadn't heard him cross the room. But then again, the sledgehammer concerto tapping out a techno-dance thrum in her brain was fucking loud.
Jade pried open her eyes and grimaced at the vile, greenish-brown, gelatinous liquid he was holding out toward her. "What's in it?" Jade slowly rolled to her side and pushed up on an elbow. Shit.Never again. Emory, Danni and she had gotten stupid drunk last night. Thank God, they had sense enough to take a limo, otherwise who knows where they would have ended up. Jade didn't cut loose often, but she'd drunk way too much, and they had closed down the dance club. She bent her legs and groaned. Her knee was a little stiff, but that was to be expected.
She reached out for the glass and closed the slits she was looking through. She took a deep breath and chugged the drink. Her eyes popped open, and she bolted to the bathroom. Fucking son of a bitch!
Twenty minutes later, minus what remained in her stomach, showered and shampooed, because long hair and paying homage to the porcelain toilet gods never worked out well, Jade walked into Justin's kitchen.
"Feel better?" Justin leaned over a saucepan stirring whatever was in the small ceramic pot.
Ewww… food. No. Just no. "What the fuck was that shit?" Jade made a beeline toward the coffee maker.
"A little of this, a little of that." The laughter in his voice irked her. "But you've got to admit it. You feel better, don't you?"
Jade lifted the small silver pitcher and frothed the milk for her coffee. She did feel better, but admitting that to him wasn't going to happen. "Shut up." Not the most eloquent comeback, but hey, it worked.
Justin laughed as he crossed the kitchen to the oven. "Biscuits with honey?"
Jade wanted to hate him for being so chipper, but he'd made her biscuits and Justin made the best biscuits. Better than their mom could make, but that was a secret the siblings would take to their graves.
"Thank you." Jade walked over and stood behind him, dropping her head on his back.
"I've never known you to get that wasted." Justin plated a biscuit and ladled a small amount of warm honey and butter mixture into a ramekin. "Anything you want to talk about?"
Jade pulled a piece of biscuit off and dipped it in the honey. She let the excess drip off while she considered his question. Finally, she shrugged. "Long assignment with zero alcohol. My tolerance level is in the basement. Admittedly, I drank too much last night, but we had a limo. Before you ask, I was with it enough to make sure Emory and Danni got home okay. Do I regret the last three rounds of tequila shots? Hell yeah, but it wasn't like I was out drowning my sorrows at the bottom of a five dollar bottle of rotgut."
"So you admit you have sorrows?" Justin popped a bite into his mouth.
"Ahhh… no, I didn't say that."
"Sure you did."
"No, I didn't. I have no sorrows, no regrets, and no problems." Jade pointed her piece of honey-dipped biscuit at him.
Justin looked up at her and let a wide smile slowly spread across his face. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."
Jade tore another piece of biscuit and busied herself dipping
the fragment to avoid her brother's gaze. She wasn't protesting. Was she? And what if she was? It wasn't as if she was the touchy feely one in the family, that was Mom's forte, but hell, she was authorized a me moment, wasn't she? "I am not protesting, but even if I was, I've decided I'd be authorized. And, dear brother, I don't think that was the line we learned in high school. Why the sudden interest in my sorrows? Not that I'm admitting to having any."
"Just trying to catch up. I've been running at full speed for the last five years, and regrettably, that means I don't get to spend much time with the family." He walked over to the stove and placed a small sauté pan on the massive cooktop. "You ready for some eggs?"
"Scrambled with the yummy cheese?" She had no idea what type of cheese he put into her scrambled eggs, but she could never recreate the flavor of Justin's cooking.
"You got it." He reached for a bowl and whisk.
"Can I ask a question?" Jade dragged the last of her biscuit through the bottom of the honey pot on her plate.
"Sure, but I reserve the right not to answer." He didn't look up from his work as he spoke.
"Why are you working so hard? I mean, you never stop." She couldn't understand his drive to keep adding more and more responsibilities to his plate.
Justin paused grating the cheese block in his hand. He regarded her for a moment and shrugged. "If you listen to my shrink, I'm compensating for not being able to control my past."
"You have a shrink?" Jade blinked back her surprise. One of the prerequisites for employment with Guardian mandated she go through several sessions with a psychiatrist, but she was very careful to answer the questions so there would never be a doubt as to her mental stability…or lack thereof. She smirked at that thought. She'd admit she was a bit crazy. She embraced the wild streak in herself and loved to shock people. A shrink would have a field day with her, of that she had zero doubt.
Jade (The Kings of Guardian Book 9) Page 8