Page 52 of After 5
Jake paused, possibly contemplating why Caiyan would put me in danger by hiding the sword in my house. I didn’t care. I was thrilled to find it before the Mafusos.
“I’m back in Dallas, but I’m a little tied up at the moment.”
I heard a woman’s voice in the background, and a muffled Jake responding to the woman.
When his voice came back on the line, he said, “Uhm, I’ll come by in the morning. And Jen…”
“Yes?”
“For god’s sake don’t tell anyone else you found it.”
“10-4.” I disconnected.
“Jake’s at his loft in Dallas. He’s coming over in the morning.” I told Gertie. “I think he had company.”
“Jake’s being very secretive about his new girlfriend,” she said.
“He can’t tell her about the WTF, maybe keeping her away from us is the best way to avoid the lies that come with his job.”
“Huh, I can keep a secret.” Gertie huffed.
“Me, too. He’s being overprotective, as usual.”
My second call was to Ace. If there was gossip in New York City, Ace knew about it.
“’ello doll,” he answered on the second ring.
“Ace, guess what, I found the sword!”
“Brilliant!”
“You can keep a secret, my ass,” Gertie mumbled under her breath.
Jake told me not to tell anyone, but he didn’t mean Ace, or did he? I bit my bottom lip.
“What does the sword say?” Ace asked me.
“It’s a bit hard to read. Caiyan scratched through the engraving on the blade.”
“Must be important if he damaged the intel.”
“Jake’s coming by tomorrow to check it out.”
“Another secret, down the toilet,” Gertie said.
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Ace, have you heard any news about the wedding?” I couldn’t bring myself to say Caiyan’s wedding.
“Everything’s so hush-hush. I’ve a friend who’s a wedding planner. He’s been pissin’ his knickers trying to get the job. As far as I know they haven’t set a date. Blimey, your Scot’s probably dragging his kilt-clad bum to remain a single man.”
My Scot. It was as if I viewed our relationship through a telescopic lens, moving further away from me every day until it became an unrecognizable tiny spec.
“I’m surprised they didn’t go to the justice of the peace and have a quick ceremony,” I said. “If the wedding was the next step in Caiyan’s master plan, you’d think he’d want it over with so he could move on to…whatever.”
I’d disposed of the idea this was all about his key. No way would he ditch me for his key. Or would he? My inner voice was whispering doubts in my ear.
“Gurl, no way. I heard through the grapevine, Mahlia demanded a formal wedding. She told Gian-Carlo if he forced her to marry Caiyan, she wanted the real deal.”
Forced? I couldn’t believe she wasn’t purring like a gloating tomcat who’d captured the mouse. The thought of Mahlia becoming Mrs. Caiyan McGregor made me ill.
