His shoulders slumped. “Xander, I know you go way back with Ethan. But I’m gonna advise you not to say anything to him.”
“I definitely won’t be saying anything to him. The plan is to continue as normal.”
“And the girl? Jia. Is that it with her? You were all worked up earlier about her marrying this Armand guy and being shipped off to Europe. What about that Xander? Are you going to do something more about that? Cos… I really, really feel you need to take a damn step back. I think if she actually keeps quiet, then you got lucky. It means though that we have to move faster.”
I nodded, completely agreeing, even though I didn’t want to. This was the part that I couldn’t control. I had to calm the fuck down and take that step back.
“That’s it with her. No more damage.”That’s it… I couldn’t believe I was making the cut. I couldn’t believe I was even saying the words. Severing the link of the emotion I’d sparked with her, and that bond.
It was real for me.It is.
What good was that now though?
Duty had to come first.
I’d had the offer of help from Ethan to find Balthazar but truthfully I was the kind of guy who would push through on this mission because it was serious. It was serious , a damn global threat and I needed to get serious and stop thinking with my dick.
“That’s it with her, Wes,” I repeated sounding more like I was confirming it to myself than to him.
“Okay bro. Then you have my silence too. I won’t say a word. After all I’m here for you. But, I mean it when I say we gotta move fast. I’m looking into the underground passage today. A week max here, that is all. No more. Less would be very advantageous.”
“Yes, a week max. Keep me posted throughout the day. If you find we can check things out later then let’s do it,” I suggested.
“Sure. I’m close, so listen to hear from me.”
* * *
Listening to hear from Wes was the exact thing I focused on.
It faded from my mind though when I got to the casino and saw Jia.
She was standing by the concierge desk talking to a few people.
As usual, just the sight of her stole my breath away.
I wasn’t doing very well for a guy that had just told his best friend that I was done with her. I wasn’t doing well at all.
Once again I was torn between duty and emotion.
Fuck, it always came back to that.
Had I done the right thing by trusting her?
What if she did tell Giovanni?
I never trusted anybody. Wes was the guy who pushed the limit for me, so he was right to point out that I was trusting a woman I’d barely known.
It took her a few seconds to look my way. When she did, the first thing I noticed was the dimness in her usually vibrant skin.
She’d done her best to hide the dark circles under her eyes but I could still see the hint of them. I was about twenty feet away but I could see how haggard last night had left her.
Jia looked away from me and proceeded to walk in the direction of her office. I should have just allowed her to go and indeed leave her alone from here onwards since I told her I couldn’t see her anymore. My legs however took on a life of their own. Moving against my will they carried me to her and the next thing I knew I’d reached for her and pulled her to a stop.
She cast me a sharp stare and backed out of my grasp.
“What are you doing?” she snapped.
Her voice had been a little loud so she glanced about us to see if anyone had heard. As usual on the casino floor, everyone was more taken with either their winnings or the chance to win. Even at this time of the morning.
