Page 23 of Jack

Chapter Nine

He slammedthe door to the safe house as he walked in, Alex’s gaze coming to his across the room where he was watching the monitors. Eidolon had a safe house set up in every town they were visiting on the tour in case anything went sideways and they needed to get the Queen to a secure location.

He’d set them up with thoughts of his father in the back of his mind, never for one second expecting Astrid and her past to be the reason he used one of them. He strode up behind Alex and bent to look at the men he’d locked up underneath the sweet three-bedroom home on a quiet street in Nicosia.

“What’s going on, boss? Is this to do with your father?”

Jack shook his head, knowing he should focus on that threat, but this one was currently the most pressing. “No, this has to do with Astrid and her past.”

“She share the details with you?”

“Some but not all of it. I do know these men think she can lead them to something they want and will do anything to get to it, and that they hurt her.”

It was taking every single ounce of restraint he had to hold his shit together. What she’d told him about her past had affected him more than he’d ever let on to her. He wasn’t disgusted as she’d thought but the rage was something he’d only ever felt one time before, and that was when he’d learned what Frederick had done to Will.

His muscles strained with the need to hurt and fight something. He wanted to kill Iago for what he’d done to the woman he’d fought not to care about and lost the battle against. No, not lost, he’d crossed that bridge willingly in the last twenty-four hours. Astrid had shown him the person under the façade, and while he was attracted to the front and the sass she showed the world, it was what was underneath that really drew him.

“Astrid was undercover with the cartel when her cover was blown. She believes it was her handler who ratted her out and that the CIA was really looking for her sister, even though they’d told her she was dead.”

“Is her sister CIA?”

“Yes, she was allegedly killed on an undercover mission just after Astrid was recruited. Astrid believed she was dead until they sent her under with Ravelino and she saw a picture of Juan with Adeline. That was when she got burned and by all that she isn’t telling me, almost died. Roz saved her.”

“Jesus.”

Jack nodded, knowing that if anyone knew how he felt it was Alex. If anything, Alex probably knew more about how he felt than he did. This was new for him and not exactly welcome timing-wise but he couldn’t and wouldn’t turn back the clock.

“Wanna go crack some skulls?”

Jack looked down at Alex, who was watching him with barely veiled anger himself. He hated the idea of any woman getting hurt and still had issues with Bás because of what he’d done to Evelyn. Jack now understood it more than ever.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” And maybe he’d get some information out of them too. Reid was seated outside the door to the secure room where the men were being held, or at least the four who had lived were, his booted feet up on chair opposite.

“Boss man.”

“Jack wants to play with his victims.”

A wide grin spread over Reid’s face. “Awesome.”

Reid keyed in the code, the door released, and he stood back allowing Jack to go first. The room was dark, with only minimal lighting and the men were hung by their arms from the ceilings with only the tips of their toes touching the ground. Hence, it gave the illusion of control when actually, by trying to keep their feet on a solid foundation, they were tiring their muscles more. The cellar ran the expanse of the property’s ground floor, and as was protocol for Eidolon, the men were kept as far away as possible from each other and gagged so they couldn’t communicate.

Jack glanced at three of the men before his eyes landed on Iago, who was glaring at him with hatred and arrogance in every pore. Jack sauntered towards Iago, wanting nothing more than to put his fist in the asshole’s face and knock his ridiculous teeth down his throat. Any other mission he’d curb that desire and try to lead his men, but this was personal. “Cut him down.”

Reid stepped up, taking out his tactical knife and cut Iago loose. The man grabbed his arms close to his body as the stress position being loosened let the blood flow back to his arms, the pain awful.

Jack bent down and ripped the tape from the man’s mouth. “We need a little chat, Iago.”

“What we need is for that puta to choke on my cock.”

His words followed by an arrogant smirk made Jack see red, his legendary control failing him in the face of this disgusting human being’s insults towards Astrid. “Shame, I liked this suit.”

Jack lunged forward. He wanted this man to feel pain, and he wanted him as far away from Astrid as he could get him—preferably via an unmarked grave. Grabbing the front of Iago’s dark shirt, he hauled him up and let go with a right hook that spilt blood from his nose, the crack satisfying.

“You broke my nose, motherfucker, and now you’ll pay for that insult.”

Jack almost laughed at the indignation the man showed, along with the fact he didn’t seem to realise he was in the presence of men who had killed for far less than the crimes he’d perpetrated against Astrid, and so many other nameless women no doubt.

“Cut his feet loose, let’s make this interesting.”