Page 30 of Jack

Chapter Twelve

She hadn’t realisedthat it would be so hectic in Toronto but was glad it was, or she would’ve gone out of her mind with boredom and worry. Ever since the attack, she’d felt a cloud looming over her, waiting for something to happen. At this point, she wasn’t sure if she’d prefer that. She could deal with a situation happening, but the axe hanging over her head left a gnarly knot in her belly.

She hadn’t had to attend the dinner with the Prime Minister so had spent the evening with Bebe going over what they knew of Adeline’s last movements, which wasn’t a lot and what they did have was hazy. The hospital opening had gone well if somewhat emotionally. Seeing the patients who would get the care they needed and hearing the families’ stories made her tear up.

It made her want to call her own parents just to talk to them, but that was harder now she knew her sister could be alive. She could potentially fix their grief if she only worked harder and found the link, but it had been three years since she’d escaped Iago and she still had nothing.

Her head held high as she accepted another bouquet of flowers from a little girl for the Queen with a smile, Astrid glanced around the crowded streets. This was a logistics nightmare. No wonder Jack was so uptight half the time. Keeping the Monarch safe when tall buildings and hundreds of people surrounded them was like counting grains of sand—almost impossible to do and yet he still worked his butt off to do it.

It was safe to say her attraction to Jack grew with each passing day. Watching him with his men and his friends only added to that. He was more than the handsome package she’d lusted over for the last year or so. That was the thing she’d have to watch out for. Keeping her heart safe from that part of Jack would be tricky.

He was two steps behind the Queen as they carried on walking the street and one behind her. Blake was between the Monarch and the crowd in case anyone got overzealous and tried to grab at Queen Lydia or touch her in any way. Waggs was to his left with Mitch. Gunner was to the left side, and Liam and Decker were walking out in front. Alex was lost in the crowd somewhere and she couldn’t see him. The local police force provided crowd control, but the police weren’t there for the Queen’s protection—they were.

They were as protected as humanly possible with extra coverage on the roof from Nate and Zack, who were watching through scopes. Will was monitoring the cameras, yet she still felt the tension radiating from Jack and his team as if they sensed something. She felt it too, but everything seemed as it should be as she continued to smile and take flowers.

The wind whipped at her skirt, and she dropped her hand to hold the flowy fabric down, the air cooler than previous days but the Queen and the Prince Consort didn’t seem to notice. Although the Prince Consort didn’t seem to notice a lot except his Queen, and she loved the way he stayed a step behind her, his hand at her back showing more about his feelings than a grand gesture would.

They were getting to the end of the street where they would cross to the other side and walk back down towards the cars. This was the dangerous part because crossing the wide road would expose them. As she’d been schooled by Alex over and over, she kept close as she handed off the flowers to someone who would deliver them to the local hospital.

Shouts from the mostly positive crowd filled her ears. An oddly negative comment penetrated and she briefly turned in that direction looking for a threat before turning back, not wanting her attention drawn away.

Halfway across the road, she heard a pop of gunfire and dove towards the Queen, but before she could reach her Jack had pushed her to the ground. The next round came with a grunt from the man holding her, telling Astrid it had hit him.

“Get Wilma out of here.” His voice was muffled as he pressed her into the ground. “Find the shooter, Nate.”

Screams from the crowd filled the air as the police tried to keep control of people panicking when what had happened sunk in and the threat to their own life, no matter how small, filled them with adrenaline.

Bile and panic squeezed her tight as Jack shouted into his comms. A group of men in suits broke off as the royal car sped towards them and Eidolon got the Queen safely into it before it sped away with Blake at the wheel.

The weight on her back released and she felt Jack take her arm and haul her to her feet and against his body as he looked around.

Blood was pouring down his jacket from his shoulder, but he didn’t seem to notice it as he barked orders at someone through the comms. A second car appeared, and she saw Liam driving as the door flew open and Jack pushed her inside. She turned, panicked that he’d leave her, a sense of fear she’d never felt before filling her as she grabbed for his arm.

His eyes moved over her as he got in beside her, and the car was moving before the door closed.

“You’re bleeding.”

Jack looked at his arm and winced as if only just realising he’d been hit.

Liam looked at them in the rear-view mirror. “You need a hospital, boss?”

Jack shook his head, but she could see by the lines around his mouth that he was in pain. “No, it’s just a scratch. Waggs can take care of it.” His hand took hers and squeezed lightly. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes bugged. “Me? Yes, I’m fine. I’m not the one bleeding.”

His eyes twinkled, and his lips twitched as if he wanted to smile, which at a time like this was ridiculous. “Worried about me, firefly?”

“No.”

They both knew she was lying, so she turned the tables. “Why did you throw your body over mine? The Queen is the priority, not me.”

Jack’s jaw tensed, and a lethal look came over his features. “Not to me, it seems.”

Astrid didn’t push him on that. He’d shown more than he ever had how he felt about her with that one action, which could’ve cost him his life. He liked her at least a little bit, and it was more than the sex they’d yet to have.

He pressed his comms and cocked his head as if he were listening and she saw his eyes move to Liam before turning to her. “The Queen is secure and Nate took out the shooter.”

“That’s good. Do we know who it is?”