Page 166 of Everything That Kills Me
Patricia shot him a grateful look and left.
Cindy opened her case. “It’s a spa day. Hair, nails and face day. Today. Okay. Hurray.”
She beamed at Jack who looked horrified. Zeph smothered his laugh.
“Can I read you a fairytale about a nightingale?” Jack asked.
“No… So.” Cindy held out a handful of nail varnishes. “Which would you like? That’s the colour of my bike.”
Cindy sat Jack at his desk.
Zeph carried on working, occasionally shooting glances across the room. Jack was so good with her. For a really tough guy, it was a miraculous transformation. The year they’d spent travelling had softened Jack’s edges, made him more relaxed, though there was always a part of him that was alert to danger. That would never change.
Cindy’s tongue was out as she concentrated on painting each of Jack’s fingernails a different colour. Jack kept shooting Zeph a glance and grimacing, but he only ever had a smile for Cindy.
He’s a good man.He never agreed with Zeph when he told him that, but he was. They’d bought this business because a life of leisure was not for them. Definitely not for Jack, but not for Zeph either. They hadn’t been looking for a public relations and marketing company but they’d met Patricia when her car had been in an accident and he and Jack stopped to help. It was almost a surprise to the three of them that they’d ended up buying her out of her company, but keeping her and almost everyone else on. Her former business partner had died some months before and she’d been struggling.
The company made use of Zeph and Jack’s security skills. Neither of them was good at the schmoozing but Jack was an expert on keeping high profile clients safe, along with securing their homes, their journeys and anywhere they were staying. He personally trained every bodyguard they had on their books and Zeph knew he enjoyed it. In a way, he was passing on the knowledge that Thomas had given him.
Zeph was on the digital side of the business and it wasn’t all dick pics.
That gave him an idea and he grinned.
“Something funny, honey?” Jack called.
“Just thinking of something that rhymes with kick.”
Jack grumbled under his breath.
“That hand’s done, now you…you’ll look nice in the sun.” Cindy gave him a wide smile.
Jack regarded his left hand. “Pretty, kitty.”
She grabbed his right.
Zeph was still doing occasional consultancy work for UK government security services, mostly tweaking facial recognition software, checking the strength of their systems at keeping out hackers, and unbeknownst to them, looking to see whether there was any mention of Jack or Thomas in any of their many aliases. Thomas hadn’t been happy about sharing those with Zeph but Jack had persuaded him.
Jack’s work for Navy Blue meant some travelling, but more often than not, Zeph went with him. He looked up at him and Jack mouthed,I love you.
“I love you,” Zeph whispered.
The door opened again. Did no one ever knock? Ethan Ward walked in with his manager, Trevon Brooks. Brooks nudged him forwards.
“Sorry for all the trouble,” Ward said.
“Careful what you say.” Zeph inclined his head towards Jack and Cindy.
“He’s learnt his lesson,” his manager said.
Zeph doubted it.
“I won’t do it again,” Ward mumbled. “I just thought she was the one.”
“I think if she was, then that wasn’t what you should have sent her,” Zeph said. “Try flowers.”
Ward sighed. “I was…”
“I guessed,” Zeph said.Drunk, high?
