Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
It wasn’t helping. The rage still controlled him.
“Jack! Fuck, Jack!” Ian roared.
Smash!
He could feel the blood dripping down his hands from his split knuckles. He might even have broken his hand.
But it wasn’t enough.
“Jack, stop.” Jameson’s voice was full of command.
But he wasn’t Jack’s Dom. He couldn’t control him. The only person with a hope of doing that wasn’t fucking here.
“You are making things worse,” Jameson told him urgently. “And you are failing her.”
“Fuck’s sake, Jameson,” Ian said, sounding horrified. “Why would you say that to him? You’re going to send him right off the deep end.”
Too late.
“He’s already reached that point, Ian,” Jameson shot back. “And can’t you see that busting your fist is doing nothing but making a hole in the wall, Jack? Now, when people see you, they’ll see your bruised and broken knuckles and wonder if you did it while hitting her.”
“I’d never hit Maggie.” Jack turned abruptly on Jameson, seething.
“No, but other people will think that.”
Fuck. He hadn’t thought of that.
“I’ll wrap it up, put it in a sling,” Jameson said. “Tell them you broke it, but you need to rein it in. For you and more importantly, for her.”
Fuck it. He was right.
“Let’s get Jack bandaged so we can get to the palace,” Ian said.
“I’ll do it.” Jameson grabbed the things he needed from his medical bag.
Jack sat down and let Jameson doctor him.
“Someone needs to stay with William,” Ian said as he looked up from whoever he was texting.
“I will,” Jameson volunteered. “I’m going to call my boss about Evans too.”
“What’s wrong with William?” Jack asked.
Jameson stiffened. “You know I can’t tell you.”
“Don’t pull that patient-doctor confidentiality with me.” Jack leaned forward. “What’s going on?”
“We need to know if we’re to take proper care of him, Jameson,” Ian added.
“Do not tell anyone else,” Jameson warned.
Jack nodded impatiently. The only reason he cared was because of his baby girl.
“He’s got early-onset dementia.”
Fuck. Just as they’d suspected.
“Right. So we need to protect him as much as we can from what’s going on,” Ian said grimly.
“Definitely. I’ll stay here and check in on him regularly. You two go to the palace.”
Jack couldn’t handle it anymore.
All of this was just talk.
Someone hurt his girl. Someone had to pay. And he needed to find them.
Find her.
“Enough!” He slammed his unbound hand down on the table. Jameson had wrapped up his other hand.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
“Fuck, Jack.” Ian glared at him.
This almost seemed like déjà vu. Except last time it had been Ian pulling everyone’s attention. In the meeting about the wedding.
This had turned into another wedding talk.
Talk of postponing it. Of what to do about the article.
All stuff he didn’t care about in the slightest.
“I don’t care about any of this shit. What are we doing to find Maggie?”
None of them would meet his eyes. Except Kassim.
“We’re doing everything we can, Jack.”
“Yeah? Is that why we’re all in here . . . in a meeting . . . instead of looking for her?”
“He’s got a point,” Wolfe said. This was the first time Jack had seen the other man since he’d heard that Vivi was pregnant. “We should be focusing on the girl. Not this bullshit. This is Purity Party Propaganda.”
“You think they have her?” Jack turned to him.
“Who else?” Wolfe shrugged. “Unless Pinky got to her. But we all know he’s funding the Purity Party so why dirty his hands when he can dirty theirs?”
Fuck.
“Then we find every member and we lean on them,” Jack said.
Caleb glared at Wolfe, then turned to him. “We can’t do that, Jack. They’re innocent until proven guilty.”
He didn’t give a fucking shit about that.
He wasn’t letting the fucking law bind his hands.
Jack stood. He was leaving.
“You’re a member of my guard,” Kassim said solemnly. “You cannot go around terrorizing my citizens.”
“Someone beat her!” Jack’s roar sounded through the room. “I’m going to find her. And if that’s a problem, then I quit!”
More silence.
Then Ian stood. “Jack’s right. Maggie comes first. I quit as well.”
“Wait,” Caleb said, standing. “No one is quitting. Sit down.”
“She comes first. Before anything else,” Ian told them all firmly.
“So this is more than a fling?” Aleki asked.
“Yes,” Ian replied. “Maggie is ours.”
“And does she want that?” Beck asked, staring at them both.
“She does,” Jack replied. He knew that she did. Even if she didn’t realize what they had was going to become a permanent thing.
“When we get her back, we’ll make it clear to her,” Ian said.
“You mean you’ll ask her consent?” Hux said.
“Like all of you did?” Jack said, staring around at them all. They’d all basically kidnapped their women and entered a Marjarsom period for twenty-one days.
Hmm, not a bad idea.
If she’s not completely terrified by the time we rescue her . . .
“We’ll talk to the police about interviewing members of the purity party. And we’ll go with them,” Caleb added. “Let me work on coordinating that. But I think it would be best if you both stay out of it.”