“Typical,” I growl. Gods, Jax tries my patience sometimes.
Then I hear the rumble of a motorbike outside. Its engine sputters to a halt and finally, Jax saunters in. He sprawls on a chair with a grin, unzipping his leather jacket.
“Howdy, all.” His green gaze spans the group.
“Good of you to join us,” I say with a hint of sarcasm.
Jax’s mouth twists as he brings out his vape and drags on it. Dear gods, if he tries to vape while on this mission, he’ll put himself at risk. A spiral of vapor in midair is guaranteed to draw unwanted attention. Maybe Tippy needs to make him some nicotine lollies to chew.
And yet, somehow, I know Jax won’t blow his cover. He survived a mauling that nearly killed him. I daresay he still experiences pain from the many scars he bears, but he never complains. There’s a reservoir of strength hidden behind his couldn’t-give-a-fuck attitude.
It’s just… his ordeal sure hasn’t done anything to change his personality. He’s irritatingly laconic and frankly, his sarcasm and habit of trivializing even the most serious of things drives me batshit crazy. I grit my teeth, my tusks extending in typical annoyed-orc fashion.
One thing I know, he’s not wriggling out of telling Clem what happened to him.
Today—straight after this meeting, in fact—I intend to drag his sorry ass home with me and make sure he tells her every last detail.
Jax ignores my seething look and slings his booted feet onto my desk. “Okay. Give me the lowdown.’
“Feet off my desk.” I point at his buckled boots. Jax smirks and doesn’t move. “Now.” Slowly, he unfurls his ankles and drops his feet, long legs sprawled as he slouches back in the chair.
Fighting the urge to tell him to sit the fuck up, I pick up one tiny metal bug from my desk. “This,” I say, “is the result of weeksof work. I’ve refined it as far as I can. It’s ready for a trial run. Jax, you will smuggle it into the army barracks at the Periphery, and fix it under the desk of the Captain. If that succeeds, your next task will be to hide devices in the Sparkle authorities headquarters.
Jax removes the vape from his mouth. “Piece of cake getting it into the army barracks. Less easy to smuggle them into the headquarters in DeVine’s tower. I assume I will have access to the portal cape for that.”
“When the time comes, yes, but only for that part of the mission.”
“When do I smuggle one into the barracks?”
“Within the week.”
Jax nods. He sits up straight now, green eyes shining. He’s actually looking forward to it, I realize.
“I have a stash of black-market cigars I can use to bribe my way into the officer’s quarters. I’ve done plenty of deals with them before.” He smirks. “It’s how I keep the bastards sweet, make sure they don’t ask too many questions.”
“Excellent,” I say, turning my attention to my team of sheriffs. “You guys need to keep watchful eyes and ears on the peripherals on all levels, report any suspicious activities—humans straying out of bounds, any new faces. Understood?”
“Yes, boss,” my team choruses.
We discuss the finer details of strategy for a while, then everyone filters out, except Jax, who sidles over and picks up the bugging device, turning it over in his palm. “Doesn’t look like it would achieve fuck all.”
“Well, that’s computing for you. So much squeezed into tiny packages.”
“So the mission begins,” he murmurs.
“Yeah, but before that, you need to come clean to Clem.”
Jax stiffens. “We’ve had this fucking conversation before.”
“And we’ll keep having it until you talk to her.”
“Why are you so fucking insistent?” he growls, then does a double take, eyes homing on my face. I feel tell-tale heat creeping above my collar. “Ah,that’swhat it is… you’ve got the hots for her, haven’t you?” Jax crows.
The blush spreads right up to my hairline. “She’s your biggest fan. She deserves to know the truth,” I bluster.
“I doubt she’ll be my biggest fan when she finds out.”
“It won’t change her feelings for you, Jax. She adores you.”
