Exacting. Calculating. Ruthless when required and sometimes when it wasn’t.
He was also Jack’s mentor. He alone knew the disgrace of Jack’s past, and he’d given Jack a chance anyway. An opportunity to start over again, to do something good, to make something of himself.
“Give me your reports,” Primus said.
They did, in turn. Delaney had picked up a rumor that a new and violent gang had taken over a flash house. She’d infiltrated it to determine if it was the First Flame; it wasn’t. Similarly, Calderone had ruled out a workhouse as a potential First Flame headquarters. Laurent had investigated a society that called themselves anarchists, but according to the Frenchman, they were the “good kind.”
“True revolutionaries,” he explained. “Who want to make a difference in the world, not tear it down.”
“Granger?” Primus inquired.
“I haven’t found the suspect from Calais yet,” Jack said. “But I am confident the two leads I’m following will yield results soon.”
“Very well. Keep at it, all of you.” Primus nodded, his jowls wobbling slightly. He was a stocky man and stronger than he looked. “I know you need no reminding, but the Great Exhibition opens in just over a fortnight. Visitors are flooding the city, as are foreign dignitaries. Crowds are everywhere. It is no coincidence that the First Flame came out of dormancy a few months ago and are rumored to be in operation in London. If the First Flame is planning to strike, there is no better time to create mass destruction than during these next few weeks.”
Calderone crossed his arms over his broad chest, his head angled. “Have you picked up any information regarding the new leader,señor?”
“I have not. Whoever is in charge now is keeping his head down.”
“Or her head,” Delaney said. “The anarchists have had female leaders.”
Primus acceded the point with a nod. “He, or she, is doing a damned fine job of keeping their plan under wraps. In the past, if the First Flame had an Achilles heel, it was the need to flaunt their prowess. Someone would brag about their scheme, and we would get wind of it and act. But this time around, the First Flame is being as silent as the grave, and it…it concerns me.”
Jack’s nape prickled as Primus was not a fellow who was easily concerned. Looking around the room, Jack saw Laurent widen his eyes, Calderone shift on his feet, and Delaney chew on her lip.
Laurent broke the silence. “You have warned the local authorities,non?”
“I have informed domestic security of my concerns, but they are stretched thin managing the influx of people into the capital. The police will not act unless I can give them proof of a credible threat or an imminent attack.” Primus sighed. “Which, as of now, I cannot. That is why I am counting upon you to uncover the First Flame’s plot. Before it is too late.”
“Yes, sir,” they all chimed.
“Granger, stay behind. I want a word.”
The other agents left, Delaney mouthing,Good luck. You’re going to need it,before exiting.
Primus cut to the chase. “Did you reveal yourself to her?”
Jack took a breath. “Yes, sir.”
“How much does she know?”
“Just that I am not dead. I didn’t tell her the rest.”
“You had better keep it that way. Our mission cannot be compromised. I can feel it in my bones that the First Flame is plotting something on an unprecedented scale.” Beneath his bushy brows, Primus’s gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s. “There is no going back, Granger. You knew this when you left her. When you came to me for help and I devised the plan to protect her, you knew it was irreversible. You gave me your word that you would not contact her again—that you would keep your secrets from her. For your own good and the good of our team.”
“I know.”
Jack remembered his panicked state when he’d asked Primus for help. Primus had presented him with an agonizing choice: stay and risk Lottie’s life…or leave and keep her safe. He’d made the excruciating decision to abandon the only woman he’d ever loved. The fact that he’d done so for the right reasons didn’t make his actions feel any less wrong. Over the years, he thought the pain had dulled, but seeing her again brought his regret and yearning rushing to the fore. He would never get over the loss of his wife, not if he lived to be a hundred. There would never be a day when he didn’t want her, pine for her, burn for her.
She, meanwhile, hated his guts. Deservedly so.
“You must not make the wrong choice because of a woman. Not again.”
Primus’s words knifed Jack’s gut. The reminder of his shame focused him. Even before he left Lottie, he’d never been worthy of her. She was better off without him…then and now.
“I won’t, sir,” he said tightly.
“Good.” Primus’s countenance relaxed. “I am heartened to know that the effort I have invested in you has not gone to waste. You have proved yourself a capable spymaster and second-in-command, Granger. When I retire, I expect you to take over my position.”
