Jack shifted on the table. “Whoa.”
Peter glanced at him. “We thought you two were just on a short break?”
“No,” she said.
“Oh.” Peter cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize there was a problem. So, uh, I’ll talk to Kyle. If you’re not interested, we’ll have to find another angle.” Curiosity glimmered in his eyes. “But we didn’t need to come all the way to Knife’s Edge, though.”
“You really didn’t,” May agreed, her body feeling chilled.
Peter hesitated. “Also, I’m out of my blood pressure medicine. What do I do about that?”
May gestured toward Ivy. “She can help you sort that out. You’ll need a refill from your primary physician, but we can have medication flown in if necessary.”
“Oh. Good.” Relief filtered across Peter’s face, although he still looked confused. Exactly what had Kyle told him?
May stepped back. “All right, Jack. Let’s get that ankle imaged.”
Chapter Eleven
Ace glanced down at the EVE visitor emblem stamped across his badge, the dark red letters catching the overhead light, and shook his head. He tugged once on the lanyard to make sure it was secure around his neck. The drive out to the facility had been decent, but seeing all those antennae across the fields was just as freaky as ever.
The waiting room hummed with a low electrical buzz, while steel beams cut hard lines across the ceiling. The metal reception desk sat dead center, cold and unwelcoming. Two armed guards occupied the space behind it, silent and watchful, their expressions hard.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and Damian walked out. As usual, he looked perfectly at home in this world. He wore an expensive black suit, tailored to fit his tall body, paired with a crisp white shirt open at the collar. No tie today. His stride was smooth and controlled. “Hey, let’s go up to my office.”
“Sure thing,” Ace said immediately, already stepping in behind him.
They rode up in silence. The elevator climbed with a steady mechanical whir, the air tight and faintly metallic. Ace kept his gaze forward. Damian didn’t fidget. He never did. When the doors opened, Damian led him through a small waiting area and toward the office tucked into the back corner.
“Sorry I had to ask you to come all the way out here,” Damian said as he moved inside his office. “I’m in the middle of five different things and didn’t have time to come into town.”
“Not a problem. I don’t mind the drive out to EVE.” Ace scanned the space to see glass, steel, and organized precision. “I’d love to look through this whole place.”
Damian chuckled, though there wasn’t much humor in it. “Yeah. So would I. Believe it or not, there are two floors I don’t have access to.”
Ace’s attention snapped back to him. That wasn’t nothing. “Is that really why you took this job?”
Damian’s green eyes were assessing and impossible to read. “Of course not. I’m here to provide security.”
Yeah, right. Ace might not know a lot of things sometimes, but he knew his brother. That wasn’t it. Not even close. Something else lived under Damian’s calm tone, something tight and coiled. “If you say so.” For now, anyway. Ace walked toward the wide window. Knife’s Edge Mountain rose in the distance, its peaks stunning in the summer light, still tipped with white. The view was breathtaking. “I like your office. It suits you.”
“I’m comfortable here.” Damian gestured toward a black leather sofa. “Have a seat.”
“Thanks.” Ace sat, rolling his neck once, tension cracking softly along his spine.
The door opened without warning. A woman hustled inside, brisk and efficient, who appeared to be in her early sixties. Cat’s-eye glasses framed her blue eyes, and her hair was pulled tight into a bun, while the green suit she wore was immaculate with the skirt falling to beneath her knees. Her shoes sparkled with green sequins and high heels at total odds with the rest of her outfit. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you come in, Mr. Osprey,” she said. “Would either of you like water, tea, coffee, or anything else?”
Damian glanced at Ace.
“No thanks. I’m good,” Ace said.
“Thank you, Elisa, but we’re fine,” Damian added.
Elisa nodded and her lips thinned before she turned and disappeared.
Ace watched the door close, then shifted his gaze back to his brother, a faint amusement stirring in him. “I get the feeling she doesn’t like you.”
Damian shook his head, his thick hair curling behind his ears as he exhaled. “I know. She’s been my secretary for months and is still pissed her former boss had to retire. I think she was in love with him.”
