Page 19 of Digital Desire

“I honestly don’t see what the big deal is,” Drew said, and Jack turned to glare at him.

“Who the fuck asked you anyway? You’re Fortis, this is an Eidolon meeting so get lost.”

“Ignore him, Drew. Jack is being a bit of prick right now and doesn’t know what he’s saying,” Alex said as he sipped his whisky.

“The fuck I don’t,” replied Jack slamming his glass down. “I’m still in charge of this shit storm, and you assholes, so mind what the fuck you say to me,” Jack yelled as he got up and the room began to spin. He shot out a hand to grab the bar and Blake steadied him. “I’m fine,” he slurred as he righted himself.

“Go to bed, Jack, you’re no good to anyone like this and we still have to sort out a plan to rescue Madison.”

“Yeah, it’s all her fault, her and that sister. If it weren’t for them, this wouldn’t have happened, and my life would not be in the shitter,” he slurred as he swayed towards the exit.

Alex caught up with him. “You can’t blame Aubrey. She was just doing exactly what you would have done if it were Will.”

“Yeah and look where that got me. She should cut all ties and lead her own life. Let her sister fight her own battles.”

“Yeah okay, Jack.” Alex helped Jack into the elevator. “Can you get back to your room okay?” Alex asked.

“Fuck off, Alex,” he said as the door began to close and the room spun. He didn’t need anyone feeling sorry for him, and he didn’t need their help. He was going to be a lone wolf from now on he thought as he pressed the button for the top floor. The elevator lurched, and Jack grabbed for the rail along the middle. For a moment, he thought something had happened then realised he had reached his floor as the doors opened, and he stumbled towards his room.

He stopped, and for a second, he was tempted to give Will a piece of his mind—to tell him how his secrets had fucked their family up but the tiny part of him that wasn’t drunk decided to wait until he had a clearer head.

Opening the door, he shut it quietly and then fell onto his bed with his clothes on. He was exhausted from always being in charge, of going from one job to the next and never letting his guard down because when you did that, that was when shit went wrong.

Maybe he would take a holiday after this was all over was his last thought as he fell into a booze-induced sleep.

* * *

Alex watched his boss as he hit the button for the top floor and shook his head. This had been coming for a while. The tension between Jack and Will had been building for months. He just hadn’t expected this to happen. Will as the leader of Eidolon—shit that was out of left field.

He thrust his hands in his pockets and winked at the sexy brunette on reception who had been flirting with him earlier. She reminded him of Evelyn, his sweet, innocent Evelyn—the girl who had stolen his heart when they were barely teenagers and had crushed it when she had disappeared.

He wasn’t sure if he would ever stop looking for her in the eyes of every woman he met. Even at seventeen, he had known she was his soul mate, the other half of himself and he was sure she had felt the same. Just as they had been getting ready to run away together to escape their families and all the preconceived ideas they had—she had disappeared leaving him distraught.

Deciding he needed a drink more than he needed to get laid, he moved back into the all-night bar and saw Drew was the only one at the bar now. “You can’t sleep either?” he asked as he climbed onto the stool beside Drew.

Drew looked at him with a shrug. “Na, I’m too wired to sleep,” he said as he sipped a beer.

“Yeah, lots of shit coming out of the woodwork tonight,” Alex said ordering a beer too.

“Jack is intense, isn’t he?” Drew said.

“He can be, but he’s a great leader and a good friend. Nobody I would rather have in my corner than him. He would die for those he cares about and despite the way they are, Will is top of that list.”

“Families are fucked up,” Drew said with a small laugh. “I should know, most of mine are batshit crazy. Except for Lauren and the twins. I would die for them in a heartbeat.”

“Yeah, I get that, I think everyone has their secrets.”

“Yeah, I guess we all do,” Drew said.

“So, tell me about Siren. Liam says she’s one of Zenobi’s. I haven’t met her, but he says she’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, she is stunningly beautiful, and she has that sexy Latina vibe going on.”

“Be careful with that one then, Drew, because Latino women have a habit of getting under your skin and settling themselves in your heart like no other women on earth.”

“Sounds like there’s a story there,” Drew said with a smirk.

Again, Evelyn’s image came to him, her long dark hair blowing all around her face in the evening breeze as they sat by the river and talked about all their hopes and dreams for the future. “Let’s just say when you give your heart to one, they don’t ever give it back. Even if it’s crushed into a messy, bloody pulp, they hang on to it until all you have left is memories,” he said revealing more than he ever had before.