Page 108 of Impulse

Somehow, Lex knew they wouldn’t be.Douglas took his job seriously and was paid handsomely, just like Mathews.That was the flip side of employing ex-spies.At least he didn’t have a camera inside the Phantom.Or did he?His phone vibrated again, warning him of an incoming call, but he ignored it.

The scene with Jillian in the car after she’d picked him from Van Nuys flashed through his head.He’d never asked Douglas to remove the surveillance system before because it was for his safety, but for Jillian’s sake, they were going to make some sacrifices.

“How many cameras are inside the Phantom?”Lex asked after he slid behind the wheel.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“How many cameras, Douglas?The truth or I’ll fire you.”

“One in the front and another in the back, and three external ones facing front, back, and above.The feed goes to a server accessible only by the code known to you and me alone.”

He knew the code.“Okay.Turn off the internal ones when I’m with Jillian.”His phone vibrated again.“Contact me if anything is off.”He terminated the call and connected to his assistant.“Good morning, Paula.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve rearranged your schedule, but I can’t stonewall your family.Not when they all call at once.”She sounded frazzled.“They’re all saying you aren’t returning their calls.”

“I’ll call them back when I’m done with my meeting.”A meeting she hadn’t scheduled.He could hear the gears turning in her head, but she knew when to ask questions and when to keep quiet.She probably assumed it was something that involvedInfinitus.Other than Eddie, she was the only one who knew about the organizations.

“Call them soon, Lex.Your mother made contact with Calaveras.”

Lex’s phone buzzed.A quick glance showed his brother Chase’s cocky grin.He ignored the call and gunned the engine.When he’d decided to contact Jillian’s father, he’d seen it as the only alternative to fixing the misunderstanding between father and daughter.Now he wasn’t so sure.

Maybe he should have gone to Petrosian instead.He understood money and business.Relationships got murky fast.On the other hand, Jillian had said her father was a straight shooter.Once they reached an understanding, the mess would be fixed and he could focus on his upcoming nuptials.There was the mandatory meeting with Father O’Malley, a wedding to plan…

His phone vibrated again and he pushed a button.“Let me guess, you couldn’t resist telling Amy and now everyone wants to know about Jillian.”

“I should be insulted by that comment,” Eddie said.

“Does that mean you didn’t tell her?”

“No, I didn’t, and now she’s not talking to me because I wasn’t surprised when she told me about JillianafterKara called her.”

Kara was his brother Baron’s wife, which meant his mother was behind this.He should have known she wouldn’t keep quiet for long.“Do I owe you an apology?”

“No, but you might want to bring her to the family brunch or dinner on Sunday.I tried telling Amy I haven’t met Jillian yet, but she won’t listen.I want my wife back, Lex.”

“You want me to tell you how to woo her?I have a few pointers.”

Eddie laughed.“I’m the married one here.You should be asking me for the fucking manual.”

“I’ll be married in two weeks, setting a new record, so screw your manual.”

Silence followed then, “Two weeks?Damn, that’s fast.Is she pregnant?”

He opened his mouth to say no, then shrugged.“None of your business.Can I talk to Amy?”

“Hell no.You’ll only make things worse.I can handle Amy.”He groaned and added, “I didn’t mean that, sweetheart.Amy.Gotta go, Lex.Take care of this before things get worse.”

The next call was to his mother, who was on her way to Vegas.“David sent his jet for me.I should have all the papers signed by the end of the week so I can be home for the family dinner.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“It’s nothing.The family wants to meet Jillian.”

“Thanks a lot for that, too,” he wanted to say, but reprimanding his mother was not his thing.“They will.Good luck with Calaveras.”