Page 77 of Pervade Montego Bay

“Are you saying this could work without Emily?”

“Of course not. What I’m saying is that you two are perfect together.”

“You’re fighting this for the wrong reasons.”

“I’m giving you an out, Rothschild.”

“Are you willing to blow up your life again?”

“How exactly did I do that?”

“You blamed the world for what happened to Victoria. You stormed back to London—”

“You were with me—”

“Yes, I was. Right by your side…and I saw the level of your pain played out in real time as you took down Britain’s leaders and made yourself King of the World.”

“I still am.”

“You think the Russians know we took out Ivor Mikhail? That what happened to you at Doctor’s Cave could be retaliation?”

“It’s a theory.”

“No, they don’t know we killed Ivor. I blocked all cameras in the vicinity. We made contingency plans. He went missing without a trace as far as they’re concerned.”

“I have a lot of enemies.”

“Are you trying to make more?”

“Xavier, do you seriously want me anywhere near your relationship? Think about it. What you have with Emily is as good as it gets. I’ve already threatened it once.”

Ah, so this was his issue—he was worried he wasn’t welcome in our relationship or he would end up ruining it. “I would never feel whole without you, James.”

He dragged a hand through his hair. “I want to see you happy.”

“Stand up.”

“Why?’

“I need to sit there.”

He pushed to his feet with a huff and stepped out of my way. I sank into his chair and readjusted his keyboard. Grabbing the mouse, I clicked away and accessed our private mainframe.

“Emily gave you the young man’s name?” I asked.

“Matthew Smith.”

The man who’d struck James with his jet ski had accomplished what the entire KGB had failed to do by taking James out—at least temporarily.

I got to work.

Initiating my AI assistant, we went deep into Matthew’s life. It didn’t take long to access because he was barely eighteen. Swiftly, working in unison, we profiled Matthew, finding his passport data, studying his education, his bank accounts, his family and other relatives, his political affiliations, and his recent travel history. Matthew was an asshole, which I quickly gathered from his social media accounts, but he was no assassin.

I stepped out from behind the desk. “Looks like he’s clean. Our AI will complete the profile. Shouldn’t take long.”

James let out a sigh of relief.

I gave a nod. “Yeah, the only ninja warrior trying to take you out is you.”