Page 10 of The Devil’s Detail (The Greystone Family: Greystone Brothers #2)

Jackson

Scotland, Barclay House—the ancestral home to one of my sister’s husbands—should be all peace and tranquility, but with kids, a new baby, and the husbands, it’s chaos.

Every night I fall into bed, too exhausted to even dream, and in a morning I’m awoken at some ungodly hour by the twins, Lachlan and Sorley.

Bit by bit, I mellow down, and the weeks fly by.

The only time I’m riled up is from my regular call from either Carter or his unofficial babysitter, Ash.

Ash is one of my top guys. We worked together in the forces, and now that he’s retired, he came to me for work.

I trust the man with my life, and that of my family.

He’s also patient and calculated—two vital qualities needed when dealing with Carter.

Because that man is a butterfly, and has a tendency to go with the feeling.

It’s a nightmare for a proficient security team.

And the one he has, well, they’ve no chance.

“Jackson, Carter’s on for you again.” Jonno hands me the phone with a smirk.

I drop my head back in exasperation. Here we go. “Carter, hey, everything okay?” I’ve gotten to stock greetings with him. Every day is a wilder and wilder tale.

“I’ve seen him again. At a coffee shop this time. Jackson, I’m telling you?—”

“Did you get a photograph?” I interrupt him. “Anything at all that we could use to look into it for you?” The line goes silent.

“I didn’t think to,” he finally admits. “I sent one of my guys over, but he’d already disappeared, and they came up empty handed.”

He’s sounding distressed, so I go for soothing. If I start shouting, it’ll likely push him over the edge. And I know if I get too involved, his security detail will get shirty and I’ll have to deal with them and Carter.

“Look, how long have you got left in London?” My voice is low and melodic. I need to lull him into a trance. It’s the only way I’ll get a rational conversation.

“Maybe a week. I really wanna go home, sugar. I can’t fuckin’ wait.” He sounds like his breath is stuck in his throat.

“Was it Gary again? Or the unknown man?” I have a feeling it might be Ash, which is good because it at least means there is no actual stalker. But the fact that only Carter has spotted him is another huge black mark against his security team.

Ash said he’s just following generally, not everyday, and he’s being careful, so I’m only half bothered about the unknown stalker. If Ash is around, an actual stalker won’t get anywhere near Carter, but I better check in with him to make sure it is him and not a threat.

“That idiot Gary has been to three locations. This is why I think someone is selling me out. Nobody should have known, yet there he was.” His voice sounds worried. I know he’s dramatic, but that is a concern. Maybe someone on his team is feeding Gary information.

After our meeting at the cafe, I looked deeper into his security team as a whole.

The old guy who owned the company originally, I knew.

Really good guy. But he’d been ill, and I think his nephew has taken over the business.

No real security experience, no military training, not much training at all other than what he’d learned from his uncle.

It’s a shit show. They’re really only one step away from a disaster.

No direction, only concerned with how much profit they can make out of Carter.

I knew some of the decent guys that had been on payroll, but they’d all left for one reason or another before the old man retired.

And as the younger nephew took the reins, more departed.

“What should I do, Jackson? I don’t want to go out. I feel like I’m bein’ buried alive. Eaten away from the inside.”

I take it back. He is drama in the extreme. But still, it’s a concern. And I know if he gets on the phone to Evie, I’m in swinging distance. I’ll not hear the end of it.

“Do you want me to ring your head of security?” I query.

I know that won’t help, but he wants to feel as if someone is doing something.

Unfortunately, other than him firing them outright, I’m not sure I can actually do anything really substantial.

“Or have you managed to source some proof and we can use that to get you out of your contract?” There’s silence again.

“I don’t know where to start on that. And to be honest, I don’t trust anyone enough to help me. I’m between a rock and a hard place.” He sounds resigned now. His moods swing like a pendulum.

“Look, I’ll send someone. He’ll be around, so don’t worry if you see someone else.” I grin, I’m only giving Ash more of a green light than I did before. “We’ll get a look see and then decide on a course of action when we’re both back in LA. I’m still in Scotland with Evie and the baby.”

“Aww, Jackson, I’m sorry for disturbing you, honey. Let Evie know I’m sorry, and I’ll try and get up there soon. I just…”

He peters off, and I can feel his sadness even though we’re on a voice call. No wonder he’s such a good actor—he takes you into every emotion. His voice is a window to his heart. I have to fight hard to not go there with him.

“Just take care, okay. Don’t do anything rash.” Famous last words on that one. “We’ll sort it, Carter. Okay?” God knows why I’m being so nice to him. Half the trouble he causes himself. But his ex-boyfriend has become quite a pest.

“Okay, baby. I won’t.”

I grin at his endearments. He’s the same with everyone. But I know he isn’t listening. He never does, and he can’t help himself and his impulses.

I hang up and blow out a breath.

“Was that Carter again?” Evie has stuck her head out of the speak a word room. She will have heard my end of the conversation, waited for me to finish up and then pounced.

“Yep. I think I might have to go and sort things out. I thought I might be able to wait until we go back to LA, but with the amount of missed calls and actual calls I’ve fielded, it feels like things are coming to a head in London.”

“I thought I was Carter’s best friend, but by the number of times he’s called, he’s obviously thrown me over for you. I’m almost jealous of you stealing my friend,” she jokes.

I walk over to her, smirking, and take the baby out of her arms. Little Rioagnach, she’s the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen.

We walk back into the room and get settled in the soft old leather settees. “What’s up with his security?” Evie asks, her voice full of concern. “I know Kasey said Carter’s been worried about it. He still at least calls me.”

I curl my lip. “I get the impression it’s more about business and money for his detail rather than the actual security,” I tell her grimly.

The absolute pits, in my opinion. It should be about the person full stop.

“I think they want to be celebrities. I’ve been watching them, and it’s no wonder Carter is mobbed.

People follow his security on social media, and there’s a good chance they will be where he is.

So they turn up.” I shrug, not needing to spell my frustration out for her.

She knows how dangerous that situation could be.

“They have social media?” She’s incredulous.

“Yep, loads of followers, too. I think it’s going to their heads. They think they’re popular, but it’s the connection to Carter that fuels it. Crazy.” I shake my head and coo at the baby, smiling softly at them both.

“Well, I’ll be sad to see you go. It’s been great having you here all these weeks. You look a lot better than when you came. Are you ever going to tell me what the problem was?”

I wondered if she’d spot anything. She hasn’t said, probably biding her time for me to say.

And I haven’t. I suppose I’ve got to decide if there is actually anything to report on.

At the end of the day, it was a one-nighter.

Fucking amazing one night, but it’s not going anywhere.

I didn’t have a relationship with Bonney.

He hasn’t contacted me via CAshO. So at this point, it’s a bit of a stalemate.

As it won’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things, I decide to tell her. We do tell each other most things, anyway. Keeping each other caught up on the good in our lives, and not just issues and concerns.

“I went to CAshO with Jonno in March,” I start, and her eyebrows go up. I know she knows all about that night. Jonno’s already spilled his guts about the runners and riders themed night.

“Oh.”

I chuckle. “Yes, oh. My partner for the night blew my mind. They showed me things I never considered before. And to be honest, I loved it.”

Her mouth pops open in shock. “Wow, well she must have been”—she wafts her hand in the air—“stunning,” she finishes off with a flourish. “Do you want to see her again? Is that the problem?”

“I went back and left my details for them, but as yet haven’t heard anything back. I don’t think they’re bothered about a rematch. And I can’t contact them as I signed all sorts of additional NDAs and I have no idea who they are.”

She doesn’t know what to say. She’s just staring at me in wonderment.

“Christ, she must have been ridiculous, ‘cos you lot are not shrinking violets in the bedroom.” Her face has gone red with her blush. She’s so shy at times, which, considering her living arrangements, is madness.

“What made her so special?” She nearly chokes on the words.

She wants to know—her natural curiosity always wins out—but she doesn’t want all the nitty gritty, either. I am still her brother.

“Everything—the blindfolds, the NDAs, the care they took of me. I handed over control to them.” I shrug at her gasp.

“Every bit of myself, and they took it without restraint. Took every facet of me and handled it with kid gloves, as if it was the best thing I could have done.” I touch her beautiful face, recognizing the tears in her eyes.

“Why are you crying?” This woman. She cares so deeply for us all.