Page 41 of The Devil’s Detail (The Greystone Family: Greystone Brothers #2)

Jackson

Five minutes earlier

“You’re such a twat. Are you really going to do this with him?

” Ash smirks at me. “He is not for you, Jackson. He’s way too sweet.

He’s actually a really good guy. You’ll chew him up and spit him out.

Does he actually know you? Or have you only shown him Jackson Greystone, CEO.

” Ash is eyeballing me. His tone is jokey, but I can spot the serious question underneath it all.

“Fuck off, Ash. Of course I’ve only ever shown him that.

Why would I need to do anything else? It’s not like he’s on my shit list. No need to go nuclear when you don’t have to.

” I shrug at him. But then I smirk at him as the reality of what’s happening sinks in.

“And as for going there—Yes, I fucking am. Is that a problem for you?” I’m stood up anyway, but amend my stance to be a little combative.

Ash’s eyes go wide when he clocks it, putting his hands out towards me in surrender mode.

“Whoa, whoa. I have no problem at all with it. Not an issue for me. To be honest, I don’t think it will be an issue for anyone at work.

But for Carter… I’m not sure if he’s not had the full Greystone experience.

You are a bit on the wild side. He, in comparison, is like a newborn kitten.

” Opening his arms wide, he gestures to the gulf between us.

“His life is so ordered. Go here, say this. Stand here, say and do that. All he does is move around the world, following orders.” He stops and looks at me.

“His life is lived in a goldfish bowl, with bells and fucking whistles on it, so everyone knows where the goldfish is going to go next.” Shaking his head, he points a very intentional finger at me.

“You, on the other hand, give the orders. Hide in the shadows most of the time. In fact, you live in the shadows. And you love it there.” His face is serious, his concern for Carter evident.

Ash has been with me a long time. Army, and then civilian life. He knows how we live. He knows how we survive at times in the ‘normal world’. How I’ve lived, the things I’ve done. The things we’ve done together. No wonder he’s concerned. To be honest, I would be if it weren’t me.

“You decide if you are taking orders or not. Or should I say, requests for help,” he continues.

“You are in charge of all aspects of your life. He’s a grain of sand blowing on the beach.

Which is weird to say, as he’s such a big star.

But he is. One film bombing away from obscurity.

You love obscurity, the more opaque the better. ” He stops when he looks at my face.

“Do you think I haven’t thought about it?

” I ask him quietly, unable to hide the menace in my voice.

His face pales. He’s worried he’s overstepped the mark with me.

He fucking should be. “I’ve thought of nothing else since I took off to Ireland.

I’ve spoken to my family.” He nods, and I can see the relief in his eyes.

“Are you worried about Carter, or about me?” I ask him, not taking my eyes from his.

“You both. You’re such very opposites. But I know he thinks a lot about you. He talks about you all the time. Even when you ghosted him in Ireland. He’s all in, Jackson. You can see it in his face when you’re near.” He’s trying to be balanced, and I appreciate it, I know he cares.

“I know. I see it.” I sigh. “But I won’t know fully about how I feel unless I do it. Do I love the limelight? No. Do I want to be in the spotlight? Absolutely no. We’re both going to have to make adjustments if we do this. I’m prepared to give it a go. That’s as honest as I can be.”

I nod at him, showing him I appreciate the concern. And the honesty. “Keep an eye on us, Ash. We may need it with all the shit that can hit the fan. With the circus around Carter. Like this set of money grabbing tossers.” I aim a salacious smile at him. “Let’s go drink, and get them out of here.”

“Fucking hell. Most people would say you should be worried with Carter's reputation. I’m fucking worried for Carter.” He’s laughing at my face now.

“Well then, you’re doing your job right. And you are a good judge. So keep up the good work.” We both smile and I pat him on the back as we walk towards the lounge area.

The big mahogany doors are shut, but I can hear Freddie’s excitable voice from inside the room.

Uncharacteristically squeaky, I hear the giggle of a female.

And then it hits me full in the chest, stealing all my breath.

I stop dead and Ash’s body reacts to mine.

The soldier firing to life. He thinks we’re under attack.

My body thinks it’s under attack, a trigger activated.

A voice. A very upper-class British voice. One I’ve heard before. One that’s haunted my dreams for a few months. Low and husky. Cut glass coming from inside the lounge.

My Jameson Bonney.

My head explodes, my thoughts running wild. The sound reverberates through my body, all hell breaking loose in my mind. It pulses through my veins.

When the fuck did he arrive? Is he one of the men in the room? Has he come for me? Is he connected to Carter? This film? Who the fuck is he?

I push open the doors with such force they swing back with a crash.

Everyone sitting in the room is startled.

My instincts hone in on the only person I don’t know.

A younger, good looking guy—blond hair and blue eyed, cut jawline.

But weirdly, his full lips are not moving.

And the voice is still talking. Talking to a woman, telling her how beautiful she is.

What the fuck is going on?

“Who the fuck is talking?” I shout over the voice as it fills the room.

They all look at each other. Nobody says a word. “Who.The.Fuck.Is.Talking?” Pointing around the room wildly, I enunciate every word. Again, no reply. “Where is Jameson Bonney?” I growl out. And Freddie gasps.

“You’ve been told? He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. Not until you’ve signed the NDAs. We’ve all signed.” He points around at the three of them.

More fucking NDAs? I’m sick of them.

Freddie carries on talking. “The NDAs are here. Henry’s just signed his.” He points to the young, extremely good looking guy on the couch. The guy looks a bit worried. “He’s the next man in line—” Freddie tries to explain.

I see red and cut him off. “The next man? You mean victim for Mr Bonney. Here. In this fucking house?” I’m shouting, but I can’t stop myself, my rage starting to seep through my sanity.

“Well, not just here. He’s due to go to London, Morocco, Mallorca, Italy… Everything is set up. No one is supposed to know though, so ho?—”

“What exactly is the problem?” The young guy has decided to be brave. “We all know the score here. I’ve been going along with everything. I really want this. I’ve signed all the additional NDAs. I’m not being spoken to like this. I’m fucking good at what I do. I’m a professional.”

He’s a dickhead. And it pushes me to places best left in my past.

I see beyond red. Moving quickly, I grab him off the couch and push him up against the wall by his throat. I’ve been played by Carter and Mr Jameson fucking Bonney.

“Where the fuck is Bonney?”

In his panic, instead of turning it off, Freddie has hit the play button on the phone again. The voice starts to talk, and the hairs on my arms stand on end.

“We’re not supposed to tell you. Unless you sign the NDAs.” Freddie is nearly in tears as Ash tries to grab his phone.

The young English guy is nearly pissing his pants, but remains as still as a man trying to play dead for the big bad predator that is about to eat him alive. Smart boy.

I spin my death stare onto Freddie. “I signed every fucking NDA. Now tell me where he is. Tell me who he is. You can’t hide his identity forever?” My eyes are blazing. I’ve lost my mind. My body is totally working on autopilot, the fight instinct completely taking over.

The voice has moved through the Wi-Fi now and is quietly playing through the speakers in the room. But in my mind, it’s like a pair of symbols constantly crashing together.

“We don’t want to, only until tonight.” I start to squeeze Henry tighter as he gets those words out.

“Stop,” shouts Freddie in a clear panic. “It’s Carter, okay. It’s Carter. He’s Jameson Bonney. It’ll be announced tonight.”

My mind stops whirring. Everything has gone quiet. I don’t say a word. I continue to hold the actor up against the wall, and Ash has hold of Freddie as he tries to coax and cajole me not to kill the young guy.

Carter is Jameson Bonney? How can that be? His voice is a southern drawl. Not this English upperclass one I hear coming out of the speakers.

“It’s Carter. He’s a wizard with accents, always has been. Can change his voice to anything he puts his mind to.” Freddie is spilling his guts now. “Let him go, Jackson. Please.”

The doors swing open again, and in comes Mr Jameson Fucking Bonney. Carter Fucking Maywood. The man I was going to fuck. Pfffttt—the man I have already fucked. Everywhere. And he’s fucked me.

The lying, cheating scum. How dare he play me. Tell me he wants no secrets, and oh but sorry, I may have fucked you, but forgot to tell you. But please still be my boyfriend. I’m in love. I’ll bet you are. I’m a fucking God in the sack.

My rage hits intergalactic levels. I’m actually worried a bit about the guy I have in a chokehold. He’s going blue.

The bottle hitting the floor breaks my trance. I watch the dark green glass skitter across the hard tiles. Every shard a dagger to my hopes. Every sliver a nick to burst my dreams. Everything shattered and broken.

“Well Hello, Mr Bonney. Fancy meeting you here.” I stare at the man I was going to go all in for. I glare at the liar, who wove a tale of love so fucking strong, even I believed him. He’s an actor, what did I expect? The truth, the cold hard truth? He gave me a fucking fairy tale.

I drop the young guy, and he sinks to the floor. His knees buckle, and he slumps to the side. Freddie squeaks and rushes over to ensure he’s not dead. He isn’t. He’s probably acting as well.

I stand and glare at Carter. He looks like he’s been turned to stone. His face pale. His hands shaking. He’s raking his hair at a hundred miles an hour. Planting my hands on my hips, I grind out, “You better start talking.”

“Carter, you can’t divulge the plot. We’ll all be sued for millions.” Freddie has sprung up from the floor and has tears in his eyes. He thinks he’s about to lose his money. He might lose his life if he doesn’t shut up.

“Fucking plot. What plot? To trick me? To make out you were not you, and I was not me?”

Carter is shaking his head. He can’t get any words out. His eyes are wild and his breath is rasping out like he can’t get any air in.

“Jackson, take him into the other room. I’ll deal with this lot.” Ash has taken charge, as I am about to lose my shit. He can see the Viking Berserker raging in my eyes. I’m about to plunder the Carter Maywood castle, and kill all the villagers.

I stand and stare at the man I was about to get to know in every way. And I realise I already have. No wonder he was all over me. No wonder he was craving to have me as his boyfriend. This is the biggest joke, and I never saw it coming. He played it so well. I had no clue it was him.

No wonder he never kissed me. I wondered what was holding him back.

Those weeks we were alone together. He never tried it, not once.

Said he wanted to date me instead of fuck.

It had nothing to do with that. He was too scared I would realise who he was.

If I got my hands on him, my memory may have been jogged.

How he felt under my hands. The noise he made when I jerked us both off.

His voice he could change, but not that.

Not that depth of pleasure that comes from your soul.

Not the wanting more of everything, not the visceral growl when he came in my mouth. Those noises you can’t fake.

Oh my God. Another thought hits me. What if he did?

What if he was faking it in that room? None of it was real, not one thing.

He is an actor after all. You hear it on pornos.

The ‘yeah baby, ohh harder, baby’. All the fucking time.

He is at the top of his game. Maybe his ultimate role has been tricking me into believing he actually enjoyed fucking me.

“Don’t bother, Ash. We’re leaving.” The cold hard decision hits me between the eyes.

I’m done. I was done with Jameson Bonney anyway.

A great memory of a spectacular one-night stand.

Or so I thought. But maybe not. But definitely nothing else.

And now this, on top of everything else.

It was a mirage, a hallucination. Well, time for me to call it in. No more games. No more lies.

I stride past the gulping Carter, and storm out of the doors and into the car we’d all arrived in. Ash jumps into the driver's seat and we screech down the drive. I look in the side mirrors and see Carter running down the drive, waving his arms to try to get my attention.

Ash pushes the gate release fob, and we zoom through the opening without having to stop, the gates closing behind us. Closing on the Bonney chapter. Shutting down the Carter chapter, before it’s even really been written, before it’s even begun.