Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
Jack stared up at the light fixture mounted on the ceiling, considering Emily’s question. He was supposed to be working undercover to find the source of online propaganda being spewed across the city of Dublin and all of Ireland.
Now that he’d become involved in what could possibly be the result of that propaganda, he’d, by his actions, chosen sides. However, he wasn’t completely clear which side Paddy and Emily O’Brien claimed.
While Emily had been in the shower, Jack had contacted his lead, Ace Hammerson, in the Zurich office, bringing him up to date on what had happened that night. Ace promised to send an agent to protect Paddy and the doctor, and to expect that he would arrive by mid-morning. He had also suggested Jack touch bases with their computer guru, aka hacker, Lucie Monroe, and get her working on the dark web to find anything she could about the warring factions present in Dublin and how the gypsy Travellers fit into the picture.
He was just in the information-gathering phase of this mission and hesitant to bring anyone else into his confidence. Thus, his reluctance to give Emily O’Brien what she wanted.
The truth.
All these thoughts flashed through his mind in the moment between her asking and his ultimate response.
“I came to your pub because the WIFI there has been identified as one of the IP addresses for a series of online propaganda being spread through Dublin, Ireland, and the UK. The people who sent me suspect that propaganda is designed to recruit and enrage. If the source can’t be identified and snuffed, the peace agreement ending the Troubles could go up in flames, and violence will return to Ireland.”
For a long moment, Emily remained silent.
About the time Jack realized he was holding his breath, Emily spoke.
“I think you’re too late,” she said softly. “It’s already happening.”
“It’s not too late if we can find who’s sending it out and expose them for what they’re doing. You see, whoever is pushing the rhetoric is playing both sides against each other. We don’t think it’s coming from within the parties but being fed from external sources.”
“Someone is stirring the pot?” Emily asked.
“Something like that,” Jack said.
“The Troubles didn’t go away completely,” Emily said. “It wouldn’t take much for the peace agreement to fall apart.”
“I know. But what’s happening now is engaging young people who didn’t live through the violence and teaching them that violence is the only way to right whatever wrongs are being preached. If we can find the source and nip it in the bud, we might avert a full resurgence of the hostilities.”
“You say the WIFI at the pub is linked to the propaganda?” Emily’s voice said into the murky darkness.
“Yes.”
“You don’t think one of my employees or family is responsible, do you?”
“I don’t know. I just started my investigation.”
“Who sent you?” she asked. “Was it the Brits? Are they worried their precious peace might be disrupted again?”
Jack smiled. “No. Not the Brits. I work for a private organization called the Brotherhood Protectors. Normally, we work with individuals who need help, usually as a bodyguard or in a rescue or extraction capacity. This particular mission is an intelligence gathering mission.”
“Which turned into a protection mission tonight,” Emily observed.
He smiled into the dark. “Yes, it did.”
“Does your organization help find missing persons?” she asked, her voice so soft that he strained to hear it.
“We have helped locate missing or exploited individuals,” he said. “Do you know of someone who has gone missing?”
“Maybe,” she said. “I could be wrong, or it could be wishful thinking.”
“What’s her name?” Jack asked.
“Not her,” Emily said. “Him.”
Jack’s chest tightened. Did Emily have a missing loved one? A boyfriend or fiancé she wanted him to find?
Why that bothered him, he didn’t know. He’d only met the woman less than twenty-four hours ago. “Who, Emily?” he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
“My father.”
Jack frowned, strangely relieved the missing person wasn’t her lover. But her father? “I thought you said your father died a month ago in an automobile accident.”
“That’s what they told me. The car burned so hot, there wasn’t much left of the body inside. I couldn’t identify him at the morgue. Because it was his car, they assumed it was him.”
“What makes you think otherwise?” Jack asked.
“No ring,” she said.
Jack turned on his side, facing Emily, though he couldn’t see the expression on her face in the darkness. “What do you mean?”
“He never took off his wedding ring. I expected them to find it or the melted metal. The coroner didn’t have it, and the investigators who went through his vehicle didn’t find it. If that was my father in that vehicle, they would have found it on him.”
“Unless someone took it off him before the accident,” Jack suggested.
Emily sighed. “I know it’s a stretch, and maybe I’m clinging to hope, but my gut is telling me that body wasn’t my father.”
“Why would he or someone else fake his death?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe the propaganda, the attacks, and my father’s accident are all related.”
“It’s possible.”
“I’ve been asking around, trying to learn the truth and getting nowhere. If I help you find your propaganda source, it might lead me to the truth about my father.”
“I don’t want to drag you into a dangerous situation.”
She gave a short bark of laughter. “In case you missed it, I’m already in a dangerous situation, along with the rest of my family.”
“You have a point, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“I might be able to open doors you otherwise wouldn’t have access to, not to mention, as a pub owner, I hear things,” she said. “I’ll share what I learn.”
“If I share what I know…?”
“I’d share either way,” she said. “But it would be nice if you’d let me know about anything concerning my father or anyone else in my family. And if I’m helping you with your investigation, it will allow me to keep an eye on you. I’m still responsible for your life.”
“You’re not responsible for me,” Jack insisted. “My assignments can be extremely dangerous. You couldn’t tag along with them. And you have a pub to run.”
She huffed. “Details. Details. The point is, I’ll help you however I can.”
“Fine,” he said. “It would be nice to have an in with the locals. How will you explain my presence to them? I can’t announce to the world what I’m looking for. That could scare them off before I even get started.”
“I’ll tell them you’re my new employee,” Emily offered.
“I can’t be there all the time. How would that look if your new employee was always a no-show? And as an employee, I wouldn’t have the leisure to sit and chew the fat with the customers.”
“True. My customers know I wouldn’t put up with that for long.” Emily chuckled. “I’d have to fire your ass.”
Jack smiled. The sound of her laughter made his heart swell. She needed to do it more often. If he helped her find her father, or at least learn the truth about him, it might give her the closure she needed to move on in her life and learn to laugh more often.
“What if we tell people we’re dating?” Emily suggested. “That would explain why you’re there so often or why you’re not there all the time. You could be job hunting with the intent of staying in Ireland with me.”
Jack liked the idea. Maybe a little too much. He’d have to remind himself that it was all make-believe and that he hadn’t come to Ireland for a relationship. First and foremost, he was on a mission. “Okay.”
“Okay, what?” Emily asked.
“Okay, we’ll go along with the fake relationship. It would make more sense than my being an employee. That would give me the excuse to be everywhere with you.” He grinned in the darkness. “Because, like it or not, you need protection. Whether it’s me or another member of my Brotherhood Protectors team. Which reminds me, my lead is sending a protector to watch out for Dr. Kelly and your uncle while we work on saving the world.”
“Or at least Dublin,” Emily added. “When do we start?”
“We already have,” Jack said. “We’ve only just met, but we’re already sleeping together. If someone is watching your pub or your apartment, they’ll know you didn’t sleep there tonight. I’d say our fake relationship is moving right along.”
“Perfect. I was at a loss as to where to start looking for my father,” Emily admitted. “Two heads are better than one when resolving a mystery. And we can cover more territory and ask more people for the answers.”
He laughed. “You’ve got this all figured out, don’t you?”
“No, but it’ll do for a start.”
“Yes, it will.
“I want to know what’s happening to my father, my uncle and what could impact me and my brother.” She paused. “Speaking of my brother… I need to go see him tomorrow. My uncle asked me to warn him. About what, I don’t know. I hope Finn does.”
“We can leave as soon as the protector the boss sent arrives to take over.” Jack yawned. “In the meantime, get some rest.”
“Are you sure you can sleep on the hard floor?” Emily asked.
The hardwood flooring was very unforgiving, but Jack would make do. “I’m perfectly fine. Sleep.”
As silence descended, Jack’s gaze sought the shadowy form of Emily lying on the sofa. He couldn’t see if her eyes were open or closed, nor could he hear the sound of her breathing to gauge whether or not she was asleep.
When he’d sat across the bar from where she worked steadily and efficiently to serve orders, he’d admired her take-charge attitude and the way she handled her customers with grace and snark. That she’d thrown herself into saving her uncle and staying with him until she was certain he would be all right elevated her in Jack’s regard.
That she had beautiful golden-blond hair, gray-blue eyes and a petite but curvy figure was a bonus. She reminded him a little of the pretty little staff sergeant he’d met and fallen in love with in Afghanistan.
Laura hadn’t had blond hair or gray-blue eyes. In fact, she’d been brunette with eyes the color of root beer. But she’d been just as confident and capable of dealing with demanding males.
Jack liked a woman who didn’t back down, who could hold her own in a male-dominated environment. But what he’d learned with Laura would forever color his decisions on relationships with the opposite sex. He’d learned to hold back from giving his heart.
Jack had given his whole heart to Laura. They’d snuck kisses behind their tents and found ways to be alone, knowing that fraternization during a deployment was strictly forbidden.
That hadn’t mattered to Jack and Laura. They’d discovered each other in one of the most hostile and dangerous environments and found ways to be together despite the rules and fear of discovery. Jack suspected the risk of getting caught had added to the excitement. They’d been young, impetuous and crazy in love.
His missions with the US Army Rangers had led him into treacherous Taliban territory, where his chances of getting killed had been high. Yet, he’d returned from each mission to her arms.
As Laura’s deployment had neared its end, they’d promised to see each other when they were both Stateside again. They’d write letters and make video calls to stay in touch.
The week before Laura had been due to ship out, she’d been a driver on a convoy to deliver supplies to an orphanage when her truck rolled over an improvised explosive device.
Jack had been out on a mission at the time. The mission had taken longer than anticipated. When his team had returned two days later, Jack had dropped all his gear and hurried to Laura’s tent, only to find people inventorying and packing her belongings.
For days, he’d walked around in a haze. If not for his teammates and their work eliminating Taliban terrorists, Jack didn’t know how he would have survived. He’d channeled all his anger into the missions, taking point every time, half-wishing he’d die and end the pain of his grief.
Since then, he’d sworn off love. Yeah, he dated, but never for long. He’d learned that love hurt too much. He was better off alone. He had his buddies to hang out with when he was tired of his own company. If he ever settled in one place, he might get a dog. He had yet to find that one place that made him want to stay.
Emily stirred, rolled to her back and lay her arm over her forehead, nothing more than a silhouette in the darkness. Yet, her very presence roused Jack’s protective instincts. He’d agreed to let her help in his investigation because she had contacts with the locals that he’d need to dig deeper and find the person or people who were pushing the propaganda with the call to violence. More than her help with the locals, by working with her, he could stay close enough to keep an eye on her in case the men who’d tried to abduct her came back.
He reminded himself that he was on a mission. Though he was attracted to the fiery Irishwoman, he would soon be moving on.
Jack rolled to his back and focused on the light fixture in the center of the ceiling, shoving the desire to keep staring in Emily’s direction to the back of his mind. He’d spent years hardening his heart to avoid pain. He wouldn’t let a petite pub owner breach his defenses.
As he slipped into restless slumber, the devil on his shoulder whispered,
My friend, you’re too late.