King's Crusade (Seventeen) by AD Starrling Read Free Book Online Page B

something I don’t like. He’s been involved in some strange business in the past.’ He grabbed a cup from the draining board, poured hot coffee into it, and splashed in some milk from the open carton on the counter.
    Alexa hid a grimace.
    ‘You want some?’ he asked with a raised eyebrow, mistaking her expression.
    ‘No, thank you.’
    ‘I’ll need a few days to organize things,’ he said, sipping the drink.
    Alexa noted the hardened skin over the knuckles of the hand holding the cup. He obviously still boxed.
    His brow furrowed as he stared at the floor. ‘I have to cancel appointments with my post-grad students at Harvard and—’
    Alexa glanced at her Timex. ‘You have an hour.’
    Jackson choked and spluttered. ‘What?’ he exclaimed distractedly when he got his breath back. A drop of coffee slid down his chest. The liquid was the same color as his freckles. He reached for a dish cloth and wiped his chin before dabbing at the stray droplet rolling toward the open zip of his low riding jeans.
    Alexa blinked and tore her gaze away from his fingers. ‘Our flight leaves at two.’
    He looked up and scowled. ‘You were so damn sure I was gonna say yes?’ he said accusingly.
    ‘No,’ she said with a shrug.
    He mumbled something unsavory under his breath and stalked out of the room.
    Sixty minutes later, they walked out into the cold morning air. Jackson carried a large duffel bag on his shoulder. Alexa had watched with faint interest as he strode around his apartment, unconsciously muttering to himself while he examined and discarded various textbooks. He finally packed a small selection in the bag, along with some clothes and toiletries. Before they left, he made a series of terse phone calls to his colleagues at Harvard. He frowned at her almost continuously while he spoke.
    Alexa negotiated the snowdrifts in front of the tower block with practiced ease and headed swiftly down a public alley. Jackson followed more cautiously in her footsteps. She reached a parking bay, opened the door of her car, and climbed in the driver’s seat.
    Jackson stopped and stared from the sidewalk.
    She leaned across the console and opened the passenger door. ‘Get in.’
    He pointed at the low, black sports car. ‘What the hell is that?’
    ‘It’s a Maserati,’ she replied curtly. The vehicle was the most expensive thing she owned in the world, besides her apartment. It had been especially designed for her by the Italian carmaker.
    ‘Do you drive it or does it fly?’ said Jackson, boots still firmly planted in the snow.
    She looked pointedly at her watch. ‘We’re going to miss our flight.’
    He sighed, climbed in the passenger seat, and threw the duffel bag in the back. ‘This thing looks fast.’ He gazed warily at the sleek dashboard.
    A sly smile crossed Alexa’s lips. ‘It is.’
    She engaged the transmission and sent the Maserati squealing out of the parking bay a second after he clipped in his safety belt. There was a muffled gasp at her side. She hid a grin and changed gears as the car shot down the road. The engine roared under the hood.
    A set of traffic lights appeared ahead of them. She took the corner sharply onto the next avenue and caught a glimpse of a small, saffron-robed figure standing on the pavement to the right. It was a young Asian man with a bald head and a cryptic smile.
    It was not the way that he was dressed that drew her attention. Instead, it was his absolute stillness among the sea of jostling bodies that immediately captured her gaze.
    Alexa blinked and looked over her shoulder. The figure had disappeared. She glanced at the rearview and side mirrors as she sped away.
    ‘What is it?’ said Jackson. He looked back the way they had come, his puzzled stare shifting from the road behind them to her.
    ‘Nothing,’ she murmured. She was certain she had not imagined the stranger.
    She took the Callahan Tunnel beneath Boston Harbor and reached the outskirts of Logan International