Page 38 of Royal Flush

“Did you bother to dig into the internet regarding that card shark of yours?” Gage was amused, his eyes darting to his computer screen.

“She’s not mine and what was the need?”

“If you’d dug a little deeper you might have learned who she is and more important, who her father is.”

“Are you planning on keeping me in suspense as well?”

Gage was the jokester of the group.

My mood was worsening by the minute.

“Took a bit to dig but it appears her father is none other than Justin Sinclair, an Australian diplomat with less than stellar credentials given his caustic mouth and his inability to keep his dick in his pants. He’s perhaps the most hated man in Australia, but those who love him would follow him off a cliff just like a cult member.”

What the hell?

Gage wasn’t the most diplomatic person in the world. “What does that have to do with a goddamn thing?”

He spun his laptop around, the article on the screen from a direct news source in Sydney. I inched closer, reading the headlines. “He was appointed as the Australian ambassador, arriving less than a week ago. Curious timing, eh.” I read more, realizing Justin had been hounded by his opponents and critics alike. “You don’t need to be a genius to realize he’s looking to be elected prime minister in the upcoming years. A tall order but with the creds of being a former ambassador behind him, he could win over those not yet committed.”

“I can’t imagine what her life has been like being scrutinized so much.” I was just musing more than anything, trying to find a reason she’d lied and cheated. I had to wonder what Justin had done to get so far ahead in a cutthroat political arena.

Valerio peered over my shoulder, half chuckling. “It can’t be a coincidence his daughter just appeared as a guest at one of our kinky resorts. Justin’s name sounds familiar as well but in an entirely different way.”

“Maybe one of those dignitaries Pops kept hidden away. Justin Sinclair had been around for a couple decades fighting the good fight.”

I had to admit the possibilities were slim to nil. If she had been attempting to get information out of me as directed by her father, our connection would have seemed contrived. I was fairly certain of it.

After both Valerio and I pulled away from the article, he locked eyes with mine. I sensed Gage was still searching, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

“If you do believe in coincidences,” he said less than two minutes later, “I have a bridge I need to show you in Brooklyn.”

Both Valerio and I glanced in his direction again.

“Guess who’s on the fancy-dancy foundation event’s guest list other than Jameson Bishop?” Gage was grinning from ear to ear.

Sighing, I felt the ache behind my eyes I could usually avoid hit me hard. “Jasmine Sinclair.”

CHAPTER 11

Braxton

For all the places in the world I hated, DC was perhaps the only city I loathed being in.

The traffic.

The crowds.

The pontificating assholes running the government.

I didn’t give a shit who was running the country. I had little tolerance for the pomp and circumstance. I knew it far too well.

However, I’d resigned myself to being a part of the solution to the problem we were facing. Problem. We could be facing disaster if we didn’t handle the situation correctly. Plus, if the lovely little koala was here, I planned on grilling her as to her involvement in whatever scheme was being played.

If that’s what it was.

From what Valerio had shared, he hadn’t been able to determine if our father had used any of the information he’d kept hidden up until his death. If he had, or was in the process before his murder, there could be a handful of people out to ensure the data didn’t get into the wrong hands.

So, here I was, dressed like some fucking penguin attending a soirée that I had no interest in. Sure, I adored animals and would gladly give a hefty donation, but spending the night pretending I could tolerate arrogant people who thought their shit didn’t stink wasn’t tops on my agenda under the best of circumstances.

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