by Sofia Grey
Shattering the Trust
Event Horizon Book 3
Sofia Grey
This book is a work of fiction.
While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Sofia Grey
All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Acelette Press
V1.0
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Shattering the Trust (Event Horizon, #3)
Shattering the Trust
Author’s Note:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
This is an Advanced Reader Copy
Shattering the Trust
(Event Horizon #3)
Trusting the wrong person can be deadly
Julien’s business trip to New Zealand should be awesome. Throw in front row tickets to see her favourite band while she’s there? Perfect.
That’s before she learns she’s in danger from a terrorist splinter cell. She has information on a new technology, and they want it, at any cost.
Falling for one of the band’s bodyguards should make her feel safer. But the one man she needs to trust hasn’t been honest about who he’s really working for.
If Julien can’t separate the truth from the lies, her technology will get turned into a potent weapon, and the world will pay the price.
Other Books in the Series
Lying in Shadows (Event Horizon #1)
Two Nights in Houston (An Event Horizon Novella)
Covering the Lies (Event Horizon #2)
Author’s Note:
This book is set in New Zealand, but follows British English spelling and usage
Huge thanks go to my Acelette partners.
* ~ *
Thanks also to Richard, for helping with the aeronautical details.
FRIDAY 12 JANUARY
Chapter One
The handsome man sitting next to Juli on the bus leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I don’t want them to see me. Will you play along for a minute?”
Did he mean the two guys that just boarded as it prepared to leave?
“Yes,” she said. It came out as a squeak.
“Thank you.” He slid one hand behind her, the other lifting to tunnel into her hair. His gaze focused on her lips, and time seemed to stop.
Was he planning to kiss her? A complete stranger? Her heart clattered like a galloping horse. She should push him away.
She didn’t move.
He ducked his head, his face dangerously close.
As though they were on automatic pilot, her arms lifted to drape around his neck. His T-shirt was beautifully soft beneath her fingers. Was her breath fresh? Yes. She’d been chewing gum. Juli should be outraged, but she felt strangely excited.
He shifted to nuzzle against the side of her neck. “Don’t be scared.” His fragrant breath smelled of apples.
“I’m not,” she managed to reply. Then, as her sanity returned, she whispered again. “Who are they?”
He moved his head. She could tell he watched the men from behind the curtain of her hair. Long moments passed, and then he eased back further. She felt strangely bereft. He glanced across the aisle to his companions. His friend seemed to be reading the tour guide, while the girl chattered to the toddler. The two last-minute additions to the excursion sat near the front of the coach, facing away from them.
“Thanks for that. Let’s just say I’d rather they didn’t see me.” His body was close, his arm still draped across her shoulders.
Juli caught a flash of a tattoo peeping out from his short sleeve, but then he shifted position and it vanished from view.
Five minutes ago, she didn’t expect this to happen. She’d been waiting in line for the bus doors to open, fanning herself with a copy of the Wellington Summer Tourist Guide, and gazing at her fellow passengers from behind the safety of her sunglasses.
The guy ahead of her—the same one who almost just kissed her—had caught her attention. Tall and built, with cropped dark hair and the most wicked smile, he stood out from the crowd. Too hot to handle. She nicknamed him Mr Sexy.
He chatted to a pretty conker-haired young woman holding a wriggling toddler, and another guy who also scored highly on the attractiveness scales. The three of them pored over a copy of the same booklet Juli used to fan her face.
The woman smiled at each man in turn, and then handed the child to the first guy. Were they a couple? Just friends? And why did Juli care?
Whatever their relationship, these guys stuck to the woman’s side like glue, as the group inched forward toward the bus.
“Down,” said the child and squirmed some more.
“Okay.” Mr Sexy bent to place the kid on the ground. In doing so he took a step back and almost trod on Juli’s foot, grazing against it as she moved out of the way.
He spun around. “Hey,” he said. “Did I just stomp on you? I’m really sorry.”
She liked his American accent. And his good manners. And his apologetic smile.
“It’s okay. You missed me.” She couldn’t help returning his smile. She’d have liked to come up with a witty remark, but jetlag wasn’t her friend, and her brain was firing at half-speed.
He looked about to say something, when the line began to move and his buddy nudged him. Mr Sexy gave Juli another smile and returned to his companions.
Juli wished she had a friend to share the bus tour with. She knew one other person taking this excursion—Nick Anderson, the charismatic Marketing Director of TM-Tech—but purely on the basis of a ten-minute introduction in the airport lounge. On the flight across from London, he sat several rows away, and now he was at the front of the queue, with his wife and colleagues.
This was Juli’s first trip to New Zealand, a place she always wanted to visit, so why wasn’t she happier?
She felt like a fish out of water. She was certainly tired, but this was a business trip, and she had to be on her A-game.
Juli boarded the
bus and snagged a window seat. The young woman with the toddler and the second guy sat across the aisle from her. Where was their companion?
“Mind if I join you?” Mr Sexy smiled down at her.
He probably wanted to sit near his friends, but Juli wasn’t complaining. “Please do.” She tried not to watch as he stashed a camera bag in the overhead rack, tickled the child under the chin, and then dropped into the seat next to her.
His foot knocked against hers. “Oops. Sorry.” He flashed her another friendly smile, and then he leaned across to his friends and chatted to them in an undertone.
Juli tried to place his accent. American, but she couldn’t be more specific about his light drawl. She smiled out of her window, as the remainder of the passengers boarded. The day was looking up.
The six-hour tour was intended for visitors to Wellington. According to the brochure, it would head north, taking a trip across Paekakariki Hill Road, then continue up to the Kapiti Coast for lunch and shopping, with a side-trip to Queen Elizabeth Park. It sounded fun, and better than sitting in her hotel room all day, brooding over Philip.
Yes, sitting next to Mr Sexy was way more fun than she expected.
He smiled at her. “By the way, I’m Jack,” he said.
She inhaled his woody-smelling aftershave. Damn, he smelled as good as he looked, and she gazed at him, entranced. Any residual thoughts of her soon-to-be-ex Philip dissolved.
“My name’s Juli.”
“Hello, Juli.” He tried to copy her French pronunciation, Zhoo-lee. “Exotic.”
She laughed softly. “It’s Pascal, actually.”
She feasted her eyes on him and tried to memorize the details, to enjoy again later. There were little laughter lines around his eyes. The hint of a scar curving under his jawline. Blue eyes so dark she could fall into them. And white, strong teeth.
He looked as though he should be starring in an action movie, instead of sitting on a tour bus with her.
*
Charlie sat on a folding chair at the edge of the stage and watched the animated discussion between the Stage Manager for the Westpac Stadium and their lead singer, Alex, known universally as AJ. They’d been arguing for close to half an hour, and Charlie was bored.
The sun was high in a brilliant blue sky, and the heat washed over them in the open-roofed stadium. Add fucking melting to his list of grumbles for the day. The plan was to do the soundchecks this morning, and then a full rehearsal for tomorrow night’s gig, but they’d run into a snag. A trailer-sized snag. One of the twenty massive trucks of gear had gone AWOL on the journey down from Auckland, where they performed a couple of nights ago.
Charlie didn’t know exactly what was missing, but AJ was stressing about it. Always a perfectionist, AJ refused to continue with the rehearsal if there was the tiniest of issues. It was the right thing to do, Charlie knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier to be patient.
Mick, the drummer for Event Horizon, joined the discussion, and Charlie groaned silently. How much longer was this going to take? He itched to go and get a beer and something to eat. His stomach rumbled at the thought.
When AJ tapped his mic and said, “We’re ready for sound checks again,” the stage crew jumped to attention. There was a flurry of activity, and Charlie reached for his water bottle, to rehydrate before picking up his rhythm guitar and stepping into the sunlight again.
Christ, it was hot today. That was the problem with travelling halfway around the world in a matter of days. They left Manchester last week in a mid-winter hailstorm, and arrived in Auckland to find bone-melting humidity. He hadn’t acclimatised yet, and Wellington’s dry heat was just as exhausting.
They played the first number, and then waited for the sound assistants to report from the different sections in the stadium.
The result came back quickly. And it wasn’t good. Three seating areas had poor quality acoustics, and the speaker setup needed to be reviewed. Again.
Charlie glanced across the stage at bass guitarist, Sylvie, who looked as fed up as he felt. Maybe she wanted to escape for a little while too? He walked over to her and sat on the edge of the stage at her side. “Hey, Sylvie.”
“Hey.” She flashed him a smile. “How much longer do you think this will drag on?”
“Beats me. We’re gonna be here all frigging day by the look of it. Do you want to escape for half an hour?”
“I’d love to. I’ll go check with Alex.”
It was cute how she called him by his real name. Then again, they were married. She could call him anything she liked and he’d still be besotted with her.
AJ was busy stomping around the stage, yelling instructions to the army of roadies and electricians that swarmed across the set. His conversation with Sylvie was brief, and a minute later, she sauntered back to Charlie looking a whole lot brighter. “We’re good for half an hour at least. Probably more like an hour.”
“Fucking A.” Charlie scrambled to his feet and headed off the stage, Sylvie at his side. They followed Exit signs through long concrete tunnels out of the stadium, and finally emerged into brilliant hot sunshine and a clear blue sky.
Sylvie tugged Charlie’s arm and pointed as they got their bearings. “There’s the waterfront. Shall we go that way?”
She’d never been here before, and her enthusiasm for exploring amused him. It wasn’t that he was jaded; he was just a little unsettled these days. Watching his long-time friend find love with Sylvie was cool, but now Charlie was the only single guy in the band.
“I want an iced coffee,” Sylvie announced, lifting her gaze from the dog-eared tourist guide in her hand. “There’s supposed to be a fantastic barista on the waterfront.”
“Do you have one of those for every city we visit? You could use the internet like everyone else.”
“I like to go old school sometimes. They’re good to read on the plane.”
There were plenty more flights in their immediate future. Over the next couple of months, the band would perform in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, and more, in a breath-taking tour of the Asia-Pacific region, before returning home, to Britain.
It was second nature to Charlie. He’d been touring with Event Horizon since he was eighteen years old. It felt like a lifetime ago.
They strolled along the harbour front, enjoying the sunshine, bantering with each other as usual, and debating where to stop for coffee.
“Oh.” Sylvie tugged on his arm. “There’s Wagamama. I need noodles.”
“Give over. It’s barely eleven. You can’t be hungry again. I saw how much you ate for breakfast.”
She pouted and stared pointedly at the restaurant, and Charlie sighed. “Okay. Noodles it is. What happened to coffee?”
“Food first, and then coffee.”
They were shown to a table overlooking the harbour. As Sylvie pored over the menu, reading the options aloud, Charlie spotted a cluster of fans approaching, and cursed under his breath.
He nudged her knee under the table. “Watch out.”
He wore his hair very short, bleached white blond and spiked, like an albino hedgehog. His appearance was distinctive, and he was instantly recognisable to any Event Horizon fans. And definitely to those hoping to see their idols while they were in town.
It didn’t matter that they were trying to have a quiet meal. Within minutes they were surrounded by a mass of people asking for autographs, taking their pictures and chattering twenty to the dozen.
So much for escaping the chaos.
*
Jack couldn’t believe it when Yanni boarded the tour bus. The guy was officially thought to be dead, killed in a hotel bombing in Cairo. He was seen moments before the blast.
Thoughts whirled in Jack’s head. Could he be mistaken? He stared at the man using Juli’s soft hair as a cover. No, there was no mistake. Jack had spent months infiltrating Yanni’s group, and though it was a few years ago, the guy hadn’t changed.
Until Jack figured out what Yanni wanted he
re, he couldn’t risk being recognised, hence the subterfuge with his pretty seatmate.
It was a shame he’d have to bail out soon. He liked the idea of hanging out with Juli for a few hours and making her laugh some more.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Her voice was husky, for his ears alone.
He shifted position, to make sure Yanni wouldn’t see him if he turned around, and gazed into Juli’s eyes. She looked curious, rather than distressed. Her hair was gorgeous, with dark waves that fell to her shoulders and begged to be touched, but he kept his hands to himself
“It’s complicated. And boring at the same time.” He jerked his chin toward the window and the stunning view beyond. “You been here before, Juli?”
“My first time to New Zealand. You?”
“Yeah, same. What d’you think of it?”
“I think the Kiwis make better small talk than you. You didn’t answer my question.”
He gazed at her, amused. He adored smart women, and especially liked talking them into his bed, but now was not the time to be thinking about sex. Not when a terrorist might be sitting a dozen rows away.
“It’s a work thing I can’t explain. Not right now, anyway. Sorry.”
She lifted one eyebrow. “So is this something you do all the time? Snuggle up with strangers on buses?”
“This is a first.”
“The snuggling or the bus ride?”
Man, but she was sassy. He longed to kiss her. If he’d met her in a bar or anywhere other than here, he’d be making plans to seduce her.
“You’re cute,” he said, a grin escaping. Maybe he’d wow her with his charm.
“And you’re pushing your luck.”
“Aww, Juli. And we were getting on so nicely. You hurt my feelings.”
She laughed, and he cheered silently.
“How long are you going to sit with your arm around me?” she asked. “It’s not uncomfortable, but I’d like to know if it’s a five-minute thing, or if you plan to stay there all day.”
“I’m leaving at the first stop. Will you miss me?”
