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He sighed. “I’ve been with some friends. Some people I met back in my early hacking days.” Jax's gaze flicked to Mariah, his expression uncertain, but she seemed focused on using all of the remaining meat for the sandwiches.
“I can’t say these people are the most upstanding citizens.” He smirked. “In fact, on more than one occasion I got involved with some fairly unsavory folks.”
Mariah still didn’t say anything.
“I’ll admit I was into some illegal shit back then, and most of my connections were too, so I had to disappear to reconnect with these guys. Go underground. I was afraid Tomas would be able to trace me here if I came back immediately, find a way to bypass your systems, and I wanted to take every precaution to keep him from showing up on your doorstep. If he was going to come for me, I wanted to be as far away from here as possible.”
Mariah turned around then, with a plate piled high in each hand. Sadness marred her face as she pushed another sandwich across the island to each of us. I wanted to tell him that he should have come to me sooner and let me help him in any way I could, but I knew he’d made the right choice. He’d done what he had to do to keep from putting my mate at risk, and I couldn’t fault him for that.
Jax reached for the backpack he’d set aside and pulled out a massive laptop, if that’s what it could be called. I couldn’t remember seeing a portable computer that thick in ages. It looked like it might not even run, much less be the tool of a hacker.
He laughed at my surprised expression. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. This sexy lady just happens to be top of the line.”
Mariah finally sat down on a stool and ate her sandwich, evidently loving the addition of peanut butter, while Jax told us what else he’d been up to since he left.
“I’ve been working on this.” He opened the brick of a laptop to reveal a sleek and well-maintained system on the inside. “I’ve been rebuilding my old system for the past two months… with a few upgrades.”
“Jax, that’s amazing!” Mariah beamed at him. He’d had to destroy his old system when his cover was first blown with Tomas, not knowing if leaving anything behind would enable his father to track him. From the way he grinned now, he’d more than made up for it.
“It's totally secured, ensuring Tomas won't be able to track us. I've sourced parts from various vendors and set up firewalls and encryptions that even I would have trouble cracking. These guys don’t play around. There’s no one my father could hire who’d be able to hack into this baby.”
I peered at the screen, impressed by Jax's handiwork while wondering how many laws he’d broken in the process.
“I may have had one or two dirty dealings, love.” Jax chuckled, winking at Mariah. “But it was worth it. For the greater good, as they say, with the added perk of having my system back where it needs to be. Now we can get back to work taking Tomas down.”
“Jax.” I cleared my throat as I caught Mariah’s eye. She might be irritated with him for his absence, but she was also obviously worried about his wellbeing. “I appreciate your help—we both do—but I hope you know you don't have to do this. We don’t expect anything from you. You've already risked so much. This isn’t your responsibility.”
His jaw clenched and eyes narrowed in determination. “Evan, Mariah is like a sister to me. I should've been there to protect her—”
“You were there for me, Jax,” Mariah said. “I might have never been found if not for you. I could still be his captive.”
Tension settled over us all at the truth of her words. I watched as the two of them stared at each other. They’d been imprisoned together—something I couldn’t begin to imagine.
“I want to help, Mariah. You of all people understand that. After what he did to you…”
The already-tense air seemed to thicken. Guilt shone in Jax’s eyes, and fury blazed in Mariah’s. Both of them were clearly thinking about Tomas.
“Okay,” she said quietly, as if keeping herself on a tight leash. “I get it.”
Their gazes remained locked for another moment, then Jax nodded. “So, here’s what I found out. The reason I had to come back now, and why I think Tomas is planning to take Mariah again.”
My dragon pressed against my consciousness. Protect, protect, protect.
I forced him down, needing to remain focused. “What is it?”
Jax hesitated. “He wants more of Mariah's blood,” he finally said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I tapped into a phone call he made. It was bit patchy, and hard to get all the details with sections of audio missing, but the gist is that the blood they took from Mariah isn’t enough. He needs more of it to make the serum.”
Meaning he needed her. Just like I’d feared, Tomas wanted to keep my mate captive to use her for his own gain. It made me physically ill, even as I lost control over my dragon.
Smoke poured from my nostrils as my talons jutted out once more. The heat within threatened to burn me to ashes if I didn’t unleash the dragon lurking beneath my skin. Images of Tomas coming for Mariah filled my head, and the rage simmering inside me boiled over.
The air in the room felt too thick, too heavy. All at once, the alpha power within me surged as the primal instinct to protect my family took hold. My vision blurred at the edges, the dragon inside of me demanding control. I took a deep breath and fought to suppress the shift, knowing I hung on by a thread.
Jax gaped at me, his eyes wide with awe and maybe even a hint of fear. He'd never seen me like this before, on the brink of losing control, the alpha power spreading out from me like wildfire. I was still so new to this role as alpha, and I’d never felt anything like this.
This wasn’t just a crazed man coming for the woman I loved. He was another alpha dragon and an enemy that’d laid siege to my family, and the primitive beast within me was answering that threat, exerting his dominance as alpha of the most powerful clan in the land.
“I won’t let him take her again,” I growled.
