Page 48 of Crossfire Creek Vengeance

And he was right. Dead on.

He stared at the floor for a moment, jaw flexing, shoulders tight, the weight of thirty-plus years settling on him piece by piece. Then, he lifted his phone again, the frozen image of the sign glowing on the screen.

Ask Jessa who her father is.

His gaze moved from the phone screen to Jessa. “Does this have anything to do with the attempts to kill Deacon and you?”

Jessa let out a long, tired breath. “Possibly.”

Deacon watched her steady herself before she continued.

“There’s a blackmail file. Wynn has it. If he releases it, it’s possible it’ll incriminate Roman. He helped doctor paperwork about my birth.” Her voice wavered, but she didn’t back down. “It is also possible the file was meant to embarrass you. Or expose you in some way. Or both.”

Noah shook his head, sighed. “Jessa, you being my daughter is no embarrassment whatsoever to me, and if it comes out, so be it. It won’t expose me to anything that’ll hurt me privately or professionally.”

Deacon saw her shoulders ease the smallest bit. Relief flickered across her face, quick but real.

Noah leaned back, blew out a breath, and looked down at his hands for a moment before speaking again. “Lauren and I were eighteen. We met at a party in Austin. We were stupid. Young. I thought she was the brightest thing in the room.” His mouth twitched, almost a smile, but grief pushed it away. “We were together for maybe two weeks before I shipped out on my first assignment. She never told me she was pregnant. Never even hinted at it.”

He paused, eyes lifting to Jessa again. There was regret there, heavy and sharp, and Deacon felt the weight of it fill the room.

“If I had known,” Noah assured her, “everything would have been different.” Silence fell for a beat. Then Noah straightened in the chair, resolve settling in the lines of his face. “How can I help?” he asked. “Just tell me what you need from me.”

Deacon saw another round of relief wash over her. Good. It wasn’t exactly a warm and fuzzy father and daughter moment, but it was solid and what they both needed right now.

“Noah, there is more,” Deacon said. He drew in a breath, steadying himself before speaking. There was no easy way to ease into this. “Roman believes Lauren was murdered.”

Noah’s head snapped up, shock slamming through his expression. Before he could react, Deacon continued.

“I’ve already put in the request to have her body exhumed,” Deacon explained. “If Roman is right, a new autopsy could confirm it.”

“Who did this to her?” Noah groaned and dragged both hands over his face. Then he cursed under his breath. “And why?”

Deacon exchanged a brief look with Jessa. She looked pale, shaken all over again.

“We have suspects,” she explained. “Corbin Knox is one. He had access. He had resentment toward Lauren for years for not adopting him. And Shade had motive, too. He was taking money from her and may have tried to hack her files. Blackmailing her wouldn’t be a stretch.”

Noah’s gaze hardened. “And Wynn.”

Deacon nodded. “Wynn’s absolutely on the list. He could be pretending to be grief-stricken, but the truth is Lauren rejected him for years. He was in love with her, obsessed even. That kind of fixation can turn dark in a heartbeat.”

Noah stared at the floor, jaw tight enough to crack. “Lauren,” he whispered. “God.” Then his eyes lifted, filled with a fury Deacon figured he’d had on battlefields. “Find who did this,” Noah said. “I want the truth. I want names.”

Deacon nodded, his own resolve locking into place. They were all in this now, and the clock was ticking.

Noah straightened, some of that familiar command presence sliding back into place now that the first shock had settled. “I’ll get a team on this,” he said. “Tell me what needs to be done.”

Deacon nodded. “The exhumation approval should come through soon. Once that happens, we’ll know if Roman’s right about the toxic compound. For now, we need to find Corbin and Wynn. They’re both dangerous, and they both had access to Lauren.”

Noah pulled out his phone and fired off a rapid text. “You’ve got all of Crossfire Ops’ resources. Anything you need, Deacon.”

Deacon dipped his head. “Thank you.”

Noah turned to Jessa then. He opened his mouth, shut it, and then groaned. “I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “Jessa… do you hate me?”

She blinked, surprised by the question. “No,” she said, her voice unsteady. “I can’t hold anything against you when I didn’t know you were my father.”

She swallowed hard, the last word barely making it out.