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As she relaxes, the three of us move away from her, leaving Logan to monitor her. Hunter and Grizz both look pale as Logan leans over her and brushes the sweat-soaked hair out of her face.
Her cries turn to murmurs, and my heart breaks as I fail to imagine what hell she’s locked herself in.
“Shh, Jessa. Go to sleep. It’s okay. Just relax.” Logan is concerningly gentle.
Never in the time I’ve known him has he ever shown a kindness like this. He’s almost brotherly toward her.
As she relaxes against her binds, Logan gestures for Hunter and Grizz to quietly leave the room, and they are all too happy to obey.
Jessa’s eyes flutter shut, and I move back to the table to wrap my arms around her.
Logan frees her arms and legs, and I roll her into my arms, hooking one hand under her knees while the other hugs her upper body to my chest. Her wrists are raw and wrapped in angry red lines where her skin almost broke open.
“Take her to the room across the hall from Dana. I’m not in the mood to deal with that spitfire tonight. I need to process a few things before we talk. I’m going to sleep.” Logan turns to leave, but I can’t let him go yet.
Not after what just played out in front of me.
“Logan, what happened? I took a call from Link, and when I looked back up, you guys were piled on top of her, and she was screaming for her life.” I stop, and a hard silence fills the room as Logan’s eyes roam over Jessa in my arms.
He looks regretful, which is another first for him.
“I pushed her too hard. She’s keeping something from us. Whatever it is, she’s pushed it far down. I thought I had her ready to tell us what we need to know about the hack, but she kept sinking. She said Maxwell’s name again, but I don’t sense they are accomplices. I think she’s terrified of him. Then I grabbed her hair to focus her on our conversation, and she snapped and screamed your name. That’s just before I called you in.” He glances at Jessa, and I follow his line of sight. She’s out cold against my chest.
“It wasn’t her.” I don’t want a repeat of this in the morning. “Link called. We’ve had some kind of vulnerability in our server for years. It was activated last night, from near the file room.”
Not taking his eyes off Jessa, Logan knits his brows in thought. “Jack.” He’s drained. “Put her to bed. Get some sleep. We’ll revisit this in the morning. I’ll have Grizz talk to Dana so she gives her some time.”
Walking out ahead of us, he turns left. I turn right, toward her new room.
Her soft murmurs tug at my heart as I lay her down on the bed. She’s both helpless and strong, and I will find out what she’s keeping from us. But first I need to wrap my arms around her and comfort her.
Stepping out of my shoes, I kneel on the bed beside her and gently remove her sneakers. I smile to myself at my tender handling of her feet. She’s so sedated that we could be under aerial attack and she would sleep through it, and I’m worried I’m going to wake her with something so mild.
Reaching to the foot of the bed, I pull the covers over us as I instinctively slide in beside her and wrap myself around her slumbering form.
I may not be able to protect her from the monsters in her head yet, but I sure as hell will protect her from everything else.
CHAPTER12
JESSA
When I closed my eyes last night, sleep hit me harder than I thought it would.
I roll over, then pause, holding my breath as the scent of cinnamon and sex registers.
Jack.
We had sex.
I had sex with Jack.
But something is off.
I fell asleep alone last night.
“You can open your eyes, Jessa. I know you’re awake.” Jack chuckles deeply as he kisses the top of my head.
“I didn’t hear you come in last night.” Then I look over to the other bed—that isn’t there. “Where’s Dana?”
