AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He—he asked me questions about Zane. Where he was, stuff like that.” Her answer is short.
She’s trying to protect herself—or me.
“Dana said you were gone for over six days. What did he do?” His question is direct, and she shifts uncomfortably in her seat.
“He and his men. They interrogated me. Just like you are. They wanted to know where Zane was. I wouldn’t tell them. I couldn’t. We don’t share our location with each other, ever—this is why. They cut my food and water and stuck me in a cage outside for a night.” She shrugs to deflect the severity. “Stuff like that.”
When she crosses her arms defensively, I sense there is more. Logan must feel it too.
“Jessa, it’s just us. Tell us what he did.” There is no animosity or challenge in his tone. Logan’s expression is blank.
“There isn’t anything else to tell.” She shifts her glance away from him, over to me, but she won’t make direct eye contact.
She’s lying.
“You know that’s not true, Jessa.” Logan eases in. “I’ve been doing what I do for a long time, and people don’t react this intensely to low-level interrogations. You weren’t just questioned, were you?”
Jessa shakes her head. She’s not denying his words. There’s a level of urgency in the way she jerks her head from side to side. She’s silently pleading for him to stop, but he doesn’t.
“You were tortured.”
All color drains from her face, and her lips pinch together. She looks like she’s barely keeping her composure, and the cracks are beginning to show.
I slump hard into the doorframe as the blood drains from my head.
Tortured.
I didn’t see it, but it fits, and my heart shatters for Jessa sitting quietly on the couch, lost and unsure of herself.
Now I won’t stop until I know everything.
I’ll kill Maxwell myself.
Shifting off the doorframe, I take a step toward Jessa, determined to get an answer for every question.
Two steps into the room, and I’m suddenly pushed aside as Dana enters and barrels toward Jessa, shifting the tension around us. Grizz hangs back by the door.
“There you are. I woke up and you were still gone. I was worried something happened when they took you last night. They told me to let you sleep.”
The moment Jessa hears Dana’s voice, her whole demeanor changes.
A smile so big and relaxed hides her pain as she recovers to keep her secret from her friend.
“Oh, they asked me some questions and didn’t want to wake you when it was over, so they gave me my own room. Everything’s okay.” She makes eye contact with both Logan and me. Before either of us can say a thing, she leans over and grabs her coffee off the floor, taking one big gulp as she stands. Then, turning to Logan, she hands him her empty mug. “Thanks for the coffee, and the chat.”
Logan blinks a couple of times before recovering. “I have some more questions. But they can wait. I have a couple of things to do. Jack, join me in my office for a few?” He nods at the women as he passes by me and exits the room.
“Dana, Jessa.” I acknowledge both before I continue, “Jessa, I’d like to talk to you later—alone.” I don’t wait for her response. She’ll be talking to me later whether she wants to or not.
I won’t let this go until I know everything she’s hiding. I can’t protect her if I don’t know what she’s up against.
From the corner of my eye, I see Dana smirk at my request. I know where her mind is going, but the sobered look on Jessa’s face tells me she knows exactly what I want.
Good.
I leave the women with Grizz and make a beeline for Logan. I want answers now, and I know he has some.
As I enter his office, I catch the end of his conversation with Link, who’s on speaker.
