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“Logan. When Jessa and I were in the showers earlier, someone was there for a bit of our conversation. We need to pull up the security tapes from around that time. We might have our mole.”
“It was me.” Logan’s expression remains frozen on his face. “I was concerned—for both of you. I wanted to make sure you were okay, and I wanted to make sure whoever is against us here wasn’t listening in.”
“Oh.”
I’m happy that Jessa isn’t in any danger, but at the same time, finding someone hovering around the door would be tough to explain away.
“How is she?” There’s no agenda behind his words, and I’m thankful for his support.
“She’s sleeping. We—worked through some things.”
I’m suddenly aware of my own limitations. Logan knows my priorities are no longer in line with his.
He sighs, then leans back in his seat, taking a moment to read me.
I immediately feel like I’m about to be scolded like an errant child. I don’t like it, and he knows I don’t like it. We’re cut from the same cloth, and this is beginning to irk me.
He ignores my rolling eyes. “Know that my intentions were only for your well-being, but I did overhear Jessa. What’s this about hidden code?”
And that’s it. Back to business.
I don’t fault him. We run a company. We have priorities and goals to achieve, and right now, I’m one step away from being utterly useless.
I know I need to get back on board soon, or I’ll be treated as a distraction and dealt with.
“Jessa hoped that seeing the video would prompt her to remember something about her time in captivity. She doesn’t remember anything after the first day. She blocked it out, like the night you questioned her. She has no idea how she successfully contacted Dana and Zane without giving them away, but she thinks maybe she subconsciously loaded some type of execution code onto his servers. Like our mole did here. It would have been quick thinking on her part, and she’d need to be completely sure of what and where the code was, because she and Zane would only get one shot at using it.”
“Shit. That’s brilliant.” Logan’s impressed with my girl. I knew he would be.
“I know. Except—”
“The video didn’t help her remember.” Logan finishes my thought, and I nod in confirmation. “So then the question is, what can we do to help her?”
We. I turn territorial at Logan’s suggestion. “I will work with her to talk it through. I’ll help her remember.”
Logan smiles at my sad attempt to retain control, and it grates on my nerves. “Jack, I don’t know if simply talking to her”—he pauses long before continuing, and I know we are moving into a more candid discussion as he stares hard at me, and his tone turns challenging—“is going to help her remember.”
I know, with enough time, I can help her remember, but I also know time is the one thing we don’t have.
Logan waits for me to get back in the game or lose my shit, and right now, I have no idea which road I’m heading down.
“Did you listen to everything in the shower?” is the only thing I can manage to get out. I’m splitting at the seams, and this is only buying me time.
“No, Jack. I didn’t. I left after Jessa said she didn’t remember. I know you want to help her. I would fight for the same thing if the tables were turned. The difference between you and me is that I understand my limits. I know myself. You assumed all of those years ago that Jessa was dead. You decided that nature took care of itself; therefore, you didn’t need to face the demons of your loss. Well, here they are, and you’re unprepared.” Logan throws his arms up, as if to welcome my demons in for a beer. Leaning over his desk, he places his weight on his forearms, challenging me to deny it.
I can’t.
He’s right.
When I accepted that Jessa was dead, I couldn’t deal with the loss, so I pushed it away. Now here we are, and I have everything I thought I would never have. My feelings for her never left; they just festered, waiting for their chance to crush me.
I know all of this, and I know we are running out of time.
My sense of urgency is finally returning, and I make one last attempt to take care of Jessa myself. “Let me talk to her. We’ll figure something out.”
Sliding his arms back off the desk, he picks up his phone to check the time.
“Okay. Fine, Jack. We’ll do it your way. You have three days.” I’m shocked that he’s willing to let me try things my way, then he continues, “Just give her a break tomorrow. She needs a day to recover. I’d like to spend some time with her outside all of this. I know we didn’t get off to a good start, and I don’t want to hinder any progress with you. I’ll invite her out for a run in the morning. The fresh air will be good for her, and you’re welcome to join us. It’ll be an early run though. I have a conference call at eight.”
