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But most important of all, I remember everything from the moment I woke up—therealfirst time my eyes opened.
After I came to, one of Maxwell’s men handled me. I did see Maxwell again the day after, but he kept his distance. He was detached; everything about him had changed. I remember being told to make the call to Zane, and I knew what I had to do.
When he had me in captivity, Maxwell never knew the full extent to which I worked with Zane. He considered me an assistant at best, but he underestimated my abilities.
I’m always being underestimated. Maybe it’s my size, my gender. Or maybe that day it was because I’d just had the shit kicked out of me and I looked like I was at death’s door, but I was underestimated again, and that was my in.
I remember it clearly now. Maxwell stood by the door. He kept his distance from me. It was almost like he was trying to hold himself back, and I was thankful for the space. Two men sat on either side of me as I logged on to their server and accessed the websites and chat rooms that would take me to Dana.
A third man sat quietly at a desk behind me, no doubt trying to gain access to the connections I was making. I could tell by the nervous shuffle from either side that the men knew nothing about computers. Their confused glances as I accessed site after site gave them away.
Maxwell was all about power and muscle. So I figured there was possibly a team in another room watching me, but I’d know as soon as I was in the chats.
Once I made the connection with Dana, I sent out red herrings in a few different directions. Only one tracker started the chase, so I knew right away the men in the room were all I had to deal with.
Greed is the driving factor in everything Maxwell does, so the chance he could find out anything about Zane was the carrot I dangled. His donkey took off after it, leaving their own server exposed.
And that was my in. The two goons beside me had no idea what they were looking at, and I was able to jump into a hidden file on the server and code in everything I would need to open access while they watched me contact Dana to coordinate my release.
The code itself is short. It’s the program I will use to run it that took forever to create, and it didn’t need to be done on his servers.
In the minute we waited for Dana to connect, I had put my own little Trojan horse to sleep.
And now I know what I need.
Jack’s chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. He’s deep asleep, and he’s going to be stiff in the morning.
Binding his own body to give me security gave me some of my power back. He gave me the sense of control I needed to heal and make myself stronger.
I know I’m a mess, but I can’t begin to sort through all my new feelings now.
Jack saved me twice.
He saved me when he found us at the farmhouse, and he saved me tonight. He won’t stop trying to save me until Maxwell is dead and everything that threatens me is gone.
But that day will never come.
As long as I’m alive, there will be someone out there trying to get to Zane. Jack will eventually die trying to protect me, and I won’t let that happen.
I take a deep breath to push down the tears as I work on my final plan to end this the only way it can be ended.
With everyone walking away free.
Well, almost everyone.
The weight of the day lifts off me as I wrap my arm around Jack’s still body. Dots connect, and my plan takes shape as I surrender myself to the only thing I have left tonight—sleep.
* * *
The next time I open my eyes, it’s morning. The room is bright, and the first thing that comes into focus is Jack, staring back at me with a relaxed smile ghosting his lips.
“Good morning.”
It’s the simplest of things, saying good morning, yet it’s foreign. Something so natural is completely unnatural, and a lump forms in my throat, causing Jack’s eyebrows to pinch together in concern.
I shake my head, hoping to jar loose the anxiety building inside of me.
I want nothing more than to wake up like this every day for the rest of my life. Except for the part where he’s tied up—although I do see the appeal in it.
