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Evan shook his head. “We gave her everything she needed before she left. I should have just made her sign papers while we were at the hospital, but there wasn’t enough time. She would’ve insisted on getting away from Tomas, anyway.” He moved a hand over his jaw. “I talked to my lawyer this morning, and there's no way to know if Rosalind will keep her word. We only have a week until the hearing.”
My heart sank. We were running out of time.
“Rosalind and Porter are off on that island, safe from Tomas,” Evan growled. “She could have contacted her attorney by now. Jax got a secured connection, and we tried calling, but no one answered. Our security surveillance shows they haven’t left the property. Unless she’s pulled one over on us.”
“For what purpose?” I said to him, not wanting to go down that path yet. I had to believe Rosalind would come through. “It’s not like she can show up in court, anyway, sequestered on the island. It will look better for us when we’re there and she isn’t.”
“You have a point, but it feels like she set us up just so she could shack up with her boyfriend.”
If that were true, we could easily turn the tables on her. “Then, we just kick them off the island and leave them for Tomas to find.”
Evan looked at me, amused surprise flickering across his face. “Would you really do that?”
“In a heartbeat,” I said, my protective instincts flaring. “I may not like all the violence that Tomas has wrought, but it’s a different game when my child is involved.”
He leaned down and kissed me. “Mama bear coming out to play. You’re ruthless.” He grinned. “I like it.”
I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I guess that’s what happens when someone tries to mess with my family.”
“Mariah, you continue to amaze me,” he said. “But I hope it doesn't come to that.”
He bent his head, capturing my lips in a kiss that made my knees weak. His tongue traced along my lower lip, coaxing me to open up for him. I tangled my fingers in his hair, moaning softly against his mouth. As our tongues met, I could feel the heat rising between us, and ran my hands back down over his shoulders, gripping his muscular arms and holding on tightly as he deepened the kiss.
The sound of someone clearing their throat, discreet yet firm, had us breaking apart.
We turned to see Jax standing there. My cheeks were bright red, but any thoughts about what he might think vanished when I noticed how utterly exhausted he looked. Had he looked that way this morning? Dark circles marred the skin under his eyes, and his hair was even more disheveled than usual.
“Jax, you look like you're about to pass out.”
“I’ve been working round the clock all week,” he said, but there was a glint of triumph in his eyes. “And it was worth it. I did it.” He grinned at us.
“Did what?” I said, confused.
“Are you serious?” Evan let go of me, turning to Jax, his eyes wide. He seemed to understand Jax's meaning, though I was still in the dark.
“Dead serious,” Jax said, his smile growing wider despite his obvious exhaustion.
“You got your system up and running again?"
He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. I was going to wait for the laptop Sebastian was supposed to get, but my system is better, programmed exactly how I want it. I was able to hack into it using the terminal I’ve been building.”
“But what if Tomas catches on again?” Evan said. “How are you able to get in without him knowing?”
“The only reason he found out before was because I got sloppy. I left a trace—a mistake I won’t make a second time. Everything won’t run the way it used to with this new terminal, but it'll do.”
Evan beamed. “This is amazing news. Let's go upstairs and go over everything with Sebastian in his office.”
“Sure thing.” Jax turned to leave the room, glancing over his shoulder as he walked out, giving me a small smile. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought that strange look was in his eye again.
“I’ll be in the office if you need me,” Evan said, kissing my cheek and turning to follow Jax.
I stood there for a moment, but then decided I might as well follow them. It would save Evan an explanation later. Evan was in the hallway, about to go up the stairs, but just as he reached the bottom, he stopped abruptly, his body going rigid.
“Evan? What’s wrong?”
“Something's not right,” Evan muttered. Then, without another word, he took off running down the hall and out the back door.
“Wait!” I called out, but he was already gone. Heart pounding, I raced after him, attempting to keep up with his powerful strides, but it was impossible. He was yards ahead of me and gaining ground with every step.
