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Despite my head telling me not to trust him, the honesty in his voice made my feet move to the couch. The thought of being trapped here made my skin crawl, but giving him a few minutes to explain himself wouldn’t kill me.
“Thank you,” he said, taking a seat beside me. “I wouldn’t ask you to stay here unless I thought it was important.”
“I have an appointment,” I said immediately.
He nodded. “With your therapist. I know.”
I stilled at his words. “What do you mean, you know?”
“I know your schedule,” he answered carefully. “I talked to Eva.”
He knew my schedule. He talked to Eva. Why was this man taking such an interest in my life? Why was he going to such extremes to know so much about me? Nothing about this sat right with me.
“What right did you have to discuss anything about me with Eva?”
“Izzy—”
“No,” I said, getting to my feet. I could already see where this was going. “I’m not going to listen to whatever you have to say. You’re talking to my sister-in-law about me? Why would you do that? That’s…”
“It’s not what you think!” he said, getting to his feet. He tried to come after me, but I instantly put a chair between me and him.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” I whispered. “I thought you wanted to get to know me, but you’re just like him.”
He stiffened at my words, his muscles tightening as he clenched his fists. Anxiety spiked inside me as anger washed over his face. I had poked the bear, but I didn’t regret it. I had to stand up for myself. No matter how this turned out, I had to know that I would not fall under another man’s control.
“Carli’s mother is dead.” His words were flat, but his face was filled with emotion. I didn’t know what he was getting at. I already knew Carli had come to live with him after something happened to her mother.
“I figured.”
“What you don’t know is that she was murdered by men who are connected to Zavala.” He thrust his hand through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh. “I hadn’t spoken to her in five years. I didn’t even know about Carli. It was just a coincidence that I even made it there when I did, but I was too late.”
I sank down in the chair I had just been hiding behind. “You said the men were connected to Zavala?”
He nodded. “I don’t know how much you know about your husband, but he was part of an organization called The Syndicate.”
I shook my head, letting him know I didn’t know any of that. Maybe someone had told me when I escaped the island, but a lot of that time was a blur to me now.
“They were a powerful crime organization, but there was someone or a group of people working behind them, protecting them. We never found out who that was. That’s why Cash is gone.”
“He’s looking for them,” I whispered.
“He was there the night I showed up at Leah’s house.”
Leah had to be Carli’s mom. I studied him as he bowed his head, studying his clasped hands. I’d never seen Jason look so…lost before. Not that I knew him well, but in the few times I’d gotten to know him, he always seemed so strong.
“Whoever killed Leah is still out there. They’ve sent men after anyone involved with OPS. Your father took your mother and is in hiding. We’ve pulled others in, trying to keep them safe. But until we put an end to this, no one is safe, Izzy.”
No one is safe.
His words repeated in my head, echoing like a shot. Why had no one told me this? Were they just going to keep this from me for the rest of my life? My mother was in hiding and I didn’t even know if I could contact her. And?—
“Wait, I’ve been leaving the property.”
He nodded slowly. “We’ve had a team with you.” My hackles instantly rose, but he hurried on. “I know what that must feel like. I know what Zavala did, and I was trying to prevent that from ever happening again. I didn’t want you to feel like you were being watched all the time, but it was necessary.”
“Why are you telling me now?”
“I would think that’s pretty obvious.”