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Wow, so she’d had a father who was a mobster and a half brother she hadn’t known about. And they were both dead. Nothing about this felt right or good.
“Okay.” She shook her head quickly to clear it from information overload. “So how does this relate to my abduction? Did the old guy have a problem with Byrne? Did he want revenge or something?”
“We’re not sure. Since we still don’t know who took you, it’s hard to say. But the fact that he knew your name and was from the same city seems too coincidental to not be related in some way.”
That was a lot to process in such a short amount of time. And even though the information was surprising, it still didn’t really answer any questions.
“I need to see Kate,” she said. “She’s got to have more information.”
“I agree.”
“Why wouldn’t she tell me about this? And how does she even know this stuff?”
“I don’t know. She won’t tell Ash either. Says all of this is bigger than what we think it is.”
“What’s bigger?”
“I don’t know, Jazz.”
Rising from the sofa, Jazz headed out the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to pack. I want answers, and she’s going to give them to me.”
“Jazz, wait.”
Turning back to him, Jazz shivered as she watched Xavier turn from the gentle, understanding man he’d been for the last few weeks into the grim-faced OZ operative. She recognized that expression well and had always appreciated how fierce and immovable he’d looked against their enemies. This was the first time he’d looked at her with that unflinching resolve.
Refusing to buckle under the obvious intimidation tactic, she snarled, “What?”
“Your leave isn’t over.”
Crossing her arms in front of her, she glared at him. “Excuse the childish rebuttal, but you’re not the boss of me. I damn well come and go as I please.”
“No, I’m not your boss, but I am the one who has the keys to the only vehicle out of here. It’s a twenty-mile hike down the mountain, babe. I don’t think you have it in you to get down there on foot.”
She could feel the fury begin from the bottom of her feet as it surged upward toward her head. Of all the arrogant, self-aggrandizing, smug jerks!
“Is this how you want to play this, Xavier? We go from being lovers to being enemies?”
Though his expression never thawed, his eyes dulled with sadness. “No, Jazz, that isn’t what I want at all. You’re the one who decided to change course. You agreed to six weeks off. It’s barely been three weeks, and you’re ready to fly out of here without a single thought to your well-being.”
“I’m not going to take off again, but I deserve answers. After all I’ve been through, I deserve the truth.”
“Yes, you do. And you’ll get the truth, but there’s not a thing out there that can’t wait until you’re physically able to handle it.”
All the air went out of her body. Yes, she was still weak, still recovering, but her brain was fine. Xavier wasn’t going to relent, though. She knew him well. When it came to setting his mind on something, he didn’t back down, no matter how tough it got.
“Fine,” she snapped. “But it’s time I stopped sitting around and wasting time. I need to get into the gym and get stronger.”
“Fine,” he snapped back.
Huffing out her displeasure, Jazz whirled and stomped toward the bedroom. She pulled out a pair of workout shorts and a T-shirt. She would do her workout and pretend that her heart wasn’t breaking.
His fists pounding into the leather, Xavier went after the boxing bag like it was his number one enemy. Every bit of ire, fury, and frustration was let loose on the innocuous gym equipment. In his mind, he named the people he held responsible for the shitshow that had just taken place in his den. His first target was Kate Walker. She knew things—things that threatened Jazz’s safety. He didn’t care how much she had helped OZ over the years. She had no right to hold on to intel that could put Jazz’s life in jeopardy.
The second person was the man who’d abducted her. For reasons they still didn’t know—although it was looking that, more than likely, it had something to do with her birth father.