Page 62 of Storm and Tempest

Jax cleared his throat. “What about flight records?”

“You’re assuming they filed accurate flight plans, and they were going farther out than just local jaunts. Which is unlikely. But do you really think they’re being truthful?”

Jax sighed into his coffee, taking a sip. The coffee Kenna made was better than this. “I guess not. It’s just frustrating.”

“More frustrating than Amara communicating with the people holding Kenna and not telling us?”

Jax’s stomach clenched. “No, probably not.” He set his mug down too hard. “They’re using Kenna, using Amara. No care for who they hurt in the process. Just destroying lives. And for what?”

Maizie had faced a similar situation. Ramon as well. Now Kenna?

Jax could argue Bruce had also been a pawn of someone with their own selfish ends. “Should we have brought Bruce?”

Ramon shook his head. “He likes to play both sides. See what he can find out.”

“How do we know he’s on the level?”

“The guy was a spy.” Ramon shrugged. “Are they ever on the level?”

“We need to know if we can trust him.”

“Kenna trusted him. Maybe not as much as us.” Ramon gestured to Maizie and himself. “But she counted on Bruce.”

“So I should’ve told him to come with us?”

“I’d have done what you did,” Ramon said. “And this way, Bruce can feed us back intel from Amara and Zeyla. Now he knows Amara has been getting communication from the people holding Kenna, and he’s doubling down on that side, finding out what they know. He’ll dig, and Amara won’t even realize it. And if we need him, he’ll drop everything and come to us. He’s solid.”

Jax nodded. “Okay, then.”

Maizie came through the divider between the bedroom and the rest of the RV, holding her laptop. “Okay, I have something you need to hear.”

Jax shifted so his back was to the side of the seat and he could face her. She put the laptop on the end of the counter and grabbed a soda from the fridge, popping the top.

“Okay.” She sighed and the guarded expression on her face registered.

He said, “We aren’t going to like this.”

“I’ll backtrack and go over it all from the beginning, but it connects to your family, Jax.” She waited, likely to see his reaction.

Jax kept his voice gentle when he said, “Kenna is my family.”

Maizie nodded, scrunching up her nose a bit. “While looking through the investigation Elliot was working, I found a picture of a hospital ribbon-cutting ceremony that made the papers. Two years ago. The wing was named after the largest donor, which was your father. The Edward Russell Jaxton Wing of the Aspen Valley Medical Center in Flagstaff. It’s a private hospitalElliot was looking into because their financials connect to otherDominatusinvestment companies. He didn’t know it was them, but he made the connection.”

She turned her laptop so he could see the screen, a ribbon-cutting ceremony that seemed to have been broadcast on local news given the lettering around the screen and across the bottom. “As you can see, Doctor Marcus Buzard was present at the event, and standing beside him is your dad.”

“We knew he had connections.” Ramon kept a measured tone to his voice. “After Colorado we theorized there was some kind of deal, but if he was all-in withDominatus,you would know.”

Jax glanced at the guy. “Like Elliot knew his sister worked for them? They were closer than I am to my dad.” He looked at Maizie. “Any reason we should go there and look around?”

“Yeah, I need physical access to get into their system and download their files.”

“Looks like we’re going on a road trip.” Ramon sucked down the last of his coffee and set the mug in the sink.

Jax wasn’t so quick to get up, so Maizie brought her laptop over and sat in the seat where Ramon had been. “I’m sorry,” she said. “If your dad is connected to this…I’m just sorry. About a lot of things, it turns out.”

He touched her hand for a second. “Thanks, Maze.” On her screen now was a series of open documents. “I think I’m going to call and ask about the agreement he made with them. Maybe for once in my life my father will give me a straight answer.”

“You’ve asked him before?” Ramon rested the side of his hip against the counter with his arms crossed. “AboutDominatus?”