Page 17 of Saved By Two

I nod. “We do. How much do you know about what your brother does for a living?”

She gives a slight shrug. “Not much, to be honest, I know who he works for, but he told me it was sensitive information, and for safety reasons, the less I knew, the better.”

That makes sense, as it’s just the two of them, and he’s an undercover operative for the MI5.

It’s how we all met. “Well, as you probably gathered, it's how we met.”

“Do you think he’s all right?” I hear the concern in her voice, and the last thing I want to do is worry her, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried, too. The last thing we need is her fretting over that with everything else.

“I do. He’s likely deep under surveillance.”

Noah taps the table, and Jessica turns her attention back to him, moving her head, no doubt so she can see him.

“We need to discuss you not wanting us to contact the police or taking you to a hospital last night.”

Her body tenses, and she sits up straighter as if ready to flee.

“Can I ask why?” he asks.

She clears her throat and takes a deep breath, tucking her lips between her teeth before letting out a soft puff of air.

“Because he is the police,” she replies quietly.

I already found that out last night. While Noah was watching over Jessica, I was on my laptop until the early hours, getting as much information on him as possible.

If Mason had this information on the prick, he would’ve gotten her far away from him double quick.

He has a history of poor conduct and reports of both assault and sexual assault, but for some reason, it never progressed.

Noah, of course, isn’t surprised. I summarised everything I learned with him this morning before Jessica came down for breakfast.

“We know, and we’ve found out. He doesn’t have the best track record.”

She scoffs out a humourless laugh. “Yeah, don’t I know it.”

Noah squeezes her hand with his, saying, “Hey, come on, stop that already. He’s the problem, not you.”

And if I have my way, I will happily take him out of the equation—permanently.

“You’re worried they won’t believe you over him. That the authorities won’t take you seriously?” I say.

Her good eye moves back to me. “Something like that. He told me before that they wouldn’t believe me if I ever considered reporting him. He said he knows many people, and I’d live to regret it.”

She lets out a visible shiver, and her skin drains of colour.

“Yeah, well, it’s not about quantity,” Noah says. “And just so you know, he will not get away with this.”

“He has some kind of little dick affliction,” I say out loud, causing Noah to let out a quick chortled laugh, but he cuts himself off quickly when Jessica’s jaw drops open, and then she laughs too.

It’s the most beautiful sound I think I have ever heard, and for a fleeting moment, I am mesmerised.

As though it registers, she quickly covers her mouth with her hand.

But somehow, my off-handed comment seems to have broken some of her tension.

I gently pull her wrist until she drops her hand from her face.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, seeing as I’m not usually known for my humour.”

---