Page 134 of Unbroken

Jeffrey shrugged and sighed. “He was convenient. I promised him money, and he was impressionable enough to go along with it. He kept an eye on Shelly and then quietly left me alone when we went to Colorado. And he played his part perfectly when the cops came knocking. He took the fall so I could keep watching you.”

“He’s dead because of you,” I seethed. “And Jade is traumatized.”

He huffed out a long breath and turned back toward the shelves. “It happens,” he said. “And Jade shouldn’t be too upset—I could have done much worse.” Completely unbothered by the blood on his hands, he reached for the lid of a small wooden box.

“You’re right, Valerie did do a number on me,” I said plainly, knowing exactly what was about to happen next. “But she taught me one useful thing. Always have a backup plan.”

Right on cue, the back door to his office clicked open, and Devon stepped inside. His eyes immediately found mine, but they were hard and steadfast on our plan.

The one person I could count on no matter what.

He faced Jeffrey, whose shocked face was priceless, especially when Devon flashed the gun that I knew was positioned in his waistband. Since I’d put it there earlier that day.

Jeffrey scoffed and glanced between me and Devon. “Interesting turn of events. Big, quiet, surly Devon Graham walking in here with a gun on his hip was not on my bingo card this year.”

SIXTY

Blakely

In the blink of an eye,Jeffrey knocked the lid off the box on the shelf next to him and reached inside.

But Devon was just as quick. He stepped forward and drew his gun a moment before Jeffrey pulled something out of the box.

It was a triumphant feeling, watching the shock and confusion play out across his face when he didn’t grab the gun he’d stashed there but the peanut butter cookies I’d replaced it with.

“We swept the entire room, Jeff,” I stated. “The gun you stashed there and the one in your desk are gone.”

He stared down at the cookies and slammed them on the shelf with a derisive snort. “I appreciate the effort. Now, put the gun down, caveman. You’re not going to shoot me.”

Devon didn’t flinch or move an inch. The gun stayed trained on Jeffrey. “I don’t hesitate when it comes to her.”

“So, what’s the play here? What do you want from me, Blakely? I’ve told you everything you wanted to know. I did what I did because I wanted to. I wanted to see firsthand the effects of kidnapping, stalking, and torture. And you wereso brittle, you were an amazing test subject. What more is there? Are you going to shoot me? Turn me in?”

Devon tensed but kept the gun level. Standing out of sight, I knew he hadn’t been out of hearing distance. He’d heard every single thing Jeffrey had said. I could see the restraint vibrating over his skin. He was trying to keep it together when I knew he wanted to rip Jeffrey’s head off.

But he wasn’t going to act unless he had to. This was my party. My vengeance.

“That’s actually a funny story, Jeffrey,” I said. I rounded the couch in slow, measured steps, my boots thumping against the hardwood floor. “See, everyone already knows, and they’ll be in here in about”—I glanced down at my nonexistent watch—“twenty minutes. I just made sure I beat them here.”

“So, you could get the answers you so desperately needed?” I kept walking as he spouted the shit I expected. “Does it make you feel better to know now? As a professional, I would like you to know that it won’t change anything. The damage is done, Blakely. The damage I did, it’s permanent.”

“I know you would like to think that,” I said, not missing a beat and tuning out every word. He was outnumbered and cornered. When faced with a challenge, I wasn’t surprised he chose first to fight. “Why don’t you take a seat, Jeff?” I motioned to his favorite leather chair.

It was the most minute movement, but I clocked Jeffrey’s eyes flashing to the office door. A second later, he was sprinting toward it. Neither Devon nor I moved.

He wanted to fight, but knowing there wasn’t a chance he’d win, flight it was.

He yanked on the handle, but the wooden door didn’t budge. He tried again, and still it didn’t budge.

“It’s locked from the outside,” I announced. “Your attempts are futile, so why don’t you do what I asked and sit the hell down?”

Jeffrey spun slowly. “You know, Blakely, I sent thoseteenagers to that house. They found you because Iwantedthem to find you. And I let you ‘recover’ for months because I wanted it to happen that way. Then I came back into your life at the exact right time. I wanted you to think you were improving, only to be broken once again.”

Hot tears stung the backs of my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. My heart pounded furiously in my chest, and I fisted my hands, digging my nails into my palms. He was trying to wind me up, and I wasn’t going to let it happen.

Instead, I was growing irritated with how long this was taking. We didn’t have much longer, and I had so much more planned. Like he was reading my mind—or maybe just my expression—Devon strode forward, stepping around the coffee table and beelining for him.

Jeffrey had the wherewithal to look scared. Devon grabbed his arm and manhandled him into the chair. He fell back so hard, the chair almost tumbled. But Devon caught it and righted him.

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