Page 35 of Proof

JJ might not have been able to return to his former job, but just like the Marines were a part of my blood, the same was true for him. I’d seen proof of that when he’d risked his life to save Jenna and the teenager who’d unwittingly put himself in the line of fire. Despite his hatred of me, he hadn’t let me take the fall for shooting the gunman even though his former colleagues had been itching to take me into custody foranyreason.

I was betting my life on my belief that his cop side would overcome his bitter, angry, and distrusting side.

“Sully took my Mustang and your gun and phone with him when he left. My phone and gun are in a very sturdy wall safe in the living room. No one knows we’re here besides your brother, so we should be safe from any outside threats. If you decide to stab me with a pointy object while I’m sleeping or you somehow manage to beat me to death with your bare hands, then stay put in the cabin and Sully will eventually come get you. There’s plenty of food in the fridge and pantry, there’s a grill outside that door, and the closest highway is a four-mile hike through less-than-ideal conditions. By the time we’re done here, you’ll either figure out the code to the safe because it’s a number you’ll find in the files or you’ll have made your judgment as to whether I’m guilty or not,” I said.

“If Imanageto beat you to death?” JJ drawled.

I smiled because it didn’t surprise me in the least that those were the words he took issue with. That wasmyJJ talking.

I shrugged and pretended to read the file in front of me.

“When does all this bullshit start?” he asked.

“Whenever you’re up to it, sweetheart,” I responded. I raised my eyes and slowly raked them over the parts of his body I could see. Based on his response to me in the motel room, I knew that he didn’t stand a chance of resisting me sexually since he was as attracted to me as I was to him. The challenge was for me to keep my hands off him. Not an easy feat considering our forced proximity for the next several days.

“I’m ready now,” he declared. He still had his arms crossed but I could see the lust in his eyes. If he held out his hands, they’d probably be shaking as hard as mine were. I couldn’t help but wonder if the small table we were sitting at would hold our combined weight if it came to that.

“Go for it,” I dared as I motioned to the files.

“Not yet,” JJ said as he glanced at the assortment of files and documents. “Questions first.”

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my own arms. “Do you want to swear me in?” I asked. “I didn’t think to bring a Bible.”

“Not necessary,” he said simply.

His next words blew my attempt at sarcastic humor out of the water.

“How was prison, Cass?”

CHAPTER 12

Jj

It didn’t feel as good as I expected it would.

Throwing Cass off his game had been meant to give me a sense of being on equal footing with him, especially after the humiliation he’d put me through when he’d questioned me about my need to return to Tank’s night after night. His words had been softly spoken but they’d carried a big punch.

His time in prison had nothing to do with the ridiculous task that would supposedly buy my freedom from wherever the hell we were and land him back behind bars. I didn’t believe the stuff he’d told me about Sully or the bullshit that the wall safe code was a number I would know. The crap he’d said about turning himself in and confessing was nonsense too, but if Icouldfind concrete proof of his crimes, I’d make sure his ass went back to prison and he’dstaythere.

Cass had, unfortunately, left me with one question running on a loop in my head. A question I had absolutely no answer to. WhyhadI put so much trust in him despite the fact that I hadn’t seen the man since the last time he’d returned to LA to celebrate some holiday with me and Sully? I didn’t even know when that had been.

I wanted to take back my question about his prison time the second I saw Cass’s reaction to it. He tensed up and glanced at the open door every few seconds. The door that I now realized had nothing to do with me escaping and everything to do with his fear of confinement. I felt like an ass for the way I’d asked the question, too. I’d deliberately made it sound like I was looking forward to his response; like I enjoyed knowing what two years behind bars had done to him.

Backing down wasn’t an option, so I couldn’t take the question back or rephrase it. If he saw even a chink in my armor, he’d use it to his advantage.

He’d already proven that he knew how to do it.

“You were at ADX, the supermax in Colorado, right? If I’m not mistaken, that’s a federal prison that houses the worst of the worst.”

Cass’s expression hardened into an unreadable one. I wasn’t surprised given the man had been a Marine. He’d been trained to withstand any form of torture rather than give up information if he fell into enemy hands.

“Yes,” Cass responded without emotion. The fact that he couldn’t stop checking the door belied any effort he was making to prove he was unaffected by my words.

Unfortunately, his uncontrollable need to keep checking the door meant he’d told the truth about being claustrophobic. I couldn’t let that one truth outweigh all the lies, though.

I wouldn’t.

“So how was it?” I asked.

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