Page 109 of Jep

She saw a flash of frustration cross his face. “Call me in forty-eight hours, okay? I’ll let you know where we’re up to.”

She turned toward the door but was hit with a pang of indecision, and as much as she tried, she couldn’t put a foot forward. “I can’t.”

“What?” Pearce said.

Jade took her hand. “Em, we have to get out of here before it’s too late. Come on.”

She let Jade tug her closer to the door, then resisted. “No. I can’t. Not yet. Pearce, you need to tell me what’s going on.”

“You don’t want to know,” Pearce said. “Okay? Don’t ask me to tell you.”

“I’m in this deeper than anyone. I need to know.”

His jaw worked for a second before he said. “Jep’s the one.”

“The one what?”

“The one who’s behind all of this. He’s been working for the enemy.”

“No, it’s Gardener. She told me.”

A flash of anger appeared on Pearce’s face, then disappeared. “Then I guess you were right. She was in on it too.”

“She hit Jep over the head. She wouldn’t do that if they were working together.”

“Unless she got greedy and wanted him out of the way so she could get a bigger piece of the pie.”

“Jep is not involved.”

“I didn’t want to believe it either.”

“He would never?—”

“You better be careful you don’t let your emotions get in the way of the truth. I know you like him, but that’s what makes him so good at what he does. Even I was starting to like him.”

“It’s impossible. He’s only just returned to the team. He couldn’t be behind everything that’s happened.”

“Did you ever ask yourselfwhyJep came back?”

“Because of you. I was there, remember? You put his name forward, and I went with you to get him.”

“You don’t know all the facts.”

“Then tell me.”

“Em,” Jade tugged on her arm, but she pulled away.

“No. None of this makes sense.”

“I don’t want to drag you into this,” Pearce said.

“Too late.”

He growled but then said. “The only reason I asked to bring back Jep in the first place was because he reached out to me a few months ago. Said he wanted to come back. Begged me to bring him back. I told him I’d look into it. That scene at his place was all for show. He’d already made his decision. Em, think about it. He knows this agency inside and out. He knows how we act, how we think. He knows all our procedures. Why do you think he wanted you for a partner?”

Em wanted to explain, but the words that formed in her mind sounded ridiculous. “I’ve done okay. I’ve helped out.”

“I don’t mean to sound harsh, but you haven’t. Not really. It was all Jep. Everything that’s happened. Come on. You’re asmart woman. He wanted someone he could manipulate and control. When you went to bring him back the second time, he knew he had everything he wanted. He had you wrapped around his finger, and I’m sorry for my part because I’m the one who sent you to him. If I’d known?—”

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