Page 26 of Misunderstood Hacker

Sam ran his hands through his hair. “My exact thoughts.”

“What am I looking at?” Neal asked.

“Thecase we are working on with the FBI.Thegroup we are trying to take down is the same onethatis after Jessica. They’re trying to break her original kidnappers out of jail.Thereason we didn’t put the two together is that we didn’t know who was trying to break Axmed out of jail. His groupwas dismantledwhen he was imprisoned, and we didn’t know who the new leader was until now.”

“Sam, are you going to interrogate the leader’s men?” John asked.

“I can’t.” Sam looked tired. Shialia mustbe havingmore problems than Sam was letting on. “Some of the King’s men havebeen compromisedand killed the members of Axmed’s group. We think theywere worriedhis co-conspirators would talk. I’m working on contacting some of the brothers I used to work with. We need to figure out what they are after before Axmed pulls a Houdini.”

My gasp had everyone turning toward me. I had a quick flash of being tied to the wall in my cell while a man beat me with a whip, tearing at my skin. I caught the scent of copper from the blood running down my back.

* * *

Brock

This was why I had kept information fromher.Ididn’t want her slipping back into the past.Ilifted her into my arms and took her back to the guest room.Ilaid her down on the bed and went to the bathroom for a cold washcloth.As I dragged it slowly over her face, her eyesfinally focused.

“I don’t know why I keep getting flashbacks.” Her voicewas still shaky.

Fuck. This situation was getting out of control. “Why don’t you call your sister?Iwill finish figuring out our next step.I’ll go over everything with you when we talk about it later tonight.”Ikissed her on the forehead, grabbed her pink phone from the nightstand, and handed it to her.

Iclosed the door slightlybefore heading back to the dining room. Sam was still on the screen, but Pattywas gone. I assumed she was talking to Jessica.Hopefully, Patty and Jessicawould be able tocalm each other down.

I was sick of being one step behind. “Neal, I want to know how that woman delivered those photos.”

Neal was sitting with Sophie at the other end of the table. His fingers were flying across the laptop in front of him. Mia and John were comparing notes between the FBIcaseand Jessica’s old case.

Sophie had been fiddling with a case file before she spoke up. “Her flashbacks keep getting worse.”

“We need to eliminate this group.” Neal looked up. “I’m going totry tolocate Abshir and find out where he is now.”

Absently, I reached out and grabbed another piece of licorice while I took a drink of coffee.

A few hours later, we were no closer to cracking the case than when we’d started. We needed to figure out what information they were after.

Jessica had rejoined the group after talking to Patty. Her spirits seemed to be lighter.

“Neal, how are things progressing with you and Daisy?”

Neal ran his hand across his head,apparentlyfrustrated with the question or with how things were going with him and Daisy.

“She is a fantastic sub. I worry she has no limits andpersonally,John, I don’t think you’re helping her. The other night before John and I got there, Daisyended up in a scene with two sadists. I worry she won’t say her safe word even when it’s too much.”

I hadn’t considered how far she would go before safe-wording. “Why don’t you take her off John’s hands?”

Neal rolled his eyes. “She’s a person, not a toy we can pass around.”

We weren’t passing her around like a toy. We were trying to figure out what was best for her so she wouldn’t get hurt or end up in a situation that set her back. Daisy had been meetingconstantlywith the team therapist, and she seemed headed in the proper direction.

“Sorry to put you in this situation,” I said. “I’ll get ahold of Aaron, and he can help Daisy. We don’t think John is helping Daisy much, either.”

“I told you she is not a fucking toy. I will decide what’s best for her. Stay the fuck out of it,” Neal demanded while pounding his fists on the table.

Bingo. I had hit the right nerve. It seemed Neal was protective of Daisy. Maybe now he would get off his ass and move Daisy in with him.

“Well, on that note, Jessica and I will see you at the club tonight.” We had been taking things slow. I didn’t want to scare her away. I had a private room booked for us tonight, and I couldn’t wait to sink into her.

At the mention of the club, Jessica’s head swung around. Her soft blond hair was up in a ponytail. The look of surprise on her face made me chuckle.

“Let’s go grab food, and then you and Daisy can get ready for the club. I have a private room for us.”

Jessica hopped up from the chair and ran to the guest bedroom to grab her things so we could head out.

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