Page 100 of Storm and Tempest
Hollace said, “I understand why you don’t want us to access your system. Thank you for protecting MSI from a cyberattack. But if you let us, we might be able to connect your laptop to an independent system that’s air gapped from our network. We can watch whatDominatuslooks at. We might be able to feed them incorrect information or even trace back their location. Find the source.”
Maizie stared at him. “I couldn’t do that because they would’ve seen me. But I wanted to.”
“I know,” Hollace said. “And thanks to you, they won’t see us coming.”
“They’ll find out. They’ll hurt Kenna’s baby.” Maizie sniffed.
“I need you to trust me. This could help us find her. It could help us take them down. For good.” Hollace kept his voice steady, his tone even. “We know what we’re doing.”
Jax looked at her. “Maizie, I’m asking you to let them do this.”
She pressed her lips together for a long moment, then finally said, “Okay.”
Jax set the tablet aside and started for the door. Ramon walked with him. They were in the hall when she called out, “Jax!”
He turned back and saw Maizie in the doorway, Zeyla beside her.
“Ramon and I need to go check something out.” He needed to fill her in on some of it, though. “Amara doesn’t take you anywhere. No one does. You stay here and you don’t leave without me coming back first. Got it?”
Her lip quivered. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.”
“I know they threatened her and you felt like you had no choice. I understand that.”
She stared at him.
Jax didn’t like the cold feeling inside him, but what else could he do? She’d made her choice and didn’t allow him to be part of it. Thinking that would keep him safe.
“You hate me.”
Jax unclenched his jaw. “Thank you for telling us the truth.”
She sniffed. “You do. You hate me.”
He shook his head, but there weren’t words to reassure her when it was all too close, too raw. “I just want to find Kenna.”
But the bottom line was, she hadn’t trusted him and she’d lied to him. Yes, she’d been scared and coerced. That was why he wasn’t fuming at her. Their enemy knew who to manipulate and how. Which meant Amara cared about Kenna enough to do what it took to keep her alive—because that was what they’d threatened her with.
They’d used Maizie to infiltrate government servers and undermine efforts at the highest level to take them down.
Dismantling the fight against them the way they’d dismantled Kenna’s team.
“We’ll be back soon, I hope,” he added. “We need to check something out.”
“Okay.”
Jax gave her a hug, because she needed it. “See you when we’re back.” He looked at Zeyla. “She doesn’t leave. Not for anything.”
Zeyla nodded. “Understood.”
Jax strode away, around the bend in the hall to the elevator. Bear passed him, handing over a watch identical to the one Jax wore. He took off his own and traded with the other man.
Bear started to speak, but Jax turned away. He jabbed the button for the elevator, feeling the anger in him release. Pain echoed through his shoulder.
He planted his palm high on the wall and tried to breathe through it, but the anger rose in him, and he pulled his arm back. Swung his fist and punched a hole in the drywall.
Ramon’s arm snaked around his waist and pulled him back. “That’s enough. You save that forDominatus. Because they deserve it.”
Jax shoved him away as the elevator doors opened.
