Page 58 of Sanctuary of Secrets

Once she got over dry land, she swung her legs out and jumped to the ground. Jax watched her first extract her feet from the mud, then her shoes. He followed her lead, jumping into the mud below and losing his shoes like she had. While fishing them out, he heard the snarling whir of the quad again. Closer. Jax grabbed Seyla’s hand, and they dove behind some bushes. The sound grew louder, the noise vibrating through his nerves, a roaring cacophony assaulting his ears. He peered through the bushes, pinched his eyes shut and peeled them open again.

Were his eyes playing tricks on him?

The quad roared up an incline and stopped only a couple of yards away from them. A flashlight flicked on, illuminating Brad Tindall, one of the park rangers. Jax’s entire body sighed with relief when he saw that the man didn’t have a suppressor connected to his gun. He slowly straightened to stand on his feet. “Brad! You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

Brad cut the quad’s engine and got off, shining the flashlight on him. “Is Seyla with you?”

Jax watched Seyla pop her head up from the bushes. “Brad?”

“Hi, Seyla.” The ranger grinned at her, leaving Jax to wonder how well they actually knew each other. He approached the ranger to shake his hand while Seyla got to her feet.

“Let me call this in and then we can get you two… back to civilization,” Brad ended with a snort.

Jax checked his clothes. Wow, he was a mess. Yet Seyla remained beautiful, with mud from head to toe and tears in her shirt and shorts. How could a person look that good after everything they’d gone through?

Brad twisted to speak into the intercom on his shoulder. After a brief conversation, he chucked his chin at them. “Okay, let’s get you two out of here.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Seyla shuffled through the stacks of papers in the last drawer of Janet’s desk.

Beside her, Jax ran his hands under each drawer in case anything was hidden there.

He winced several times, the only evidence of the extent of his injuries from their ordeal earlier in the evening.

He shouldn’t have refused pain medication.

Seyla shoved the drawer shut. She dropped into a chair, exhausted, the hope of finding a clue as dampened as her clothes and hair. “We’ve searched every drawer. There’s no definitive sign that she’s the one doing this.” Seyla shoved a lock of hair behind her ear. I must remind him of a drowned rat. The thought brought up another question. Why did she care what he thought? She did, though, and that bothered her a lot more than his presence.

“No sign of anything here, either.”

“Alright. Let’s check the search history.” She coaxed her tired body over to Janet’s computer. Leaning on the desk, she clicked the mouse a couple times until the computer prompted her to enter Janet’s email and password. “We’re in.”

“Nice job.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, tipping her head back at an angle to meet Jax’s gaze. His eyes radiated warmth, drawing her in, tempting her to snuggle up next to him.

You’re his best friend’s cousin. That’s it.

Seyla tapped a nail a little too hard on the desktop and directed her attention to the computer screen again. Afterrubbing her hands together, she rested her fingers on the keys. “Let’s see what Janet’s been up to.” Once she opened the browser, she reviewed the browsing history.

Jax’s breath feathered her shoulder when he leaned in alongside her. How was she supposed to concentrate with him this close?

“...line under recipes.”

Seyla blinked several times. “What?”

“Not the first line. The next one. The line under recipes.”

She forced herself to focus on the words on the screen. Three names snagged her attention, snapping her eyes wide open. The names were peppered throughout the list, but they were there—Victor Soros, Hannah Ponz, and Laurel Anderson.

“Jackpot,” Jax murmured at her shoulder.

Why did his voice rumble over her in such a comforting way?

“What’s the significance, though? Why search for information on Hannah Ponz and Laurel Anderson? I mean, I assume she was hunting for articles authored by Victor Soros in connection with the sanctuary. But why Hannah and Laurel?”

“Did she know them?” Jax asked.

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