Page 2 of Code Name: Phoenix

Her bodyis missing.

“Her family was in a car accident late last night. At the bridge just outside of town. It looks like they went over the steep drop into the ravine. Her parents’ bodies were recovered downstream, along with the car. We can’t confirm yet that it’s related, but three other people from the company are dead as well. It was a quick job.” He glances around as panic floods my veins.

“Maybe Jessa and Travis weren’t in the car. Did you check their house?” I counter in a desperate attempt to think of something they haven’t yet, but I already know I’m behind.

Memories flash before my eyes.

I saw Jessa and Travis yesterday. We were talking about how fast our high school graduation is coming up in a few months.

For siblings, they are almost inseparable. Twins who look nothing alike but finish each other’s sentences at every turn.

When I started this undercover op, six months ago, I never expected to meet someone like Jessa. I was just a kid myself at twenty-three. I was five years older than her and her brother, but I blended into their senior class.

No one knew my secret.

I was sent in to get close to Maxwell, Matteo’s son. Because of his family’s connections, Maxwell was one of the most popular kids in their high school. He learned how to keep up appearances from his old man, but word had it he was just as deep into all of the family’s illegal activities.

The one thing we had in common was Jessa. Maxwell always changed when she was around. He put on a good show for everyone else, but I could tell by the way he stared at her that she could probably write her ticket for life with him if she wanted to.

Everyone around her noticed it too, except her. She always spoke kindly with him, as she did with everyone, but that was where it ended for her.

She only wanted to be his friend.

She was too good for him anyway.

She was too good for the both of us.

I first met Jessa when I was paired with her on a science project. Her laugh was infectious, and I lost myself in her smile. I understood Maxwell’s attraction to her instantly.

She and her brother were the most well-rounded kids in that school. They stayed away from the more dramatic groups and kept even farther away from the most undesirable ones. They both had only a couple of friends in their core groups, but they never excluded anyone who wanted to hang out.

Everything about Jessa just fit for me.

And now she and her brother are missing.

“We’ve been to the house and the hospital. We retrieved the car an hour ago. Preliminary reports say the back passenger window was broken from the inside out. We found her school bag in the back seat. And before you ask, we already have over half the team searching. We’ve been working with the local guys, and they have all of their information. We’re checking the riverbanks as well as the water. Anyone making it out will be found, unless…” His face drops when his brain catches up to his mouth, and he realizes he said too much, but I pick up where he left off.

“Unless they got pulled under and sucked down the rapids.” My empty stomach clenches tight.

His eyes stay locked on me as I pause to gather my thoughts. Then, without pretense, I involuntarily spin to get dressed and go after Jessa.

That’s when I notice them.

Two men stand still, waiting behind my commanding officer. I can’t make out their faces. I’m sure they’ve been given orders to stand down unless necessary, and the four walls in my room suddenly feel as though they are closing in.

“Look, Jack. We know you and Jessa became close, but you need to let the team handle it. Finding her and Travis is our priority while we’re here. Our mission still stands; your orders are to pack up and let them do their job. You’ll head out to Fort Stevens in an hour.” His attempt at pacifying me speaks to a part of me I don’t want to show.

The way he trivializes my feelings for Jessa ignites my fight-or-flight reflexes.

We didn’t become close.

She was it.

She became everything.

Days working side by side at school and nights spent talking and growing closer. Everything she said about her past and her future spoke to me. Then the one special night we spent together shifted our relationship, and everything changed.

I know I was out of line. I know I had a job to do here, but I wasn’t about to let her go when everything was done.

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