Page 29 of Code Name: Phoenix

I break away and glance around the room. It’s more comfortable than my last room, but the opportunity for escape is just as nonexistent. The beds look like real beds, and there are even a couple of comfortable chairs in the room, along with a small table to eat at.

“I’m okay. Don’t get too comfortable. They probably put us together in the hopes that we’ll talk and give them something they can use,” I say.

Dana pinches her eyebrows together and straightens her spine.

The look on her face tells me she really didn’t think they had an ulterior motive.

I walk to the two chairs and sit in one, curling my legs underneath me as Dana takes the other seat.

“How was your interrogation? Are you okay?” I keep the conversation simple.

I’m not ready to talk about Jack, and I don’t want to make it easy for anyone listening in on our conversation.

“Yeah, I’m good. It was fine. That Jekyll guy is a little intense. He could use a tall, cold glass of chill the fuck out,” she deadpans, forcing a chuckle through my lips. I haven’t really laughed in a few days.

When we arrived at the farmhouse, I spent the first day checking the perimeter and making sure everything was set and working right.

Dana and I would be laughing and drinking margaritas under the stars on that little boat right now if it wasn’t for them. Then I realize how much time has passed since they took us. Coming off of the adrenaline from my time with Jack, my body is sluggish, exhausted.

“Can we talk more about the interrogation in the morning? I’m tired. I think I need to sleep.” I look over, and Dana’s eyes are practically shut.

“Sure. It can wait. I’ll tell you all about it in the morning. I call the bed furthest from the door.” She stands and moves quickly, pulling the sheets back and sliding under the covers.

I walk to the entrance and hit the switch beside the door, then turn and make my way to my bed, careful to avoid the chairs in my path.

I close my eyes, quickly succumbing to exhaustion. We are running on fumes. My brain has been working on overdrive for the last few days. I need to recharge, or my emotions will begin to kick in, and I’ll lose my focus.

CHAPTER9

JACK

Logan doesn’t bother to look up as I enter his office. His features are tight with disappointment as he writes something on a piece of paper. “I’m pretty sure I’ve said this a few times in the last twelve hours,” he says, “but what the fu—”

“Save it. You knew this would happen the second you found out who she was. You said it yourself. I told you everything about her.”

He leans back in his chair with an arrogant smirk inching across his face.

I look over his desk to his computer screen. The feed from the room Jessa was in with me is still open. He makes no attempt to hide that he saw us.

He’s trying to push me into feeling shame, but I don’t. Not one bit, and I never will where Jessa is concerned. Given the chance, I’d march into her room right now and pick up where we left off.

“Still.” Leaning forward, he clicks the keyboard to change the view. Now it’s Jessa and Dana in their new room, and she’s turning out the lights. “You need to keep a level head, Jack. We don’t have their whole story. We don’t know where Zane is, or even who he is. We don’t know what they do for Maxwell. That girl only told us what she thinks, and Jessa has kept her out of the loop for good reason. She only gave us hunches. I’ll be interrogating yourgirlfriendin the morning, Jack. Your little fuck changes nothing.”

Having Logan as a partner is a blessing and a curse. There is no one I trust my life with more, but at the same time, our personalities are so much alike that he constantly reminds me how insufferable I can be.

If the roles were reversed, I would be doing the exact same thing to him.

“I told you, I understand.”

The phone rings, and Logan reaches over to pick it up, keeping his eyes on me, as if to tell me our discussion isn’t over.

“Yes.” As he listens, his expression sours, and his eyes stay locked on mine. “Give me a second.” His lips curl into a snarl as he stands, then jabs the face of his phone and sets it on his desk. Placing his hands on either side of it, he speaks to the person on the other end, but he keeps his eyes trained on me. “Link, you’re on speaker. Jack is here. Say that again.”

“Our systems have been breached. We’re working to see where it’s coming from, but someone is in our servers who shouldn’t be.” I don’t often hear Link in a panic. “We’ve shut down access on our sensitive areas and are working to secure everything else. There may be some disruptions in service on base.”

Logan digs his fingers into the desk until his knuckles turn white. “Can you tell where it’s coming from?”

“We have an initial report that it started on the compound. I don’t understand it. Someone on base made an unauthorized connection with an external server. I’ll know more by morning.”

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