Page 49 of Code Name: Phoenix

Her voice is low, and I’m both happy and frustrated when she adheres to our deal with her next words:

“I won’t answer that question.”

The ball is back with me.

Do I push this now? Go against what I promised and try to learn more about what she knows?

If I poke the bear on this, our night will most definitely end abruptly, and I’m not ready to let her go.

Taking a deep breath, I rein in my emotions and push back the chaos building inside. The only way she will continue to relinquish control this evening is if I can control myself—and I can do that for her.

CHAPTER17

JESSA

Disappointment creeps into me at this turn of events. This is the first of many questions I won’t be able to answer for him.

I want to feel him close to me again. I know this won’t last forever. Everything over the last ten years has been too temporary for me to get my hopes up.

I ready myself for a confrontation, so I’m surprised when he reaches for my upper arms and pulls me into a partial hug, nestling my head under his chin.

The heat from his chest against my cheek and the rhythm of his breathing dance along to the beating of his heart as he sits in silence, no doubt trying to find a loophole in the deal he made with me.

His deep sigh tells me he’s settled on a decision. “I can’t promise I won’t bring this up again later, but I thank you for your honesty.” He lifts his hand to my hair and combs his fingers through my strands.

This isn’t what I expected.

To be honest, nothing has been what I expected since I first noticed the breach in our perimeter at the farmhouse a few days ago. Since then, I’ve just been rolling with the punches, waiting until I can find something to grab on to and run with.

But this? I expected him to push this.

How could he not? He just point-blank asked me a question I know the answer to, and now he knows I know the answer.

My story and Travis’s story will come out in good time, but it’s too soon to share everything. My final move depends on keeping my secrets locked away for the time being.

The longer we stay on this subject, the more difficult it will be to stick with my plan. “I don’t want to talk about that anymore.”

Jack stills around me, tightening his grip before relaxing. “We don’t have to talk about that. What would you like to talk about?”

Throwing the ball back in my court, he waits for me to ask my next question.

I don’t have the luxury of time to beat around the bush. I need to know their game so I can decide what part, if any, I will be playing in it.

“What’s your plan to take down Maxwell?” I examine his features as he decides how to answer.

“We’ve been trying for a decade to take down Matteo, and Maxwell is now a big part of his father’s business. After that night, Matteo vanished, making him untouchable, but we can still nail Maxwell and his associates. We hope if we can remove the son, then the father will have no choice but to come out of hiding. We have a few different tactics we’ve been entertaining. Link seems to think if we get enough on Maxwell and capture him, he’ll turn against his father to save himself.”

“Link?” I clarify.

“Sorry. Lincoln. He’s our head tech and comms guy.”

I nod for him to continue. “Logan and I don’t think Max will really flip on his father, so we’ve been trying to get as much as we can on him to put him away, then we can refocus our resources on finding his father. Logan seems to think, and I agree, that once Max is out of the picture, Matteo will have to come out of hiding. It’s been tough though. Those who know enough to put both of them away are extremely loyal to the Sparr family, or they’re dead.”

Jack is right about one thing: Maxwell will never turn his father in.

Where Jack is wrong is focusing his attention on finding dirt on the family itself. I’ve learned the loyalty shown to the Sparr family comes from the leverage Matteo and Maxwell hold over their friends and enemies.

Blackmail is a favored tactic, and they dangle many carrots over those around them.

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