Chapter Thirty-Six

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

H is phone to his ear, Ash pushed the front door open and stomped down the steps. The minute his wife answered his call, he said, “Kate’s here.”

Jules’s heartfelt sigh told him she hadn’t known of Kate’s plans. Then she confirmed it with, “I haven’t talked to her in a couple of days, Ash. I didn’t know she was coming.”

He and Jules had been arguing about Kate for weeks. Nothing had been resolved. While his wife agreed that Kate keeping back intel that would greatly increase their chances of finding the people who’d taken Jazz was insanely wrong, she was torn. Kate was her mentor and friend, the godmother to their son. They had both trusted her with their lives. But while Ash had become skeptical of Kate’s loyalty over the last few months, Jules’s opinion of her friend had never wavered.

Against Jules’s wishes, Ash had barred Kate from Option Zero grounds. Before, she had enjoyed the freedom to come and go just like any other OZ employee. But now, she required an escort. He hadn’t told her, of course, and when she’d texted that she couldn’t get through the gate because her code wouldn’t work, he’d read between the lines of her terse statement. She was pissed.

Well, so was he. And until she came clean with everything, she would remain on his “watch list.”

He drove the two miles to the OZ entrance, a well-hidden drive that no one would see unless they were looking directly at it. Kate’s car was idling, and her face through the windshield clearly showed her temper. What he didn’t like was seeing the hurt in her eyes. Kate had been his friend for a long time, and she had done some remarkable work to make the world a safer place. But secrets within the OZ community could not be allowed. They’d learned the hard way that when things were hidden, everyone suffered for it.

Ash got out of his vehicle, walked to the gate pad, and keyed in an access number. When the gate went up, he gave her a stiff nod and returned to his car.

Just as he reached the parking lot, another notification came through. Another car had arrived at the gate, and this person had clearance. Jules was going to join them.

While they waited for Ash to return with Kate, it was all Xavier could do not to grab Jazz and run out the door. She had walked into the conference room earlier with all the confidence and cockiness he was used to seeing in her. And now, not half an hour into the meeting, she was looking pale and worn out.

Whatever Kate was bringing to the meeting was bound to have an even more devastating impact on her. He wanted to shut it down, but there was no way around it. She would resent his intrusion, and as much as he didn’t want her hurt, he agreed with her that she needed to know the truth. Whatever the hell it was.

The hard, set expression on Ash’s face when he’d walked out the door was a reflection of Xavier’s own ire. Kate hadn’t been invited to the meeting. She had, in fact, lost her security clearance to even come onto the property without an armed escort. That’s how pissed Ash was, and Xavier joined him in his feelings.

Unable to sit and wait without at least touching Jazz, Xavier stood and rolled his chair over to where she sat. She’d been doodling on the pad in front of her, but he knew her mind was running a thousand miles an hour.

“You okay?” he asked.

Without looking up, she said, “Oh yeah, peachy.”

“Have you talked to Kate since you’ve been back?”

“No. I sent her a text and told her I needed to talk to her. She responded with an obscure ‘I know,’ and that was that.”

“I don’t know if he told you, but Ash barred her from OZ unless she has an escort.”

Her head popped up, a startled, concerned expression on her face. “That’s insane. Does he think she’s working against us?”

Xavier shrugged. “She’s not been forthcoming, Jazz. She’s holding back intel.”

“Well, so did I.”

“Yes, but you gave an explanation for it—one everyone understood. Kate’s only excuse is that things are in play that are bigger than us.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s working against us.”

“Maybe not, but I do know that her intel to find you came much later than it should have.”

“Kate wouldn’t hold back intel if she thought my life was in danger. She just wouldn’t.”

He didn’t know who she was trying to convince, him or herself, but Xavier didn’t respond to her statement. Whatever Kate was bringing today would be upsetting enough without him adding to it.

Looking for a safer topic, he said, “Probably felt good being in your own bed the last two nights.”

“I missed you,” she said quietly.

Now it was his turn to jerk his head around and stare at her. This was the first time in over two weeks that she’d given any indication that she missed the intimacy they’d shared. After their argument, she had moved into a different bedroom, and they hadn’t even kissed since then, much less shared a bed.

“I miss you, too, baby.”

A sexy smile curved her mouth. “I love when you call me baby.”

“I’ll call you that every night if you let me.”

“I’d—”

“Hello, everyone.”

All eyes went to the door. Kate stood there, the defiant glint in her eyes telling them she was not only infuriated at their treatment of her, but she also wasn’t the least bit remorseful for causing their distrust.

Yeah, things were about to get even rockier.

Her nerves on edge, Jazz resisted the impulse to go to Kate and pull her into a hug. This woman had done so much for her. To think that she might have held back information that could have ended her imprisonment sooner—or even prevented it in the first place—caused her stomach to roil.

“Jazz, it’s so good to see you looking so well.” Kate’s voice was both soothing and sincere.

Her stiff limbs loosening, Jazz breathed out a relieved sigh. There was no way this woman had anything but good intentions inside her. The tension between OZ and Kate had been distorted and blown out of proportion.

Her chin jutted out. She wanted to make sure everyone knew Kate had her full support, so she said with all the affection in the world, “It’s good to see you, too, Kate. I’m so happy you’re here to clear up the miscommunication and confusion.”

“Thank you, Jazz. That means a lot,” Kate said in her calm, cool voice. “But I’d like to talk to you in private.”

As much as she trusted Kate and wanted everyone to know it, she was tired of the secrets. “If you don’t mind, I’d like for our conversation to stay out in the open. There’ve been too many secrets. Whatever you have to say, I don’t mind my OZ family hearing about it.”

For the first time since Kate had arrived, Jazz spotted a flicker of guilt before she was able to mask it. Tensing once more, she waited for whatever Kate was about to reveal.

“Very well.” Seating herself at the table, Kate nodded to Ash, who sat next to Jules a few feet away. “I know that all of you believe I have information that could have saved Jazz earlier, but I promise you I gave you everything I had.”

“All right,” Ash said. “Then let’s move on to the other intel you’re keeping from us.”

Kate’s throat worked as she swallowed, and Jazz saw the nerves behind the cool mask. Hating seeing her friend like this, she said, “Kate, you saved my life years ago. I don’t know where I would be, or what I would be, if you hadn’t found me and helped me. You have my love, my gratitude, and my allegiance. The people here are my family as much as you are. Whatever you have to say, they should hear it, too.”

“Thank you, Jazz. I hope you still feel the same way after this is over.”

A cold chill swept up Jazz’s spine, and before she could question exactly what that meant, Kate went on, “What do you know about your father?”

Oddly relieved, since all this was apparently related to Ronan Byrne, Jazz said quickly, “Just that he was apparently a mob boss in Chicago and that he’s dead.”

Kate shook her head, her mouth tight with irritation. “I’m sorry. It’s hard for me to think of Byrne as your father. I was referring to Connor McAlister.”

As all breath suddenly left her body, she had no air to respond to Kate’s question. She managed a headshake and a shrug.

Apparently understanding her lack of response, Kate sent her a tight smile and continued, “When I first met Connor, he was investigating the Byrne crime family. He was one of the finest men I’ve ever known.”

As bombshells went, it was a big one, and all Jazz could manage was, “You knew Papa Mac?”

“At the time that we met, Connor had been with the FBI for over a decade. I was a new recruit and was in awe of him. He was my friend and mentor. I joined the investigation late, mostly doing grunt work and behind-the-scenes tasks, but Connor always had a kind or encouraging word for me. He took me under his wing and allowed me in on all the meetings related to the case.

“When we learned that Byrne had fathered a child with Eliza Whitmore, the bureau wanted to bring her in and interrogate her. Connor didn’t like that approach. He chose to go undercover, get to know your mother, and see if she knew anything that could be helpful in bringing him down.”

Jazz didn’t know when it had happened, but at some point in the midst of this misery, Xavier had taken her hand in his. She appreciated it because her hand was the only thing she could feel. Every other part of her body was frozen in shock, horror, and abject grief. Papa Mac had used her mother for information? Had the only decent family life she’d had been a lie?

“It took him all of a week to learn that Eliza hadn’t even known who Byrne was. She was no help to the investigation, and Connor was ordered to cut her loose.” Kate shook her head and smiled. “It was already too late. Connor was over the moon for your mother. So much so that when he realized that not only would the FBI not be interested in Eliza, but at some point, they might use the information that she had a child by Byrne for their own agenda, he wanted to cut all ties with them.”

Finally finding her voice, Jazz rasped out a stuttering, “Did my mother… Did she know?”

“Connor told her on their second date who he was and why he’d set up the meeting. By then, Eliza was already in love with him, too.”

Their love had happened fast, that much Jazz had always known. She remembered hearing a conversation between her mama and a friend a few days after her mother had told her that she was going to marry Papa Mac. Her mother’s friend had admonished Eliza for being so reckless as to fall so fast for a man she hardly knew. Her mother had laughed and said that if one was going to do something reckless, then it should be for love.

Kate continued, “So Connor chose to leave the FBI and move the family to Georgia, far away from Byrne and anything to do with the investigation of him.”

Every question that was answered was replaced by ten more. Even as much as Jazz wanted to speak, to demand all the answers, she could only remain seated and take each hit as it came. And oh, did they keep on coming.

“The investigation against Byrne went on, but with a new team leader. I heard from Connor from time to time. As you know, he had an accounting degree, and he put it to use working for one of the larger accounting firms in Atlanta. Maybe things would have continued on without a hitch if Ronan Byrne and his family hadn’t been killed in a car accident a few years later.”

“Was it a hit?” Eve asked.

Jazz had been so lost in all the information being thrown at her, she’d completely forgotten that her team was sitting there with her. And maybe she was crazy, but she was glad they were hearing this at the same time she was. It made her feel less alone.

“No, it wasn’t a hit,” Kate replied. “It was clear at the accident site that Byrne had lost control on the icy road and gone over an embankment. He, his wife, and his fourteen-year-old son were killed on impact.”

Jazz once again thought about the half brother she’d only recently discovered she had. Had he planned to follow in his father’s footsteps? Would he have become the head of the crime family?

“So when Byrne was killed, there was no one to take over?” Gideon said.

“Correct. There were lots who tried, but none of them inspired loyalty the way Byrne could. The organization fractured after that. There were lots of killings and disappearances and absolutely no cohesiveness. So much so that our task force dropped from a dozen people working the case to just two. I went on to another case. And then, somehow, someway, it was discovered that Byrne had another child.”

Oh sweet heavens. Jazz was glad she was sitting down, because even before Kate said the words, she knew what was coming.

“They tracked Connor and your family to Atlanta.”

“The explosion?” Jazz whispered, her mouth desert-dry.

“Yes. Getting rid of your parents was the first part of their plan. And then, before the FBI could get to you, someone showed up and took you and Brody away.”

She remembered the harsh-looking woman who had introduced herself as a social worker. She had claimed that Arthur Kelly was a distant cousin of Eliza and was the only one willing to take both her and Brody together.

“Who is this ‘they’ you keep mentioning?” Xavier asked.

Something flickered in Kate’s expression before she said, “That is something no one has been able to figure out. Could have been one of the old guard or someone new.”

“Why didn’t they do away with Jazz’s brother?” Liam asked. He sent her an apologetic look, but she was actually wondering the same thing.

“They knew they’d have a tougher time with Jazz by herself. They figured they could use Brody to control her.”

And they had. How many times had Arthur made threats against Brody to keep her in line? How many times had Brody been abused because of something she should have been punished for?

“It worked,” Jazz said softly. “They knew exactly what they were doing.”

“The FBI was looking for you, but Arthur Kelly was not even a blip on their radar. Then, one day, Brody overheard Arthur bragging about how his ship would finally come in when you were eighteen and could be used for what you were intended.”

“What?” Jazz’s mouth felt so dry, she wondered if anyone had even heard her.

A bottle of water appeared in her line of sight, and Xavier leaned forward and whispered, “Take a sip, baby.”

She did as she was told, taking several fortifying swallows before she was able to say in a surprisingly calm and coherent voice, “Kate, how do you know what Brody overheard?”

As if her words weren’t going to cause a massive hemorrhage in their relationship the minute she uttered them, Kate said quietly, “Because your brother has been working with me for over a decade.”