Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

OZ Safe House

Seattle

T hey sat around the small living room to review the events of the evening. As ops went, this one was to have been a low-key, noneventful mission. Instead, it had turned into a shitstorm, and they were still trying to unravel the who and the why.

For Jazz, it was a million times stormier. Had she been mistaken? Had her heated discussion with Xavier somehow transported Brody’s physical characteristics onto the shooter? It had been over fifteen years since she’d seen her brother. He had to have changed significantly since then. Always big for his age, Brody had seemed larger than life to her. He had been her protector, defender, and caretaker. He had been her everything.

He’d also been one of the kindest, most thoughtful people she’d ever met. How could he have changed so much that he was now a cold-blooded killer?

It just wasn’t possible. It had to be a mistake. In her mind’s eye, she reviewed every minute detail. Yes, the assassin had been around Brody’s height and build. Yes, she’d spotted a strand of hair the same color as Brody’s—golden blond—sticking out of the cap. And yes, when he’d moved to open the door to the SUV, the light from the street lamp had been bright enough that she’d seen a scar on his wrist in the exact place she knew her brother had one. She’d been there when he’d gotten it. All of that could be explained…right?

The eyes though…that had been the most telling. They had given his identity away as if he’d shouted out his name. Brody’s eyes were a distinctive, almost-eerie light green. Just like the eyes of the killer.

Had she imagined the recognition in them when he’d turned to look at her? Had his body jerked slightly, as if in shock? Or was all of this just projection because she was feeling overemotional?

She hadn’t said anything to Xavier or anyone else on the team. When Xavier had finally made it out to the alley, she had described the SUV and the size of the suspected killer. She’d explained he’d been covered from head to toe so he couldn’t be identified. She had said nothing about her suspicions. What could she say? Oh, and by the way, I think my brother is the assassin. So, if you find him, please don’t hurt him.

No, she needed to think about this. About what she should do versus what she was obligated to do. If she told them, what would happen? They would continue to look for him, and when they found him, they’d want to know who hired him. And while OZ wasn’t known for torturing or abusing people for intel, what would happen if Brody resisted? What if there was a shootout? What if a member of her team was hurt? What if someone shot Brody?

The wild imaginings just wouldn’t stop.

What could have happened to Brody? When he had disappeared, she had made all sorts of excuses for him. She’d come up with a dozen different scenarios for why he had abandoned her. Becoming a killer hadn’t been one of them.

“Jazz, what about you?”

Thankful for her ability to shift gears in midstream, Jazz said, “Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Bass was in his element, and the people around him seemed enamored. It was exactly as we thought it would be.”

“And I think that’s the exact reason they chose such a public arena to take him out,” Ash said.

“To verify,” Gideon said, “this ‘they’ you speak of is the Wren Project?”

“Yes,” Serena answered. “Without a doubt, it’s them. He was no longer useful to them.”

“But why do it in such a public way?” Jazz asked. “Why not just slip him some undetectable poison? They could’ve done this in secret, and no one would have been the wiser.”

“It likely served as a good reminder to all their other puppets. No matter who you are, if you don’t toe the line, you’ll pay.”

Leaning back in his chair, Xavier huffed out a frustrated growl. “It’s becoming like Whac-A-Mole. One goes down, and another pops up.”

“That’s why we’ve got to concentrate on the head of the snake,” Ash said. “We need to find someone who’s willing to talk. Someone, somewhere out there, knows who and where he, she, or they are.”

“And until we find them, we keep digging,” Eve said.

“Exactly,” Ash said.

That someone could be her brother, Jazz thought. He could be the key to all of this.

She took in the expressions of her teammates. They wouldn’t stop until this shadow organization, the Wren Project, that had destroyed so many lives was demolished. She wanted that, too. They were evil and needed to be ended.

“We’ll head back home and continue the digging,” Ash said. “In the meantime, Jazz and Xavier, I’d like you both to stay here and monitor the situation. Interview as many witnesses as you can. See if you can dig up any intel we may have missed.”

If there was ever a time for her to speak up, this was it. But she remained silent, only nodding her head in agreement to Ash’s assignment.

She told herself to wait…she needed to think. They had come here straight from the restaurant. She hadn’t had a chance to consider her options.

Options? A voice inside her head screamed the word. What options did she have other than to tell the truth? She had taken an oath when she’d joined Option Zero. There were to be no secrets, no hidden agendas within the team. To have complete faith and trust in each other, full disclosure had to be made.

Over the years, it had become obvious that secrets had been kept. And hadn’t she judged others for that? Hadn’t she been angry when she’d learned that Jules, Ash’s wife, had lied about her identity? Or when she’d learned that Hawke was still alive and Ash had known? Even Eve’s secret about her family had caused a minor tug of betrayal. She had questioned why Eve would have kept such a secret.

And yet, here she was, keeping her own, very serious secret. One that had major implications for their current operation. That her brother was possibly involved with the Wren Project was monumental. She owed them the truth.

But what about Brody? Didn’t she owe him her allegiance, too? He had taken care of her, protected her. He had been her hero.

But he had left her to fend for herself. No fourteen-year-old with zero experience or street savviness should be abandoned. For two years, until Kate Walker had found her, she had survived on the streets of Chicago. The fear and dread of that time still sometimes woke her up at night with terrifying nightmares that were all too real.

How did she weigh her love and devotion to her brother against his abandonment? OZ was her new family, her only family. How could she not tell them? But what if she did tell them and they found him? What if he hurt one of them? She couldn’t take that risk. She had to find him first. There was no other way.

“Jazz, you okay?”

Jerked out of her thoughts, she glanced around at her teammates, who were all looking at her as though she’d lost her mind. And with good reason. Without being conscious of it, she had stood and moved several feet away from the table where’d they’d all gathered. She didn’t know if she’d been trying to flee or make an announcement. All she knew was her team was looking for an explanation for her odd behavior, and this was the moment of truth.

Placing her hand on her stomach, she whispered hoarsely, “Sorry. Stomach issues.” Feeling like a total coward and traitor, she took off down the hallway toward the bathroom.

Both Serena and Eve stood to go after her. Xavier held up his hand to stop them. “I don’t think it’s her stomach. I said something to upset her earlier, and she’s dealing with it.”

“What are you talking about?” Eve said. “What did you do?”

“I’d like to know that as well.” The heat in Ash’s glare could start a forest fire. Fortunately, Xavier was strong enough to withstand the intensity. Did he regret cornering Jazz and forcing a conversation she hadn’t wanted? No, he didn’t. Did he wish it hadn’t been necessary? Yeah, definitely.

“I confronted her about finding her brother.”

Gideon groaned and shook his head.

Ash cursed softly and then snarled, “We talked about this and agreed to let her face it in her own time.”

“Wait,” Hawke said. “What am I missing here? I thought the team had been looking for Jazz’s brother since she came on board. What’s changed?”

“Nothing’s changed, and that’s the problem,” Xavier said. “She won’t ask for a full-on OZ investigation.”

Eve’s forehead furrowed with concern. “Why’s that, do you think?”

“We’ve always known that Jazz has trust issues,” Serena said. “Which, considering what she’s been through, is understandable.”

Xavier shifted in his chair. Even though he was the one who’d started this conversation, he was feeling damn uncomfortable talking about his partner without her in the room.

“Maybe we need to do some kind of intervention,” Eve said. Turning her gaze toward Xavier, she added, “Gently and respectfully.”

Yeah, he got the message.

“Not tonight. I’ve already upset her. Having that conversation now will only make her feel like we’re ganging up on her.”

“Which we would be,” Eve replied dryly. “Why don’t you let Serena and me take a shot at it?” She raised her hand and added, “Soon. Not now.”

“Agreed,” Ash said. “Just do it in a way that shows she has our total support, not like she’s being interrogated with no way out.”

Okay, yeah, that was another poke at him again. Ash was pissed and likely wouldn’t let it lie until they had a one-on-one. Xavier didn’t necessarily disagree with his boss’s assessment. Didn’t mean he hadn’t done the right thing. He’d learned a long time ago that sometimes you had to do what you hated to get the results you needed.