35. Jamison

"I'm beginning to think you've lost your mind."

Liam didn't reply, dragging her down the road to the edge of the Firewater development. The toe of her sandal snagged a rock, and she stumbled.

"Damn it, slow down."

He stopped abruptly and waited for a car to pass. Stop and go. Stop and go. They had been doing this in short intervals, their progress timed to the electricity in the subdivision going on and off.

From all around, people were starting to come out of their homes. Each of them stared up at the dwindling daylight as if it could explain why the multimillion-dollar beachfront bungalows couldn't maintain a steady power supply.

"Where's your phone?" Liam asked.

Jamison pulled her phone from her pocket. She had brought her usual one, and not a burner as instructed. "Why aren't the Firewater generators working?"

Snatching the phone from her, he tossed it in a bush, and then threw his in with it. The power went out, and he again dragged her down the road. "Izzy is coming through to get those. We have two minutes."

"Two minutes to what?"

He broke into a run, forcing her to match his speed. "Make it to the townhouses."

With seconds to spare, they reached the parking area. Liam surprised her when he bypassed the unit they normally used and instead headed to Ty and Dee's place at the end.

"But Dee isn't home," she whispered, looking around as if someone were going to stop them. "We can't just barge into her place like this."

Liam focused on getting the door open and shoving her inside just as the neighborhood's power flickered on. Securing the lock, he pressed a finger to his lips, signaling to remain silent.

"Stay here," he mouthed and extracted a small black cube from his pocket.

She remained at the door, watching as he swiped the device around the kitchen and living room before going upstairs. While he was gone, the power snapped off, filling the townhome with a vacuum of silence.

"It's clear." Liam jogged back down the stairs just as the power rolled on again. "We can talk freely here, but no shouting. Our townhouse is bugged from top to bottom, and I don't want it picking up anything through the walls."

"What the hell are we doing?"

He approached, his eyes roaming over her body.

"And why are you looking at me like that?"

Liam seized her arm and ran the device over her, ending at her shoes. "We found a bug in the lining of Evie's purse yesterday and can't be too careful."

"But why did you shut down the entire development's power?"

"And its backup generators." Setting the black box on the kitchen counter, he went into the living room. The downstairs was an open-concept design, allowing the entire space to have a view of the beach through the rear sliding glass door. "We need to be ready for when my dad arrives tomorrow."

"Did Will get the equipment Rowan needed?" He didn't respond, and Jamison marched over to him. "You said we're clear to talk, so talk."

His hard gaze connected with hers, and the warning there told her to tread carefully. "We're staying here until I know everything, Jamison."

"Don't you mean until I know everything?"

"Tell me about Sinclair."

The demand caught her off guard.

And sparked her temper. She was so damn tired of this.

"I don't know anything about Michael except for what you've told me!"

The couch broke her fall. Liam rushed her so fast that the frame groaned from the pressure of their bodies as they landed. "This is your only warning," he hissed, his hand covering her mouth. "Lower your voice."

Enraged, she bit down, sinking her teeth into his flesh until he moved his hand. "Why do you keep thinking I know more about Michael than you?"

"Because of that." He pointed a finger directly at her face. "The way you say his name. The way you talk on the phone. You are too familiar with him."

"I'm trying to prolong the phone calls so you guys can track him, and I talk to him the way that I do so I can develop a rapport."

"Why in the hell would you think you can do that?"

He wasn't thinking clearly, and she gave him a minute to get his emotions in check. "How many countless fake interviews did we do together? When you were stuck on how to question a subject, how many times did you use me to work it through?"

Liam rolled off to sit next to her. "It's more than that."

"No, it isn't."

Resting his elbows on his knees, he stared at the floor. "You're lying to me, Jamison. And if you don't start talking—"

"You'll what?"

It was always best to go on an aggressive defense. He hated to see her upset or angry. At least, once upon a time, he hated it. She was hedging her bets to see if the pattern still held.

"What exactly are you accusing me of, Liam?"

"Michael Sinclair joined Zanmi seven months ago."

"So?"

"You left me one month later."

"Again, so?"

"Why? Say it out loud. I want to hear it." His head tilted, dark eyes assessing for any hint of emotion. "I want to hear the words come out of your mouth."

She cleared her throat, ready to face this head on. "Because I wanted a family, and you didn't."

"We're still going with that lie?"

This was almost laughable. She loved him, but his stubbornness rivaled her own. "It's not a lie, and I am in no way involved with Michael Sinclair."

"Someone in the Fairweather family is involved. The access overrides that were needed to knock out Rowan's failsafe programming on the night of the kidnapping can only occur with high clearance, and there are an extremely limited number of people on that list."

"Oh my God, that's all you have? You're accusing me of knowing Michael because someone is using high-level access codes?"

"He's using your access codes."

It was a shock, but she didn't exactly have the hardest codes to figure out. Anyone who knew her would be able to guess. Liam's birth date. Month and day. Forward or reverse, depending on how many variations were needed. The four digits had been her company pin since she started.

"No one in your immediate family thinks you have any intentional involvement."

She wasn't here. This wasn't happening. She refused to believe any of them thought she was responsible for all this. "Intentional involvement?"

He stood and placed some distance between them. "When was the first time you met Michael Sinclair?"

This wasn't just the bad cop routine returning. This was worse. This was him. Angry. Hurt. Ready to let the emotions he'd carefully bottled up this entire time loose.

"When he tried to kidnap me."

Shoving his hand in his pockets, he repeated the question. "When was the first time you met Michael Sinclair?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Stay focused."

"Don't you dare lecture me on staying focused." She popped up from the couch. "I have no idea what to stay focused on."

"Children." He exhaled the word. "The perfect family narrative has nothing to do with building couples and relationships so Zanmi can gain more followers. It's a breeding plan."

"I'm sorry, did you say breeding plan?"

"Klausen didn't take the chatter seriously because it was ludicrous. But from what we've learned, the idea is to create a pure line of succession."

Line of succession.

Toby.

The original members of Zanmi would never have him again, and those who became enthralled with Toby through movies and media would never know the real deal. To maintain power and devotion from people, you would need to have an end goal, and without Toby, there was no end goal. He was being transferred to ADX. Once people went in, they never came out, and someone at Zanmi was shifting the goal. Someone who wanted Toby's sheep all to themselves.

"Toby can't have conjugal visits."

"Numerous members have tried to smuggle his sperm out during visits using equipment provided by Eugene Gilbert," he explained. "One guard almost managed to do it but was caught on a routine spot check as he left work for the day."

It wasn't the first prison guard to be discovered aiding Toby, but smuggling sperm was way outside the realms of Zanmi's usual tasks. "Then it means Eugene Gilbert is behind all this, or maybe Toby is just bored and testing their loyalty. He would never take this line of succession crap seriously. He's insane, but he is smart."

"Toby's mental state continues to deteriorate by the day. He was already on the radar as being a risk due to the repeated escape attempts, but when BOP was made aware of this breeding plan, they used it as an excuse to get Toby out of their hair for good."

"So, you're working under the theory that Zanmi is trying to get to him before he reaches ADX?"

Liam pressed his lips together. "No."

No. No elaboration. No context. Just a no. Obviously not pulling enough of an emotional response for him to read, he was waiting her out.

"Stop waiting for me to give you something, William," she snapped. "I'm not the bad guy."

"Dad thinks the idea for the succession line is coming directly from Toby, and his followers want to kidnap Evie and impregnate her. She is his chosen one, after all."

"Samuel's going to kill him."

The words were met with silence, and as they rolled off her tongue, the townhouse shrank, collapsing around them as a piece of the puzzle snapped in place. It wasn't something they ever discussed, but the undercurrent of the thought was always present. If there were no Toby, there would be no Zanmi, and their lives would be normal.

Well, normal for them.

"Samuel's going to kill him," she repeated. "Tell me."

Liam didn't deny it. "There's a big but to taking Evie. Zanmi has failed to get what they need from Toby, and since he would never let anyone else touch her, impregnating Evie is out."

"Wait, then why try to take Evie?"

"They're interested in boys. Fairweather boys."

Her stomach rolled. "Xavier."

"Lenora's brother has moved in, and none of them are allowed to leave the house."

As a decorated detective, and the very definition of professional, Lenora's brother would take care of them. Malcolm would never let anything happen to their X-man.

"What about the girls?"

"Not much is going to get past Holden, and if it does, then they'll have to go through Samuel."

"He'll run." She was stating the obvious but needed to hear it from Liam. "Samuel will take them and disappear."

"Your family has the means to provide a very quiet and hidden life, should he make that choice once the baby arrives," Liam replied evenly. "And it wouldn't be forever."

Jamison's gaze flicked down his body. Hands in his pockets. He was keeping something from her. "Your hands are in your pockets."

"Oh, so you want to analyze me?"

He circled her, his frustration so palpable she could almost taste it. It rolled off him in waves, the force behind it powerful enough to charge the air. "If you would stop and think, you would figure it out on your own, and not need to worry about watching my cues."

She could do this. Willing her brain to get it together, she ticked off what she had just learned. "Zanmi has a breeding plan in place."

"Correct."

"Before or after Michael entered the group?"

"The two events correlate."

He continued to move around her, but she didn't mind. It helped. "And then he tries to kidnap us, and then Evie?"

"Go back. You're missing some steps."

Rewinding the information, she tried another path. "BOP learns about the breeding plans and decides to transfer Toby to ADX even though they're really not taking it seriously."

"Further back."

She shook her head, not landing on the point he wanted her to hit. "I don't know."

"Seven months ago, Sinclair shows up like a white knight to take over some deranged organization that has zero ties to him, and they suddenly have the bright idea to start a breeding plan." Liam halted in his tracks. "One month later, you break up with me over a single fight about kids. A fight you started."

If she didn't love him so much, Jamison thought she might have punched him in his nose by now. "One has nothing to do with the oth—"

"Everyone said you just fell off the grid after we broke up. You missed work for two weeks. Where were you?"

"At home because I needed a break to think."

Wanting more, he waited, but when she gave him nothing, he continued. "Shortly after you return to work, your passcodes are used to access the Fairweather Holdings' security system. Someone studies it and learns the ins and outs. They even watch Rowan for a bit, noting the way he does things."

"And no alerts go off because it's my codes."

"That's my girl," he said with a smidge of sarcasm. "Working it all out?"

She was, and every scenario blazing through her head made it hurt. "They kidnapped us because they want Fairweather children. With no Toby around, the only way to get a Fairweather is by using what's available to them."

"Thanks to the sweep of arrests Klausen has made, we've netted some interesting intel from those Zanmi members. According to them, Emily is assigned to Eugene Gilbert, Claudia to Henderson, and you are to go to Sinclair."

"The fuck I am." She pushed past him, needing to pace. "Wait, why take Claudia? She's already pregnant like Evie."

"They didn't know when they took her."

"Eugene Gilbert takes Emily. Claudia to Henderson, but he's dead," she muttered, traveling back and forth over the carpet as she made laps around the living room. "I go to Michael."

"Sinclair has no place in this story."

A fact they continued to loop back to again and again. "After reading up on him, there is no way he would ever fall for Zanmi bullshit."

"No, he wouldn't." Invading her space, Liam seized her by the upper arms. "And those warning calls about Evie solidified our belief that something bigger is happening."

Panic bubbled in her chest. "Something bigger than a group of crazy people wanting to kidnap and impregnate me?"

"He came after you. He calls you. He watches you," he snarled, his fingers digging into the muscles of her arms. "Sinclair has made no move to help the people Klausen is arresting or the bastards who took Emily. The guy that got away in the raid Izzy executed? He was identified this morning."

At least they were making some progress. "Who is he?"

"Someone who served with Sinclair and aided him on a few bombings."

"Well, then he would know how to evade police."

"But that doesn't explain why he barricaded the others in a bedroom and untied Emily before escaping."

"Michael's cleaning house, like we said." Jamison tried to break free of his hold. "And you're hurting me."

"Tell me." He shook her slightly. "Tell me about the first time you met Sinclair."

"I don't have anything to tell!" she spat out. "How could you think I would have something to do with him?"

He spun her around to face the large mirror on the wall, securing her against his chest before she could get loose. "Because this is the only woman in the world who could drive a man to the point of obsession."

Pushing them forward, he brought her nose less than an inch from the reflective glass. "This is the face of a woman who has the capability of destroying a man enough that he joins some psychotic cult just to have her."

The short bursts of air shooting past her lips left foggy imprints on the mirror, and she could actually feel the fracturing of her heart. "Sounds like your personal bias is getting in the way again."

"It's not just in the way, it's front and fucking center," he snarled in her ear. "This whole time, I've tried to keep my mind on the right path, but I can't stop it from leading me back to you. I don't think you're directly involved, but if you met him, or had an affair or—"

It happened in an instant. The second he accused her of having an affair, she was fighting like a mad woman to turn and claw his eyes out. "How could you think I would ever cheat on you?"

Always expecting the next move, Liam shifted his hold, fastening her wrists together with one hand. "And how could you think I want to be right?" he screamed, ignoring his own rules. "I'm supposed to believe that we had one misunderstanding, and that was enough for it to be over?"

Unable to get loose, the rage in her fled as swiftly as it came, and she went lax, forcing him to keep her standing. In the mirror, all she saw was his pain. The rawness of his love for her. It stole her breath, just as it had stolen her heart forever ago.

"I love you, Liam."

Sucking in a sharp breath, he turned away like he couldn't stand to look at her. "Just tell me the truth."

"The truth is, I have never met Michael Sinclair before he tried to kidnap me." She kept her voice strong so he would lose the doubt. "I have never had contact with him before that night."

The hold on her wrists disappeared, and she was spun around.

"I have never stopped loving you." Her voice shook as she spoke, but she was more determined than ever. "I should have married you a hundred times before now."

He listened, the steady rise and fall of his chest working in time with the spiking pulse ticking in her skull. Endless seconds passed, and the impossibly rich brown of his eyes darkened.

"You're right. We should have run away years ago. Left them all behind and got married. On a beach, under a tree, I wouldn't have cared. As long as I walked away with you as my wife." He let out a low, broken laugh. "Till death do us part. That was the only thing that mattered. That was the only thing that was important to me. You, becoming mywife, and nothing else."

God, these emotional train wrecks weren't for the weak, and she was so over being its conductor. "I wa-wanted that too. I still want that. I still want you." Chin high, she kept it together. "I can't keep living in this hellish limbo. It's too painful."

"Too painful?" His lips parted as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You think I should just forgive and forget because you feel pain?" Threading his fingers through the hair on the back of her head, he gave the strands a sharp tug, bringing them face to face. "You don't understand the definition of the word."

"I said I was ready to talk this out." She didn't struggle, holding her ground. "Let's do it now."

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Oh, make no mistake. I'm going to hear what you have to say." Releasing her hair, he smoothed a hand down her back. "But we're going to start this off the way I want, and that pain you feel? Make sure you focus on it."

"Why?"

As if daring her to stop him, he smirked as he lowered the zipper on the back of her dress.

But she had no intention of stopping him, even helping to remove her clothes entirely. Holding his shoulders, she steadied herself as he dropped the dress to the floor, leaving her in nothing but a thong and heeled sandals.

"Why do I need to use my pain, Liam?"

"Because you're about to swallow that pride of yours and show me how much you want my forgiveness." His possessive hands roamed, their heat dragging across her chilled skin. "Now, get on your knees."