Page 75 of Fearless

She chewed on her lips for a few seconds. His curiosity grew, because whatever she wanted to say was making her uncomfortable. She finally let out a long breath and said, “Do you think my brother is a bad man?”

“He saved my life, so I can’t say I’m totally impartial. But no, I don’t think Brody is bad in an evil sense. I do think he’s dangerous to his enemies, and he’s willing to do what’s necessary.” He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. “Do you think he’s bad?”

“He’s an assassin. I watched him kill a man in cold blood.”

Ash had told him how Jazz and Xavier had been on an op to locate Franco Bass, one of WREN’s known associates. The plan had been for Jazz to get close enough to Bass to tag him with a GPS locator to gather intel. Before she got that chance, an assassin had walked into the restaurant and shot the man in the head in front of dozens of people. The killer had escaped, but not before Jazz had recognized the shooter as her brother.

“You’ve killed before,” Sean reminded her.

“To defend myself or someone else. I’ve never outright murdered someone.”

“Did you ask him why he did it?”

“He said it had something to do with our parents’ murders. I don’t know what. He wouldn’t tell me more than that.”

“You don’t believe him?”

“I do…yes.” She shook her head and flipped her hair over her shoulders.

Sean took a moment to appreciate the changes in Jazz. He was used to her with short hair and a defensive, vulnerable quality. Now, she had shoulder-length hair, and she walked and talked with the confidence of a person who knew her worth. Jazz had come into her own. His heart hurt that he hadn’t been around to see that happen. Not only had she survived being abducted, tortured, and shot multiple times, she and Xavier had finally realized what they meant to each other. They had gotten married in Francine, with Serena’s dad officiating. Another milestone he’d missed because of his bone-headedness.

“I don’t know,” she continued. “I remember how loving and kind Brody used to be. It’s just hard for me to see him as a cold-blooded killer.”

“Again, I don’t know his motivations or what he’s trying to achieve, but instead of killing me, he rescued me. Called Ash so he could come get me. He blew his cover as an assassin to save my life. And because of that, he’s got a price on his head. There’s nothing cold-blooded about that.”

“You’re right.” Surprising him, she took the few steps to reach him and gave him a hug. “Thank you, Sean. I’m glad you’re back with us.”

Feeling like he’d won back something precious, Sean returned the hug. Pulling away, he said, “Can’t believe you and Xavier are finally together.”

“You knew how we felt about each other, too?”

He gave a half smile. “To be fair, my beautiful, intuitive wife had to point it out to me.”

“She’s amazing in so many ways.”

“That she is.”

“Mind if I take Hank for a walk?”

Laughing, he glanced over at Hank, who’d been snoozing on a mat in the corner. The pup raised his head the instant he heard his name. Sean wasn’t sure if his return to OZ would have been as smooth without Hank. The instant he’d had access to a phone and could speak coherently, he’d called Susie to check on Hank. He’d planned to be gone for only a couple days at most when he’d left his dog with his friend. She knew his job often required him to be gone longer, so she hadn’t worried too much about his absence. And fortunately, Hank, other than gaining a couple of pounds due to Susie’s cooking, had been fine. A week after Sean’s return, he and Ash had traveled to Billings and brought Hank back to OZ. It had been love at first sight for the entire OZ family.

“Yeah, he’d love a walk. But only one treat this time. Okay?” He’d only just learned that his boy was getting multiple treats from just about everyone here.

She winked at him. “He’s such a charmer.”

“That he is.”

Her face lost all humor as she said, “We’ll get her home soon, Sean.”

“I know we will,” he said softly. “There’s no other alternative.”

What he didn’t say, but what weighed on his mind like a giant boulder, was what condition would she be in when they finally got her back?

Kingsley’s Compound

Life had taken on an odd form of conformity and routine. It wasn’t comfortable, and never would she say she was content, but at least she didn’t wake every day as she once had, dreading what horrors awaited her.

Each day, she either hacked into a business, pulled down information Kingsley was interested in, or worked on programs and wrote code. Her responsibilities here were similar to the ones she performed daily at OZ. Only difference here was the motive. She was used to working to save lives and bringing down the bad guys. Here, she was up to her neck in evil.