She shrugged. “What’s important right now is to find Kendra. I want to know more about my mom.”
The newfound information that Abbey and the Aberdeen sisters could be related and the fact that Fred had killed Wayne Aberdeen were indeed eye-opening, but they were not my immediate concern. Making sure Jordyn wasn’t going off the deep end was.
12
SAM
Jordyn and I sat in silence. She bit her nail, and I stared at the floor, taking a beat to collect my thoughts before I brought up her fire-alarm stunt. I wasn’t as angry with her now, which was good news for her.
“Am I free to go?” Jordyn asked.
“Not yet. I want to discuss that stunt you pulled.”
My phone beeped with a text. I would’ve ignored it, but with the way things had been going since about one thirty that morning, I couldn’t. Even though Layla and the babies were great when I left the room, something could’ve happened, especially if Layla had watched the press conference, which was probably on repeat on every cable news network.
I fished my phone from the pocket of my jeans and opened my text app.
Jordyn was reading over my shoulder.
Dad:After we release Fred Emery, you and I need to chat.
The conversation I had with Jo about fleeing surfaced.
Me:We do. Ping me when you’re done.
Jordyn popped off the cot, huffing as she gathered her hair from behind her and pulled it forward. “Why are you letting Fred go? You can’t. He murdered my father.”
Twirling my phone in my hand, I sat up straighter. “If you hadn’t pulled the fire alarm, you might know.”
She twisted her hair in her hand nervously. “Might know what?”
My blood began to boil for multiple reasons, but only one mattered at the moment. “You know we have rules around here.”
“What’s that got to do with Fred Emery?”
I rubbed my chin. “Nothing. Tell me why you pulled the fire alarm.”
I knew why, but I wanted her to say it out loud.
“I hate that man,” she screeched, swinging out her arm toward the open cell door. “I hated him the moment I met him at Intech. He might have been at the hospital that day to capture Layla and me, but he wanted more from me.” She blinked away a tear as she clenched her fists.
My muscles tensed. “Are you saying that fucker violated you?”
She hugged herself. “Remember my interview with Intech in February? After I met with Carly, I spent time with Fred. Carly said it was part of the interview process to meet with the head of security. Anyway, during that meeting, he was leering, staring at my chest, sizing me up, and licking his lips like he wanted to attack me. I tried to rush out, but he caught me and pinned me against the door. He told me that I would be his one day.” She shivered as she paled. “Now that I know he drained the blood from my father, I will hunt him down and kill him, Sam. I don’t care what it takes.”
Men touching women without their consent infused me with more fury than anyone was ready for. Jo had been a victim to shit like that when we were in foster care. I just might go out of my way to bring Fred back here. The fucker needed to be taught a lesson for sure.
I pocketed my phone. “When the time comes, I’ll help you with Fred. But first, I need you to promise me that you won’t pull any more alarms around here or put yourself in the middle of our missions. I like you, Jordyn. I don’t want to see you hurt in any way. And before you tell me that you already promised Tripp, I want to hear you say it to me. Because, Jordyn, your idiotic actions could’ve cost Layla her life.”
“What? No! Is she okay? Tripp didn’t say anything to me about that. Please tell me she’s alive, Sam.” She raised her voice, blinking away tears. “Did her heart give out? Did she have the babies?”
I went over to the window. Blue skies peeked through the clouds that were breaking apart as they moved west. “Last night, Layla saw you trying to slip past the guard. She was on her way to stop you from doing something stupid when she lost consciousness.” I regarded her. “As I was rushing her to the infirmary, the fire alarm went off, and we shut the base down. That meant Dr. Martin couldn’t get in. He was finally able to, thanks to Tripp, but you get my point.”
She shook her head furiously as her bottom lip wobbled.
“The last several hours have been nail-biting, harrowing, and heart-stopping,” I said on a sigh. “But Layla, our daughters, and son are alive.”
She ran the short distance and threw herself at me. “I’m so, so, so sorry. Please forgive me. I was desperate to get by the guards. It was a stupid move.”
