The response was polite. Measured and controlled. And completely wrong.
Jakob frowned. She knew something that he didn’t.
“Aren’t you upset?” he asked.
“Of course I am,” she replied quickly. “It’s just… a lot to take in.”
Something in her tone prickled at him. He’d expected shock. Tears, maybe. Demands for answers. What he was getting instead felt like careful restraint.
“Mallory,” he said slowly, “is there anything you want to tell me?”
Her gaze snapped up.
“No,” she said. Too fast.
The word hung in the air between them.
Jakob straightened and crossed his arms while he studied her more closely. There were faint shadows under her eyes and tension in her shoulders. Her fingers kept twisting together even as she tried to keep them calm in her lap.
“You seem very calm for someone who’s just been told she was a kidnapping target,” he observed.
“I guess I’m still processing.”
Another careful answer. He stepped closer.
“Last night,” he said, “when I found you in the woods, you weren’t out there for a hike, were you?”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Yes, I was.”
“No,” Jakob said gently. “You weren’t.”
She stood abruptly. “Jakob, I told you—”
“And I didn’t believe you then, either,” he interrupted.
Silence fell.
For a moment he thought she might finally break and tell him whatever it was she was hiding. Instead she folded her arms and looked away.
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“The truth,” Jakob replied.
“I am telling the truth.” But she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Frustration mixed with worry in his chest.
He was desperately trying to protect her and she was keeping secrets from him that could possibly get her killed.
“Mallory,” he said quietly, “if someone has contacted you, if anyone has threatened you, you need to tell me. I can help.”
Her expression wavered. For one fragile second he thought she might actually confess. Then her face hardened again.
“No one has contacted me,” she said. “I swear.”
Another lie. He could feel it as clearly as the heat from the fire.
Jakob dragged a hand through his hair.
