I chew the orange slice, mindful not to choke when that’s what’s about to happen. "What, sweetheart?"
"I like that you’re humble."
Ha. I chuckle. "Never been called humble before."
"It’s true. You’re much more than you give yourself credit for."
I lean back, putting some space between us. "I’m not what you think. I am not a good man, Jade."
Her expression stays serious as she glances at my scarred hands. "I’m not afraid of what you are. I actually like it. You don’t use violence like the men I’ve known my whole life. I can tell that."
This sits like a boulder in my esophagus.
I reach for the food, picking up some of the chocolate covered whatever, because I NEED something to do with my hands instead of reaching for her.
"I want your help, Ryker. The files I told you about. I can show you right now if you have a laptop."
My marginally relaxed demeanor is gone as I reach for the laptop on the corner of the desk. "Show me."
After three tries, Jade gets logged into a dummy email account she used to transmit the files to another dummy email account. Which was brilliant.
"Dangerous," I say, unhappy she was so risky. "You could have gotten caught, but this was a smart way to do it."
"I know, but I had to do something."
Her expression darkens as she opens the file.
When I slide the chair closer, hemming her in with my thighs, she doesn’t pull away. If anything she seems to relax.
"See, look at these names."
Hearing about it on that sidewalk was one thing. Seeing it is something else entirely.
A dozen names. Men and women, alongside their ages. Dates that could correspond with disappearances. The wordsconfirmedandplacementsitting on the page like a goddamned indictment.
"Have you cross-checked them to see if they’re missing?"
Clicking on another email, Jade shakes her head. "A few I know are, but honestly, I was afraid to do any online searches because I didn’t know what someone might be able to see."
"Smart girl." I reach around her, moving the cursor, enlarging the next document.
There’s more than what she described. I zero in on what appears to be a dark web link. Someone’s written it down across the bottom of a printed document.
My blood goes cold.
"I want our guy on this."
She looks at me. "You think this is enough to make Trevor do what he did today?"
I open the first document again, alarm going off inside my head like there’s an incoming missile strike. "Yes. And he won’t stop if he thinks there’s any chance you’ve told me."
Her face pales. "I did tell you."
"Which is exactly why you’re staying right here."
CHAPTER 6
The next hour is hectic. Ryker speaks on the phone to several people. He downloads the documents onto his machine and gets them to someone at his headquarters.
