Putting his glasses back on, Jason pulled his laptop across the table. Everyone gathered around him, watching over his shoulder as he pulled up the recording and hit play. They watched Evie's father answer the phone and her mother join him as Evie tried to explain the situation.
"I can't stay long. I just wanted to tell you I'm fine, and that you have to let S.E.A.L.'s men explain everything to you."
"There!" Ro jabbed her finger at the screen, and Jason hit pause. "See? Evie was right. Look at her eyes. That's absolute terror right there."
Looking into the eyes of the woman who'd raised his Evie, Jason felt a shiver run down his spine. "I don't disagree."
"It's still not enough to move on. No." Holding up both of his hands to ward off the two pissed off women glaring at him, Luca shook his head. "It's not. I'll have our men do some recon. Jay, you think you can hack into their email, texts, whatever?"
"Are you trying to insult me, boss?" Jason asked with a hint of a sneer.
"Right." For the first time that night, Luca cracked a smile. "Forgot who I was talking to for a minute there. What do you need from us?"
Pushing his glasses further up his nose, Jason returned his attention to the screen in front of him. "A pot of coffee and some quiet."
"You got it. Girls, time for bed."
For once, they didn't argue. Ten minutes later, he was alone with his computer and the scent of freshly brewed coffee filling the air. Setting aside his concern for the woman he loved, he got to work doing what he did best.
Chapter 13
It was still dark outside when Evie woke. She was alone, despite the clock on the bedside stand brightly declaring it was nearly two in the morning. Rolling out of bed, she stretched and looked around the room. There was no sign Jason had even come to check on her. Had she been so awful that he'd resorted to just ignoring her?
No. Shaking her head, she pushed the negative thoughts aside. He wouldn't be so callous. Which meant he hadn't come to bed yet, for some reason.
She made her way downstairs. It was mostly dark, save for the soft glow coming from the kitchen. What could he possibly be doing?
"Jason?" Silence met her greeting, and she frowned. "Jason, what are you doing? Oh." Her heart twisted at the sight of him slumped over the laptop, dead asleep, with those adorably nerdy glasses sitting cockeyed on his face.
"Daddy," she murmured, slipping the glasses off before setting them aside. Pulling one of the other chairs up beside him, she sat and studied the computer screen. It was mostly a jumble of code, letters, and numbers that didn't mean much to her.
Until a name jumped out at her.Roland Berkshire. Her heart jumped into her throat. Why would Jason be hacking into her father's computers?
Carefully, so she didn't wake him, she slipped the wireless mouse from under his limp fingers. She clicked on the various programs until she found what appeared to be her father's phone records, including his text messages from the past few weeks. Scanning the messages, she'd almost given up on finding anything until she hit on one from the day before. Nausea roiled her stomach as she read the messages between her father and an unknown number.
Unknown:Have you heard from her?
RB:No. We told you we would call you. Please, just leave her alone.
Unknown: I expect to hear from you as soon as she makes contact.
RB:I'll see you burn in Hell before I let you touch my daughter again.
Unknown: Try it, and I'll be taking all of you with me.
Fear became a living, breathing thing in her chest, threatening to strangle her with icy claws. This was it; this was the proof they needed.
Her hand hovered just over Jason's shoulder. She should wake him and show him what the program had found. But she hesitated. Would it be enough for Luca? Or would he continue to hold off, waiting for more proof or putting together some kind of plan? In the meantime, Branson would just be getting more and more impatient. And she knew from experience how dangerous he could be when he wasn't getting what he wanted.
It was a risk she couldn't take. Pulling her hand away, she quietly pushed away from the table and headed for the entryway. The men had left the keys to the van and Luca's car hanging by the front door. She could only assume they didn't consider any of them a flight risk. With only a small twinge of guilt, she grabbed Luca's keys and slipped out the front door. The cold night air cut straight through the heavy yellow sweater she was still wearing. It was just one more thing Jason would have to be pissed about when he woke up. Assuming he'd still want her after all this.
But she couldn't worry about that now. Blinking back tears, she unlocked Luca's car and slid into the driver's seat. Putting the car in drive, she carefully maneuvered it down the winding driveway.
* * *
"Jay. Man, wake up."
Squinting at the bright glare from the computer screen beside him, Jay lifted his head from the table. "Wazz goin' on?"