Jax studied her features while she answered the question. There were no telltale signs of deception, just brown, velvety eyes staring back at him. He slid his hand over his shoulder to squeeze the back of his neck. “Do you think this is related to the accidents you’ve been having?”
Seyla averted her eyes. Ran a hand over the soft black braid laying on her shoulder. The sunshine enhanced its glossy appearance, like it would be silky smooth to touch.
“No, of course not.”
Jax frowned. What were they talking about? The accidents. Right. He replayed her response in his head. Not very convincing. “I tell you what, I’ll help you determine what’s going on and who’s behind it. I owe Matt that much.” At Seyla’s hopeful expression, Jax lifted an index finger. “However, if I feel like the danger to the public has increased, that’s it.” He signaled to Rock, who ran to his truck and sat.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ll go with my original intention in coming back here.”
“Taking care of your uncle? Sure. Of course, I’ll understand if the situation escalates and you don’t want to be involvedanymore. You came here to help your uncle. I don't want to get in the way of that.”
“No. I mean I intend to buy out the sanctuary and close it.”
/////
Seyla’s lungs strained against her ribs to draw in air, but she couldn’t get enough into her chest. Close the sanctuary? “Why?” she whispered on a wheeze.
“My partners and I heard that the facility has financial problems.” Jax shrugged. “It would be the perfect spot for a new military and defense training facility like the one we built in Michigan.”
Seyla’s heart tumbled to her feet.
Would he actually do that?
She concentrated on the man in front of her. Awareness that Jax wasn’t the boy she remembered from a decade ago rolled through her again like a bowling ball, knocking aside all of her assumptions about him. She eyed the strong, hardened jaw and angular features. The wide shoulders that made him appear larger than life. Who had he become, this man, so different from the boy she once knew?
And why should she care?
Because he wanted to destroy the sanctuary and it was her fault.
Jax’s training center was wildly successful, according to Matt. Successful enough to offer a tempting amount of money for the sanctuary. Too tempting for the founders to refuse? With the rumor floating around that the Pattersons were interested in selling their share after their granddaughter’s cancer diagnosis and the younger generation of Andersons showing minimal interest in the facility, the prospect seemed likely.
Where would that leave the animals?
Where would it leave her? The selfish thought fought to gain dominance in Seyla’s mind no matter how many times she pushed it aside. This was her chance to prove to her family that she could be independent, that they could be proud of her rather than overprotective.
And what about the people she worked with? Where would they go?
Another thought slipped into the mix, twisting her stomach. Had he heard what some were saying about her? Did he believe them? She knew of the whispers around town that she only got the job based on her parents’ friendship with the founding families. Even after bringing in much-needed revenue and publicity, the drive to prove them wrong, to prove she had something to offer, continued to gnaw at her.
Publicity. Would the person targeting her destroy the sanctuary to get to her? Or were they attacking her because of the sanctuary? Either way, she needed help identifying them before they succeeded. The animals were counting on her.
But could she trust one enemy’s help long enough to battle another?
Who was more dangerous?
“Okay,” she said, not sure if she’d traded lava for fire. “I have no idea who’s doing this, to be honest. You’re right. I could use your help.” She swallowed all of the doubts damming up in her throat. “You have a deal.”
CHAPTER THREE
“The director wants to see you at the end of the day.” Janet Parkin leaned against the open doorway in the medical wing of the sanctuary office building, blocking the warm rays of morning sunshine filtering through the hallway window moments earlier.
Seyla gritted her teeth at the smirk on the head animal caretaker’s face. Would Janet ever get past her anger over not landing the manager’s position they’d both applied for? “Did he say why?”
Most likely something you said.
Janet shifted her bulky form to stand over Seyla’s weathered, worn-out wooden desk, arms crossed. “Unfortunately,” she answered with an exaggerated sigh, “I had to go to him to get the vaccine schedule since you didn’t post it.”