They trekked the last stretch of the path in silence.
Vanessa waved a hand in front of them when they approached a blue four-door sedan at the trailhead. “There’s mycar. Seyla, I’ll drive you to Matt’s place. You shouldn’t be alone right now. It’s too dangerous. Sound good?” She gave her a ‘say yes, because I don’t want to leave you alone with a guy I don’t know’ look.
Seyla shook her head. “Thanks, but my SUV isn’t much farther.” She scrunched her lips. “Actually, why don’t you ride to the sanctuary with me and we’ll come get your car after a doctor checks you out?”
“Sure.” Vanessa hesitated to move, though.
Seyla handed her a ring of keys. “Go ahead and get in. It’s the tan one next to that van.”
“Where’s your car?” Vanessa pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sorry. The accident. I forgot.”
She paused a moment longer as if ready to say something else, then turned on her heel and walked away.
Jax stood motionless, waiting for Seyla to turn around. He had a lot of questions.
His stomach tightened when she rotated his way, but then her head whipped to the right at the sound of tires crunching over the gravel road. A massive, upscale black truck with raised suspension crawled toward them like a spider, its driver glaring at them.
Seyla’s posture stiffened.
Jax moved to stand beside her. He studied her face, along with the face of the driver, in an effort to read the situation.
Seyla’s eyes flicked his way, and the expression stamped on her face evaporated.
Too late. He’d seen it. Fear.
“Who was that?” Jax’s tone remained carefully neutral.
“Hopefully, not the person shooting at us,” Seyla answered, followed by a flimsy, artificial laugh. “I’m a bit jumpy after what happened on the trail.”
“Sure.”
She’d avoided the question. What was she hiding and why?
Once the truck crawled out of view, Seyla turned to him. Her shoulders sank down into a semi-relaxed position.
Arms folded across his chest, Jax filed away the driver’s description and license plate number. “So, tell me, is what you said to your cousin the same thing you said to my uncle? Did you ask him to keep quiet, too?”
Her hand flew to her sternum. “I’m sorry. I can’t express how sorry I am about what happened.”
Anger flared, raising Jax’s blood pressure until his pulse beat in his ear. He chose his words with care, his jaw tight. “That sanctuary is a danger to the community. People can’t take care of that many animals in one place.”
“Zoos do it all the time.” Seyla crossed her arms, the fire of determination blazing again in her features.
Her return to fierceness was a welcome relief after the demure response to her cousin.Not your business anymore. Focus. “Of course, a zoo can, but not a small organization like yours. You’re all in over your heads, and someone is going to get killed if you keep denying it. Personally, I think the media could have been a lot harder on the sanctuary than it was in that article.”
Seyla gasped. “Are you the one who told them what happened?”
“What if I did? It would only be right to warn the public of the danger they’re in from a poorly run wildlife refuge. A refuge with large predators held in by shoddy fencing.” He had no idea who contacted the press, but maybe it was best if she thought he did it.
“That’s not true! We have state of the art fencing in place. Double barriers. Electric wire running the entire length.”
Jax let out a harsh laugh. “State of the art fencing would have kept your animals inside.”
“It did, until somebody tampered with the fencing itself.” Seyla heaved a sigh, falling back against a car parked behind her. When she met his gaze again, her eyes were suspiciously shiny, her voice flat. “We didn’t want anyone to panic, which is why we hoped to keep it quiet. The sanctuary nearly went under after that article came out. What’s going to happen to all those animals if it does?”
“You know for sure that a person tampered with the fencing?”
“Yeah. Our fences are secure when it comes to expected challenges, but not against a criminal with a cutting torch.”