Page 32 of Reckless
The vote had been unanimous that day. Not one of them had considered hiring anyone other than Jazz.
Yes, she looked fragile. Jazz was small-boned and, as she liked to put it, length-challenged. There wasn’t a man or woman on the OZ team who didn’t secretly want to protect her because she looked so breakable. But there wasn’t a one who didn’t think that she couldn’t handle the job just as well as any of them. She might have to go about it in a different way, but no one, after working with her for even an hour, would ever question her capabilities.
So yes, Jazz was tough, and she would do everything within her power to escape or let them know how to find her. But she was as human as anyone, and he knew to the depths of his soul that she was in serious trouble.
“She never would have left that locket,” Serena said softly.
“No, she wouldn’t.”
The silence as they all stared at the locket was explosive with tension. If any of them had had any doubts that Jazz had been abducted, they no longer existed.
Finally, Ash spoke, his voice slightly gruff. “Okay, while we’re waiting for more intel on her abductors, let’s talk about the why.”
“I know we’re not big on assumptions,” Eve said, “but don’t we have to look at WP as the likeliest suspects? They know OZ is hot on their trail. They might not be able to easily identify us, but with you guys asking questions about the shooting, maybe somebody put it together. Doesn’t that make the most sense?”
“Does it, though?” Gideon asked. “We all saw the location of the shooter who tried to take out Xavier and Hawke. Any half-assed amateur could’ve made the kill shot. Seems like if WP wanted to get rid of them, they would have hired someone who wouldn’t miss.”
“Unless he was trying to miss,” Eve said.
“Then why do it at all?”
“Maybe a warning?” Serena offered. “‘We know you’re on to us, so back off’?”
“I don’t see that happening,” Xavier said. “These people aren’t shy about killing for all different kinds of reasons. I think if they meant to kill Hawke and me, they would’ve hired an expert marksman to do the deed. The assassin who took out Bass was an obvious pro. No reason not to hire him, or someone like him, to take us out, too.”
Eve nodded slowly. “All right, then, if that’s the case, maybe we need to look at Jazz’s abduction and the attempt on Xavier as the same party.”
“Other than OZ and a few of our closest associates, who would know that Jazz and I even know each other?”
“They could have seen you together at the restaurant.” Serena clicked several keys on her keyboard, and a shot of Jazz and Xavier sitting at the table at the restaurant appeared on the screen.
A punch to the gut couldn’t have had more impact on Xavier than seeing Jazz looking so beautiful and vibrant. His throat closed up with emotion at the sight. Would he ever see her like that again?
“This was just a three-second shot. In fact, Jazz herself called me about it. I was already working on getting it taken down, but I’m sure thousands of people saw the clip before I was able to get to it.”
“A video caused all of this?” Gideon stood and began pacing up and down the small aisle of the plane. Everyone was used to his way of working things out. “That seems like a big-assed leap, guys. Somebody sees Jazz, decides he wants her, hunts her down, takes her, and tries to take out Xavier, who he thinks is his competition?”
Xavier had to admit—and everyone else’s expressions showed they thought the same—it was indeed a big-assed leap.
“Could this be related to Jazz’s past?” Eve asked. “I know she doesn’t talk about it much, but her mother and stepfather died under mysterious circumstances, despite what the official records show. And her brother disappeared. Maybe someone is targeting her family and saw her.”
“After all this time?” Gideon said.
“Could Kate give us some insight, Ash?”
“Maybe. I’ve put off calling her until we could get more intel. She’s going to want answers, and I?—”
Ash cut off his words when an alert sounded on Serena’s phone.
“Fingerprint match came in,” Serena said. All eyes watched as she clicked several keys on her keyboard. The face of a large, rough-looking man appeared on the big screen. “It matches this guy—Alton Nix. Here’s his record.”
Beside the photo of Nix, a list as long as Xavier’s arm showed up. The man’s record included everything from shoplifting to animal abuse to assault with a deadly weapon. The guy was barely forty and looked like he’d been in trouble for more than half his life.
Another man’s face appeared on the screen, only slightly smaller but even rougher looking with a long, filthy-looking beard and mean, beady eyes. “This guy, Joey Holms, is Nix’s best friend. They met in prison when they were both twenty and have been partners in crime since then. They’ve lived in Seattle for the past eight years.”
Xavier reviewed their vital statistics. Even though the photo of the two men in the van had been slightly grainy, he could definitely see a resemblance between the driver and Nix and the passenger and Holms.
“So why would two thugs have any interest in Jazz?” Eve asked.