“It’s gorgeous here,” I said in awe. “I can’t believe you guys don’t stay here all the time.”
“We’ve stayed here for extended periods of time in the past, but now it’s more of a getaway when we need it.”
“If it were me, I’d be getting away all the time.” I laughed.
Jax glanced at me and squinted.
“What?” I asked, looking around nervously. Was someone else out here, too? Had he seen something?
“You’re happy,” he said as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Uh, okay.”
“Your aura’s yellow. That’s happiness. I’ve never seen it so strong before, though. Not around you.” He shrugged and continued to walk.
Should I tell him that over the past year I haven’t had much to really be happy about? Between my mother’s death and everything else, there wasn’t much left in my life that brought me any joy. Trent did. When he was around.
“Who is Trent meeting?” I asked.
Jax sighed heavily and sliced a look in my direction. “I’m not supposed to tell you.”
I narrowed my eyes. So, we were back to this again? Jax knew stuff but wouldn’t tell me. I was tired of being kept in the dark about everything.
“It’s that bad?” I asked.
Seriously, who on earth could Trent be meeting that was so bad he put a gag order on his brother?
“Look, it might not be anything, okay? So, let’s not worry about it until Trent gets back,” he said.
Jax continued to walk, but I remained in place, refusing to take another step until he answered my question. I stood in the middle of the dense forest, arms crossed. A light breeze picked up, blowing my hair around my face and causing a chill to snake up my arms. Still, I refused to move.
Eventually, Jax stopped and turned around. “Seriously?”
I nodded, still not budging.
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged, then kept walking.
My eyes widened. Was he really going to leave me standing alone in the middle of the forest? A tendril of fear wiggled up my spine.
“Jax, wait!” I jogged to catch up to him. When I did, I said, “You’re mean.”
“And you’re stubborn,” he said.
“Where are we going anyway?” I asked, slightly out of breath. Sweat started to bead on my brow. Of course, Jax hadn’t exerted himself one tiny bit.
“For a walk,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “I know that. Are we walking somewhere specific?”
“Yup. Here.” He held back a large thicket of overgrown brush and motioned for me to walk through.
On the other side was a small pond surrounded with cattails and rich greenery. Frogs croaked loudly, and crickets sang out of tune. It was such an unexpected sight in the middle of a mountainous forest.
“I dared Trent to jump in there once,” Jax said, coming to a standstill beside me.
“Did he?”
“No. So I pushed him in.” Jax chuckled. “He didn’t speak to me for weeks after that.”
“I wouldn’t have either.” I laughed.
Slowly, I made my way around the pond, inspecting it. I used to love searching the beach for fish and other aquatic creatures with Mom. The aquarium was always our favorite place to visit. Now, without her, going to the beach was just too painful, so I tended to avoid it. A sharp stab of grief hit me unexpectedly, and I placed my hand over my heart as if that would somehow ease the loss.
I squatted to get a better look at a group of tadpoles. When I stood, I noticed Jax staring at me intently, a faint smile on his face. He looked so much like Trent, but he wasn’t Trent. Far from it. Didn’t make him any less gorgeous, though.
My breath hitched at my traitorous thoughts. Fighting to calm my erratic heart, I made my way back over to Jax. “This place is really cool. Thanks for bringing me here,” I said.
He nodded. “Figured with everything going on, you needed a break.”
Hadn’t he said something similar the day he’d convinced me to ditch the bookstore and go to the lighthouse with him? I really needed to stop thinking about all of that. The time I spent with him in Malibu was nothing more than a carefully crafted façade, and that version of Jax was just one big lie.
“I did. Thank you.” Sincerity rang in my words.
Despite the less than pleasant start Jax and I had gotten, he wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, he could be really sweet when he wanted to.
“Trent is meeting Isach,” he said as calmly as if he were telling me the time.
“What?” I shrieked. A flock of birds took off, spooked by my outburst. I whipped around on Jax. “Isach Zoya? The guy who was responsible for kidnapping me and feeding me to Hannah? That Isach?”
“Yes.”
“And you let him go?” Anger bubbled to the surface, and my neck heated with fury. “Are you insane?”
“I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted.”
I shook my head, my hands trembling with barely controlled rage. The Zoya loathed the Halsteads, and if Isach wanted to talk to Trent, it couldn’t be good. It had to be some sort of trap. My anger quickly morphed into debilitating fear. Oh, God. What if something happened to Trent?
“You have to take me to him. Right now,” I demanded.
“Absolutely not.” His tone was clipped and all too reminiscent of how he spoke to me when we first met.
“Isach will hurt him.” Desperation made my voice crack. “We have to get to him. Take me there. Now.”
“No.” He turned to face me, his expression hard and unflinching.
“I’m not kidding, Jax.” I balled my hands into fists.
“Neither am I. You’re staying here, where it’s safe.” He crossed his arms.
I let out a frustrated scream, tears stinging my throat. How could he not see how serious this was? Or how much danger
