Jay watched her step out to the side as he reached the part where the sunlight could reach and quickened his pace. The light was blinding after the dark stretch of tunnel. Jay shut his eyes automatically and never saw the bat that flew at his head. He did feel the explosion of pain as it connected with the side of his skull a moment before all sensations receded into nothingness.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jayden felt his senses return but remained perfectly still. He took stock of the dull ache on the side of his head, but he seemed to have sustained no other injuries worth mentioning. He tried to tell if he was bound or not, but it was hard without moving.
“If you keep feigning unconsciousness, I’m just going to leave.”
Jay’s eyes flashed open as adrenaline laced his blood. The voice had not been the one he was expecting. He scanned the dingy room that looked like it belonged in some run down motel and then shifted his eyes to the man speaking.
Frank Morty had changed a fair amount outwardly in the four years since he had last seen him. He was beefier and now sported a short beard. His hair was no longer a messy mop, but was short-shaved on the sides..
“Did you hit me with that bat?” Jay snapped, jabbing a finger toward the door where a wooden baseball bat rested.
Frank’s instinctual fear for Jay flashed through his eyes even though he only shrugged. “Wasn’t my idea, but yeah.”
“Ruby,” Jay muttered under his breath, pushing himself up so that he was sitting on the bed. “Where is she?”
Frank gave a short, humorless chuckle. “Just because she wants to help find Stella, doesn’t mean that she is ready to actually talk to you face to face.”
Jayden felt the barb hit his chest but only sighed. “Well, thank her for me later then, for all this.”
Frank’s dark eyebrow rose slightly. “You’re thanking her for having me kidnap you?”
“In a way. I think whoever took Stella is still watching to see who might be coming after her. This way, you’ll seem like enemies, not friends.”
“Ruby said the same thing.”
Jay felt his eyes tighten at the edges and then go wider as his expression became serious. “Tell me everything. Please.”
Frank half smiled. “Looks like prison made you more polite. Or is it the guilt?”
Jayden stood and then smirked as Frank recoiled automatically. “You done playing the tough guy standing up for his girl?”
He looked away and shrugged.
Jay sighed. “I get it, I do. But this shouldn’t have anything to do with me, or Ruby, or even you. We all made choices back then, we’ve all paid for them. Ruby reached out to me. Even if it was just because this is Stella’s safety on the line, it doesn’t matter. I will gratefully accept whatever my two best sneaks have to offer me.”
Frank’s face ended up at some strange halfway point between a smile and a grimace. “Is that enough, Ruby?”
Jay spun towards the bathroom, where Ruby Wei was now emerging. She, too, had some marked differences to her familiar features. Her dark eyes, though still seeming too big, were no longer like fathomless pools. They had a focus now, an intention. Her hair was still wine red and cut to just brush her shoulders, but it was more artfully draped than its previous disarray. Her entire appearance was neater, as if reflecting the inner progress Stella had claimed she had been making.
“Hello, Jay,” she greeted softly. Her hands twitched as if she wanted to throw her arms around his waist like old times.
“Hey, Ru.”
Something shifted behind her eyes, and it made the coldness in them seem less severe. Silence filled the room for a long moment as she and Jay didn’t look away from one another. Eventually, Frank broke it by clearing his throat loudly.
“Not that telepathic reconnections aren’t great, but we’re on a clock.”
Ruby glanced at him and smiled. The tiny motion transforming her whole face. Jay felt a surge of his own joy at the clear bond they had.
He glanced back at Frank with a half smile. “He’s right.”
Ruby looked back at him then pointed to the rickety chair in the corner. “Sit.”
Jay obeyed, and she and Frank sat together on the bed.
“He says—”
Ruby held up a hand stopping him. “This isn’t going to be one of your question and answer digs. I’ll tell you what I know. You, in turn, will put your mind to finding Stella. But first, I need your word that our,” she amended, glancing sidelong at Frank, “assistance will not be noted anywhere. You’ll make no notes, leave no trail. If our information proves useful, you must lie as to how you came about it.”
Jay tilted his head to the side. “Why? I mean, I can agree to all that, but I am curious.”
Ruby raised her eyes to his. “Because you are wrong.”
Jay cocked an eyebrow. “Wrong?”
“You told Frank that this had nothing to do with you. I think you are wrong. I think you are the target.”
Jay drew in a deep breath. He had considered this, but it had only been one of several possible motives. “Okay. I promise. What do you know?”
Ruby watched him for a long moment then nodded. “Four years ago, when you were convicted, your life became public. Everything you had done, all the other investigators you had shamed, your underhanded tactics, all of it fell into the public forum.”
“You’re saying someone I shamed is behind all
