together and then Caitlyn unlocked a sporty red Audi.
"This is a much nicer ride than Jax's car," she said, as she got inside. "His sedan is boring."
Caitlyn smiled. "That's his cover car. See the black Jeep? That's his actual car."
"Oh, that makes more sense," she said, as Caitlyn pulled out of the garage.
The woman drove with speed and confidence, and within minutes they were heading south on the freeway.
"Jax told me you met at Quantico," she said.
"We did. The first week, they broke us into teams of six. Jax and I were assigned to the same group along with Flynn and Beck, Savannah and Lucas. We all work for Flynn now, along with some of our other former classmates and a few specialists like Brandon, who is a cyber whiz."
"I still can't believe my grandmother knew how to code or that she was not only a spy, but a double agent. I thought she was just an actress, a party girl, a woman who liked to sleep with a lot of men and leave broken hearts in her wake. She was a far more complicated person than I ever imagined."
"Most people are. That's one thing I've learned since becoming an agent. Almost no one is who they appear to be."
"I'm learning that. I thought Jax was a bartender until earlier today."
Caitlyn gave her a thoughtful look. "Lies are often part of the job. But off the job, I'd have to say that Jax is one of the most straightforward guys I know. He doesn't play games. He is who he is."
"I guess you know we got involved."
"I know nothing about your relationship. I'm just saying," she added with a smile. "Although, I'm a good enough agent to see there's something personal between you."
"There was. But changing the subject, what's it like being an agent?"
"It can be incredibly exciting or excruciatingly dull, but there's always something new, and I like change. I like testing myself, pushing the limits."
She could understand that. "I took on my grandmother's story because I wanted to push my limits. I wanted to do something bigger and bolder than I'd done before."
"You accomplished that."
"But at a huge price. Julia is dead. My house has burned to the ground. I have no clothes but what I'm wearing."
"Sometimes truth costs a lot. Are you sorry you did it?"
She thought about that. "No, I'm not. Natasha shares my blood. Even if she didn't always do the right thing, she's still family. And her death needs to be avenged. Her killers have to be brought to justice."
"It will happen."
"I hope so. But they've gotten away with her murder and who knows how many others for thirty-six years. Who's to say anyone can catch them now?"
"Jax will have something to say about it. He's personally invested."
"Yes, he is. He was shocked when he found out his father was mentioned in Natasha's journal, that he was at the Russia House, that he might have been involved in everything. And the way his parents died so mysteriously…they never found their bodies. I still wonder if they could possibly be alive, but Jax doesn't think so."
"I'm sure we'll be looking into their deaths in great detail."
"Did Jax tell you about them before all this?"
"Yes. When we were at Quantico, we had some exercises where we had to reveal the most vulnerable part of ourselves. Jax talked about the loss of his parents and his identity. I helped him look into his parents when we first became agents, but we found nothing."
"That's what he said. It seems like you two are really close."
Caitlyn gave her a smile. "Everyone on the team is close, but not in a romantic way. We're best friends and we have each other's back. I'd die for Jax, but I wouldn't sleep with him."
She couldn't help but smile at Caitlyn's frank words. "You're missing out," she said lightly.
Caitlyn laughed. "I'll have to take your word on that."
As Caitlyn sped down the highway, Maya looked out the window, mentally trying to prepare herself for the next very difficult conversation. She needed to tell her father the truth about his mother, but she had no idea if he really wanted to hear it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
After three hours of going through the information Brandon had decoded as well as looking through his father's notes, Jax was ready to take a more aggressive approach to get to the truth.
It would take weeks to build a case without more current information. They needed eyewitnesses and they needed evidence