that to happen, but how are we going to figure out the code?"
He hesitated. He couldn't tell her his secrets on top of this, not while they were sitting outside her office. "I have a friend who does this kind of work for the government. I could ask him to take a look at it."
"Okay, that sounds like it could work."
"I'll send him a text." He took out his phone and texted Brandon, their tech specialist. "While we're waiting for him to get back to us, I'd like to go through the other journals, especially the references to nicknames or possible code names."
"I can't believe this," Maya said, but there wasn't much conviction behind her words. "Maybe you're right. Maybe she did use code names. It always seemed weird that she would refer to people in that way. I don't want to believe Natasha was a spy, but maybe she was. This is a huge twist, Jax. Maybe she wasn't murdered because of jealousy or personal emotions. Maybe it was bigger than that."
"Someone burned down your house to get rid of these books. They must not have realized they existed until you started asking questions." He handed her back the book. "We'll read through everything when we get to my place."
He pulled the car back onto the road, careful to keep an eye out for a tail. If her grandmother had been involved in the spy game thirty-six years ago and some of her associates were still alive, he couldn't underestimate the amount of danger Maya might still be in, and he was in there, too.
Chapter Nineteen
Was her grandmother a spy? The question rocketed around in Maya's head all the way back to Jax's place. It didn't really make sense. Her grandmother was an actress. She didn't live in the shadows. She lived in the spotlight. Or was playing the role of celebrity part of her cover?
She looked over at Jax as he stopped at a light. He had a distant look in his eyes, as lost in his thoughts as she was in hers. He turned his head in her direction. "What are you thinking?"
"If my grandmother was a spy, then everything about her life could be a lie."
"Yes. It could all be a lie."
"But she was an actress. She's immortalized in more than fifteen films. She married two men. She had a son. All that was true."
"Spies can have personal lives. It would make sense, Maya."
"It would? How does any of this make sense?"
"Natasha was a beautiful woman with access to powerful people. She could move easily through social circles and travel internationally. She was Russian, and she spent a great deal of time at a club that was predominantly filled with Russian members. Any one or more of those people could have been working with her."
"To do what?"
"Move information. That's what spies do. They collect intelligence and they pass it on."
"But she became an American citizen."
"Even better. Who would suspect her?"
She shook her head. "I've never seen one theory that pointed to her being a spy. All the rumors were personal in nature—jealous wives, husbands and ex-lovers. Or depression and drugs leading to suicide. Or professional jealousy from other actors. No one ever speculated that she was killed because she was a traitor." She paused. "Who would have killed her if she was a spy? The government? Could the FBI or the police have taken her out?"
"It could have been the Russians. They might have been unhappy with her work."
She shook her head, feeling breathless and overwhelmed. "This is feeling impossibly complicated, Jax."
"Let's take it one step at a time." He used the remote to open his garage and then pulled inside.
As the door came down, he said, "Wait here, Maya."
"Why?"
"I just want to be sure everything is locked up as tight as we left it."
"You said you had an alarm."
"And it looks like it's still on. Give me one minute."
"Okay."
As soon as Jax left, her heart started to pound. He might think she was safer in the garage, but she didn't feel that way at all. Without his powerful, comforting presence, she felt alone and vulnerable, and her imagination was going into overdrive.
Although, Jax didn't seem that worried or scared. He was being cautious, but not crazy. He was taking care of her, making sure she was safe. He was helping her solve her mystery.
Why?
The question ran around in her head.
Why was Jax being so helpful? Why did he keep telling her not to go to