the police? Why was he keeping her close when being close put him in danger?
Her imagination ran wilder with every passing second. She didn't want to be suspicious of Jax. He was the only one she could count on, the only one she could trust. They'd gotten incredibly close. They'd shared personal information. They'd made love for hours last night. She knew who he was. Didn't she?
But he was Russian, too. That fact suddenly jumped out at her. She hadn't even thought about it before now. Had Wallace Jagger really asked him to return the pages or had Jax used that as a way to get to her? Was he in on it? Had he stayed with her so that he could get the journals?
She jumped out of the car, gripping her tote bag and her purse, like a shield in front of her. She could leave right now. But she'd be on foot. He could catch her in a second.
"All clear," he said, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "I have good news. My friend will be here in ten minutes to look at the cypher."
"Who is he again?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"He works for the government, hacking computers and cracking code. If anyone can figure the code out, he can." Jax paused, his gaze narrowing as he took in her defensive stance. "What's wrong, Maya?"
Was she losing her mind? This was Jax. He'd told her about his childhood, the death of his parents, growing up in a family where he didn't fit in. He wasn't a bad guy. She needed to get a grip on her imagination.
"Maya." He took a step forward, then stopped, as she instinctively stepped back. "Are you afraid of me?" he asked in surprise.
"I'm just thinking that I should go. I should take the journals to the police and I should wash my hands of this."
"You can do that after we figure out the code."
"I want to do it now. I can get a rideshare. You don't need to drive me anywhere." She looked around the garage for an exit, but the only door was going into the house. "Can you open the garage door?"
"No," he said, shaking his head.
She stiffened. "Why not?"
"Because you're freaking out for no reason."
"No reason? I have a lot of reasons," she snapped. "And these are my grandmother's journals. You don't need to know what's in that code. Only I do."
"You suddenly don't trust me—why?" He moved closer, and she backed up into side of the car. And then he was right in front of her, his hands hitting the car on either side of her. She was trapped. She was terrified and she was also, God help her, incredibly attracted to him. What was wrong with her?
"Please let me go," she whispered.
"I would never hurt you, Maya," he said, making each word a purposeful statement. "Never."
"I don't know who to trust. You showed up at my door out of the blue. You never want me to call the police. You made sure I didn't tell them Julia's last words. And you're Russian. You work at the Firebird Club. You could be a part of this. You could be a Russian spy."
"If I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I've had plenty of opportunity?"
"Maybe you just wanted to get the journals first. You knew they were locked up until now."
"But you have them in your possession, and I haven't tried to take them from you."
"Not yet. You could be waiting for the right time."
He stared back at her. "You can trust me, Maya."
"Can I?"
"I'm not working against you. I'm trying to help you. I'm trying to keep you safe. I almost died with you last night."
Everything he was saying was true, but there seemed to be a lot he wasn't saying. "You're choosing your words carefully. Why? What don't I know? And don't try to tell me I know everything, because I don't. I can see it in your eyes, Jax. You're hiding something, and I am not taking one more step closer to you without knowing what that is." She felt a little foolish offering up that ultimatum when he had her trapped against the car.
"You're right," he said, surprising her with his words.
"I am? I mean, you're damn right, I'm right. So, what aren't you telling me?"
"I'm not a Russian spy." He drew in a breath. "I'm a federal agent."
"What?" she gasped.
"I'm a special agent with the FBI. And I've been working undercover at the Firebird