Jaxon didn’t speak for a long time after Raven’s confession. He just sat there at the edge of the bed, his thumb brushing against her knuckles where the soft restraints still held her, not in punishment, but protection. She’d stopped crying, but the silence between them buzzed like static, thick with all the things they hadn’t yet said.
Finally, he broke it. “What exactly does Zane have on you?”
Raven blinked slowly, the words catching like glass in her throat. “I told you, he dug up Gabe’s grave. He’s threatening to expose everything.”
“That’s not specific enough,” Jaxon said, voice low but controlled. “What does he think he’s holding over your head?”
She swallowed hard. “He knows about the files. About my investigation. About… about my brother. He mentioned Gabe’s addiction, my failu
