Isabel sat frozen, staring at the screen of her phone, the message from Jaxon lingering in her mind like an unspoken promise-or a threat. The three dots that had appeared and then vanished only made her anxiety worse. What did he mean? What secrets? The room seemed to close in around her as her pulse quickened.
Elliot, feeling the sudden change in her mood, had risen and gone toward her; his footsteps sounding softly on the hardwood floor. "Isabel," he whispered with extreme caution. "What is it?
Isabel's breath came in short bursts. She lifted her eyes from the phone to his, but she was barely able to focus on him. Words seemed to drown her; every syllable spoken by Jaxon a weight she could not shake off.
"He says." she trailed off, her voice shaking. She wanted to explain, to put it a
