Firebreak (Jackson's Hollow #2)

Chapter 17

"He's going to be okay Jo."

"But Diego..."

"Diego's good at this, he'll know Ryker's limits."

"But why do they have to do this if they already know I'm a weakness?" Jo fretted, pacing back and forth in the team common room. She knew they didn't know just how much of a weakness she was for Ryker–that would be terrible if they did. But still. They knew he was her boyfriend. Wouldn't they think that was enough leverage to get the two of them to do whatever they wanted?

Why did they have to break him?

"You know why," Malachi said, sighing. "They need to see that the control works."

"Not to mention testing his abilities," Cal threw out, tossing a piece of balled up piece of paper in the trash as if he was practicing for the basketball team.

Wes nodded, but didn't comment, more focused on his tablet. He'd gotten some kind of communication from the escaped team member and was doing some sort of research for the guy.

"He won't jeopardize his chance to reunite with you," Malachi said, still trying to be reassuring. "He'll do what it takes to join us as quickly as possible." Jo hoped that was the case–not for her sake, but for his. She didn't want him tortured too much. She didn't want Ryker to be broken on her behalf. That would be...that would be such a terrible feeling.

And maybe they wouldn't. She didn't really consider herself broken. Beaten up for their system, definitely, and maybe she seemed broken to them since she was cooperating. But she didn't feel completely broken, especially with Ryker there.

"Did you know he could become a dog?" Cal asked, balling up another piece of paper and aiming for the trash can.

"A wolf," Jo corrected, narrowing her eyes at him. "And yes. I did."

"They're going to be mad you didn't mention it," Malachi said. His eyebrows came together in concern. "But maybe they'll be lenient, since he's here."

"I don't want him here," Jo grumbled.

"Sit down, you're making me dizzy," Cal said. He reached out as Jo passed by, snagged her wrist, and pulled her down on the couch. She sat but she scooted closer to Wes.

He glanced over at her, offering a small apologetic smile. "It'll turn out okay."

"I think it's going to be a disaster," she said. Normally she could see the good side of things, but not with Ryker stuck in here, with her. She wanted him to be free. There was no way he would do well in captivity.

"Are you guys going to give him grief, too?" she asked, looking at Cal mainly, though Wes and Malachi earned a bit of her glare as well. She liked them, mostly, now.

"Some," Malachi said honestly. "Otherwise it'll look weird."

"Doesn't it look weird that you're messing with the electronics right now?" Jo asked, turning to Wes.

"They're used to our room being buggy," Wes said, "Any time I have a headache, I can't control my powers. And, weirdly enough, Malachi can't fix my headaches."

Malachi shrugged. "Wes has a lot of headaches."

Oh. Fake headaches as an excuse to have your powers go haywire. Made sense in Wes' case. "Doesn't that drive them crazy?"

Wes laughed a bit. "They don't like it, but as long as I don't unlock the doors, they don't freak out." He waved his hand toward the cameras. "Plus, I left the cameras on. It's the sound that's not working, so they're not as concerned about it."