by Lisa Olsen
“It’d take bleach and a blowtorch to clean up your kind of skeeze. Why don’t you take a hike?”
“Are you going to let her talk to me like that?” The girl’s voice rose an octave, cutting through the party din and turning more than a few heads.
“Everybody chill the fuck out,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up, honey. Here, take this.” Jax was smooth, Nick had to give him that. He almost missed the flash of cash Jax included with the napkins from the bar to shut the girl up. The groupie clicked away on her chunky heels, dabbing dramatically at her cleavage, but there was a smile of satisfaction behind the drama. Jax must’ve tipped her good.
“Where do you find these skanks?” Ruby said loudly, weaving slightly, and Jax held onto her arm, tight enough to draw a wince. He whispered something in her ear that Nick couldn’t make out, but whatever it was, she didn’t seem to like it much.
“Hey, everything okay here?” Nick asked as they approached, and the brother and sister looked up with varying degrees of receptiveness.
“Oh good, you’re here. Now the party can really get started,” Jax deadpanned, motioning to the bartender for another drink.
“Aw, you two make such a cute couple!” Ruby gushed, all smiles, greeting Nick with a sloppy kiss on the cheek and one for Annaliese as well. “Don’t you think so, Jax? Have you ever seen such a cute couple in your life?”
“They’re super cute,” he muttered, draining half his glass in one gulp.
“Hey, you’d better slow it down, you don’t want to make a scene,” Ruby said, and Nick got the feeling she was tossing his own words back in his face.
Jax snorted at that. “Yeah, that’s rich.”
“I’m glad you guys could make it. You wouldn’t believe some of the losers Rose invited to this party,” Ruby grinned, her voice still inappropriately loud, but she didn’t seem to care. Jax, however, looked like he’d reached the end of his patience.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to see a man about a horse. I’ll catch up with you later, Anna.”
“I’ll be around,” Annaliese promised, accepting his kiss on the cheek before he turned to his sister.
“Try and stay out of trouble for once, okay?”
“Don’t you love me anymore?” she pouted, wrapping her arms around his shoulders so that he was forced to unwind them before he could get away.
“You know I do, Ruby. But be a good girl or I’ll have to spank you.” Jax dropped a quick kiss to her cheek, following it up with a swat to her behind.
“Promise?” Ruby called after him, sticking her tongue in his direction when he didn’t stop. “So, where’s that sweet daughter of yours?”
“You mean my underage daughter?” Nick gave her a pointed look, still not sure what to make of the exchange between siblings, and Ruby laughed.
“Relax, I wasn’t going to do anything to her she didn’t want me to. I saw the pictures she posted of us online. So adorable.”
Nick’s head canted to one side. “How did you end up seeing those?”
“She posted one to our page and I friended her. She’s a pretty good poet, you know? I keep forgetting to talk to Jax about it, we could use some of her stuff in a song.”
Nick wasn’t sure which part of that statement bothered him more, the fact that Veronica was Facebook friends with the train wreck standing before him or that he had no idea she even wrote poetry. “I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear that,” he smiled blandly.
“Veronica really is talented,” Annaliese chimed in with an approving nod. “She’s an old soul.”
“I used to be talented,” Ruby mumbled, her eyes at half mast. “All used up now.”
“Nick?” Anna turned to him in worry when Ruby swayed again, nearly losing her balance. “Maybe we should get her to a place where she can lay down for a while.”
“Good idea,” he agreed, insinuating himself on her other side, wrapping a strong arm around Ruby’s waist. “There we go, easy does it,” he murmured encouragingly.
“You smell nice,” Ruby declared, her head lolling on his shoulder. “I forgot how good guys can smell sometimes.”
“That’s me, good old nice smelling Nick at your service.”
“I know your secret,” she whispered, lips curving into a smile.
“I hope you’re good at keeping secrets then,” he returned, propelling gently her across the room with Anna at his side.
“I’m the best at keeping secrets,” she boasted. “Good ones. Or bad ones, depending on how you look at it. Never, never tell…” Ruby fell silent until they reached the edge of the room, then she cried out suddenly. “Rosie!”
Rose caught her up in a hug when Ruby lurched forward, out of Nick’s arms. “Hey there, sweetie. Looks like you’re having way too much fun for this party. How about we take a break and catch up, just you and me?”
“A private party?” Ruby’s lips turned up a dreamy smile. “I’d like that. I’d like it a lot.” Her eyes suddenly shiny with tears, Ruby nestled herself under Rose’s arm, holding tight to her.
“That’s my good girl. I know just the place for us, nice and quiet.” Rose looked up at Nick and Annaliese. “I’ve got her from here. Thanks though.” They weaved their way through the foyer, disappearing into a room on the other side.
“Poor thing,” Annaliese sighed, watching their unsteady progress, but Nick was less forgiving.
“Hey, she did that to herself. If you want to feel pity for someone, feel it for the brother who has to try and keep her act together.”
“Oh, so now you’re on Jackson’s side?” Her eyes went wide with surprise.
“About that I am. It must be a nightmare to keep her sober long enough to perform. I’m surprised he hasn’t considered a solo career before now.”
“Oh no, he’d never leave Ruby. The two of them are like this.” She held up two crossed fingers.
“Yep, I have a picture in my head, it’s very vivid.” The pair were both weird in their own ways, no matter how much she kept insisting they were good guys. But now Ruby was safely in Rose’s hands, and Natalie was off doing whatever it was Natalie was doing. It seemed like a perfect chance to cut loose and enjoy the party. “Hey, how about we…?”
“I’ve told you before, stay the fuck away from me!” Jax May’s voice rang out loud and clear from the direction of the grand stairway, drawing the attention of most of the room despite the music.
“Uh oh… I think the shit’s about to hit the fan,” Nick murmured.
“It sounds like it already has. Come on.” Before he could stop her, Annaliese threaded her way through the throng. He did his best to keep up, pushing his way to the forefront of the crowd gathered around Jax, the blonde he’d spilled on earlier, and Natalie, who looked mad enough to spit nails.
“What’s she talking about, Jax?” the blonde demanded, but it was Natalie who spoke next.
“Why don’t you tell her, Jax? Tell her about the dead girls you left behind in L.A., I’m sure she’ll want to hear about that.”
“What’s she going on about?” Annaliese whispered to Nick, but he just shook his head, eyes intent on the altercation in case he needed to intervene.
“What the hell is your problem?” Jax demanded, getting right up in her face.
Natalie refused to back down from her stance, her spiked heels putting her nearly at his eye level. “I thought the girl should know what kind of a psycho she’s dealing with.”
“You’re the only psycho I see here, lady. What are you even doing here? This is a private party.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to use this girl like you did the others. She’s a human being, not a puppet for your sick fantasies.”
“Sick fantasies?” the girl blinked. “Hey, all I said was let’s go get to know each other better, I didn’t agree to be part of any freak show.”
Jax ignored her, his rage focused on Agent Fox. “How many times do I have to tell you, I didn’t kill anybody. I
f I had, why haven’t you arrested me yet?”
“Just because I don’t have the evidence yet doesn’t mean I won’t nail you to the wall, you sick fuck.” Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, voice throbbing with malice. “I’m going to make you pay for what you did to her if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Is there a problem here?” One of the guys in black polo shirts with SECURITY printed across the back stepped forward, his hands outstretched.
“Yeah, there is,” Jax replied, backing away from Natalie and pointing at the front door. “This chick is crazy and I want her out of here.”
“I’m a federal officer,” she said coolly.
“I don’t give a flying fuck who you are, you’re trespassing as far as I’m concerned.”
“I happen to have been invited, wasn’t I, Nick?”
Nick felt all eyes swivel toward him and he tried for an even smile. “Hey, why don’t we all take this down a notch and go somewhere more private to discuss this.”
“She came with you?” Jax threw his head back and laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d heard all day. “I’ll be goddamned, I should’ve known. Well, consider yourself uninvited now, sweetheart. Get her out of here.”
“Touch me and you’ll be guarding a manure pile by lunchtime tomorrow,” she growled at the security guard closest to her. The guard hesitated, unsure how to proceed, and the blonde girl took the opportunity to scuttle away and watch from a safer distance.
“Nick, what’s this all about?” Annaliese asked, a deep furrow appearing between her brows.
“It’s about this crazy bitch following me all over the country insisting I’m a fucking murderer, and your boyfriend doing her dirty work for her,” Jax announced, raking his hand through his hair.
“Did you know about this, Nick?” she whirled on him, and he tried to think of how he could make it sound less awful.
“Annie, I…” he started to say, but she shook her head, backing away from him.
“I can’t believe it. You used me to get to Jackson because you think he’s a killer?”
“I can explain…”
“You don’t have to apologize to her, we’re the ones in the right here,” Natalie bit out. “He’s the scum-sucking criminal.”
“I swear to God, if you say one more fucking word…” Jax took a threatening step toward the agent, and Nick was forced to abandon his fumbling apology to get between them.
“Hey, there’s no call for that. Everybody just take a breath.”
“You see, he’s the violent one,” Natalie piped up, utterly destroying any kind of calm that Nick tried to foster.
“Get the fuck out now or I’ll show you violence.” Jax stepped up, getting right in Nick’s face, and that got his hackles up even though he knew it was a bad idea to engage him.
“Go ahead, threaten me again. I’m not afraid of you,” Nick countered. “Or is threatening women more your style?” His hands clenched into tight fists, itching to take a swing at the guy if he so much as twitched another muscle in his direction.
“Nick, that’s enough!” Annaliese demanded, shoving at his arm. His fists unclenched as she cut through the wave of tension rising to epic proportions.
“But he…”
“No, I don’t want to hear it. Not here.” Her eyes darted to the crowd and he realized they were all spoiling for a fight as well, any number of phones already recording the incident. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up on the late night news and his ass in a sling with the Captain.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, taking a step backwards.
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry to him. He, he…” Natalie sputtered, her rage still in full force, and Annaliese gave Nick’s shoulder another shake.
“I think you should get her out of here.”
“Fine. We’ll go wait in the car while you wrap up and...”
“Just go, Nick.” Anna’s eyes were dark with regret, backing away from him to take a stand beside Jax. “I’ll talk to you later.”
She wasn’t coming with him. “Right, sure, I’ll catch you later then,” he said, trying not to let it show how much it hurt that she’d chosen Jax over him.
So much for that dance.
Chapter Nine
Nick didn’t speak, not until he pulled into Bannings Restaurant and Pie House, and then it was only to tell the hostess they wanted a table away from the kitchen. Natalie had descended into a sullen silence as well, nibbling furiously on a stub of her thumb nail.
He ordered them each a coffee, for once not even tempted to sample their pie of the day as he stared at the woman across the table from him. At first glance, not a thing was out of place. Her hair was still neatly pinned up over her ear, make-up expertly applied, but her toe tapped a frenetic beat against the base of the table and there was no mistaking the burning rage behind her eyes.
Waiting until the waitress filled their mugs and dropped off a tiny bowl of creamers, Nick studied her oddly restless behavior, turning the confrontation over in his mind. There was definitely more to this story than she’d let on in her first briefing, no doubt about it.
“Are you going to stare at me all night or pass the sugar?” she asked finally, snapping out of her reverie to lean forward and reach for the cream.
Nick slid the sugar bowl across the table, taking none for himself. “What happened to this night being strictly about recon?” he asked mildly.
“I know, I know! I’m sorry, he got the best of me.” Her hands shook as she emptied the packet of sweetener into her cup. “It’s just when I saw him putting the moves on that groupie like she was just another piece of meat… I couldn’t let him get his hooks into her. Not another one. Not again. Not when I could save her.”
It was the most impassioned he’d ever seen her, even more than when she’d been trading insults with May. Eyes shiny with unshed tears, the light of anguish burning bright behind them, it was as if she clung to her composure by a single thread and that thread was stretched to its limit. Nick found her somehow more beautiful in her vulnerability than all of her sophisticated flirtation before.
“Hey, take a breath,” he said, covering her hand with his, feeling it flutter under his palm like the wings of a hummingbird. “I’ve never seen you like this before. What’s going on with you?”
Slowly, she responded to his touch, her hand curling in his. “I haven’t been sleeping well. Nightmares…”
“Come on, it’s more than that and you know it. It’s almost like you have a personal stake in this case.” The sudden shift in her shoulders told him everything he needed to know. “That’s it, isn’t it? What did he do to you?”
Emotion twisted her face as she pulled her hand from his, reaching into her top to pull out her cell. “It’s not what he did to me, it’s what he did to her.” Scrolling through the prompts on the phone, she turned it around to show him a picture of her and a pretty blonde, arms around each other, mugging it up for the camera. Something about the girl nudged at the corners of his memory until it came to him in a snap.
“Isn’t that…?”
“Julie Wilson, vic number three,” Natalie confirmed, her fingers brushing across the image. “She was my cousin.”
“Aw, Nat, I’m so sorry.” Nick reached for her hand again as understanding clicked into place. No wonder she was so hot to put May behind bars. But the knowledge only led to more questions. “She’s your cousin and they still let you on the case?”
Natalie winced, and he knew what she was going to say before she said it. “I didn’t let on that I knew her. Don’t judge me, Nick,” she started to say, but he patted her hand.
“No, I get it, I might do the same thing if I was in your shoes.” He couldn’t imagine not being part of an investigation into the death of someone he loved. But at the same time, he could understand why there were rules in place against that sort of thing. How objective was Natalie being in her investigation? Were her emotions getting in the way? “Nat,” he said carefully. “Do y
ou think there’s a chance that maybe it’s time you took a step back from the case?”
Her eyes immediately blazed with anger. “Don’t you even think about trying to shut me out of this one. I’ve put in more hours and…”
“I know,” he said, cutting off the flow of frustration coming off of her in waves. “But in this instance, are you sure you aren’t seeing shadows where they don’t belong? You know what you have on May is thin at best. It’s not a crime to toy with a woman’s affections, even if he went out of his way to seduce them. And let’s face it, most groupies are definitely willing.”
“See that’s the thing.” Natalie leaned forward, tapping on the table with her index finger. “Julie wasn’t a groupie. She’d never even heard of Forsaken before she hooked up with Jax. She for damn sure didn’t get a tattoo of their stupid logo on her hip.”
“Obviously she did, we’ve both seen the pictures,” he said as gently as he could. “Natalie, people don’t always tell us when they do things they think you won’t approve of. Even close friends, especially if they’re ashamed of it. Maybe she had a wild, drunken fling with Jax and then regretted it? Would you fess up to something like that to your straight-laced Fed of a cousin?”
“She wasn’t like that though,” Natalie insisted. “She was a good kid.”
“I’m sure she was. It’s not her fault she was murdered, even if she was a party girl. You get that, don’t you? I’m not placing the blame at her door.”
“I was supposed to be looking out for her in the big bad city, you know?”
“You can’t blame yourself, Nat. She was an adult, she didn’t need you to hold her hand crossing the street.”
“Yes, but…”
“More importantly, you can’t let your feelings compromise the quality of your investigation, it’s as simple as that. Otherwise you might as well let Jax walk, because a smart lawyer is going to parade your obsession with him all over the court. You’ve got to allow for the possibility that he’s not your perp.”
