by N. K. Love
“We need to talk.”
“What now? You didn’t bump into my parents while you were out shopping did you?”
“I’m serious. Something’s happened. I need to tell you.”
“Okay. Let’s sit.”
Jax takes my hand and walks us over to the large sofa. He is barefoot, wearing just his grey joggers, fresh out of the shower. The scent of cocoa butter isn’t lost on me. Taking a seat, I don’t let go of his hand. Clinging to it like a lifeline.
“There’s no easy way to say this… I thought long and hard whether to even tell you, but hiding it would feel wrong… I went to see Samara’s girlfriend this afternoon.”
“You did what?!”
Jax pulls away from my grasp and jumps up off the sofa. Plaiting his fingers on top of his head, he walks off towards the windows.
“I thought if there’s a chance she’s been in contact with him, I could try and—”
“STOP, Beth! Stop talking!” All of the muscles in his back flex, defining his frame. If he just gives me chance to explain… “Motherfucking, FUCK!” Jax takes a few deep breaths as I sit in silence, fiddling with my loose hair. Turning slowly, he walks back over to me and I can see his brain is working overtime. He perches himself on the edge of the sofa, facing me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Nothing bad happened.”
“But it could have done, Beth! How the hell did you track her down?” My eyes answer him before I get chance. He clenches his jaw. “Oh, God. Tell me you didn’t.”
“He said if I needed anything—”
“And you thought you’d implicate him in my mess by asking him to be your accomplice?”
“Samara is the criminal not… Well, Jonathan won’t get in trouble. It was me that did it.”
“Did what, exactly, Beth?”
“Erm… Impersonate a police officer—”
“Jesus Christ, this gets better and better… Please tell me you pulled it off and she didn’t suspect anything.”
“She didn’t. She was actually a really nice woman.”
“Yeah, a really nice woman that could get you locked up.”
“I was careful, I’m not stupid. I had a wig on and glasses.”
I take his hand. Thankfully he doesn’t pull away, even though he’s still stone-faced.
“Beth, what possessed you? Before you tell me what happened, promise me that you’ll never pull anything like this again.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to consult you because I thought you’d interfere.”
“Beth, you’re the one interfering here. This is my shit to deal with. My choices, not yours. You cannot be connected or mixed up in any of this bullshit.”
“It was a risk I was willing to take if it meant putting an end to all of this—and moving on with our lives.”
“But she didn’t tell you anything though, did she? So it wasn’t worth the risk.”
“She said she hasn’t had any contact from him. She told me the police warned her not to talk to you. Why would they do that, Jax?”
“I dunno. Probably because I told them I wanted to make him suffer for what he did.”
“You said that to the police?”
Jax shrugs.
“They’d told me they were closing the case, Beth. I was pissed off… Okay, I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”
Chapter Thirteen
Friday 5th June 2015
6:34pm
Jax
“You’re right to be concerned, X. This can’t be a coincidence.”
“I know, I know. Fuuuck.” Pacing my driveway, I rack my brain for the next best step. “But there’s nothing concrete. It’s not enough to confirm who is fucking around… If somebody wanted to deal with me, they could’ve done it by now—well, at least attempted it.”
“You don’t think cutting your brake line, was exactly that?”
“No. The mechanic said it was a botched job. If they’d wanted me dead, they had their opportunity right there… Nope. Tampering with my car was meant as a warning.”
“We need to find the Boss.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Are you sure? I know my father trusted you. Didn’t he confide in you?” I shake my head, lying. “We need our entire team on it. We need more ears to the ground. I only have a few links.”
“The Unit is done. You know the score. The Boss would’ve destroyed everything. They won’t have any contacts. It’s like it—”
“—never bloody existed! Yes, I know. Well, my father will be turning in his grave right now, knowing he trusted the wrong person to take over his legacy.”
“C, let’s concentrate on what we can do, yeah?”
“Yes, okay. Sorry.”
Hearing a car, we both look in the direction of the country lane. I’m already on tenterhooks and nobody usually drives this way. As the red car comes into view, I recognise Beth’s Nissan.
“Shit. Is it after six already?”
After Tuesday’s revelations, I haven’t seen Beth, but we made plans for her to stay over this weekend. She pulls up at the bottom of the driveway and her arm reaches out to enter the code for the gates.
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Of course I am.”
“Well, don’t go hard on her. If all of this is linked with Samara, it’s not her fault.”
“Then whose fault is it, C? We’ve managed to stay under the radar without so much as a raised eyebrow in our direction. Then Miss Marple over there goes in like a bull in a china shop, probably putting the spooks on the girl, jeopardising everything.”
“X, she did it with the best of intentions. She had the right idea. Listen, your girl’s got balls of steel.” Beth waves as she drives past us and pulls into the garage. “Don’t take this out on her. Our priority is getting to the bottom of this, and quickly. Besides, she may have flushed him out for you. This could be what you’ve been waiting for.”
“Hey, Carmel.”
Beth walks up to Carmel to give her a friendly kiss on the cheek.
“Hello, Bethany.”
Of course Carmel turns it into two pretentious air kisses and I just stand there watching, with my arms folded. What? They have one little chat and now they’re best buddies.
“Try not to look too pleased to see me.” Regarding me with a smile, Beth walks up and tiptoes in her flats to kiss me. I put my arm around her, pulling her into my side. “What’s wrong?”
Beth looks between me and Carmel, but I’d rather talk to her without an audience.
“We’ve got a problem, sweetie. I’ll let him fill you in on the details. X, my offer still stands, call me.”
Carmel walks off to her car.
“What offer? What’s the matter?”
I don’t answer. I wait for Carmel to reach the bottom of the drive and press the control for the gates to open, then I close them behind her.
“Let’s talk inside.”
Once we’re sitting down, I tell her about the brakes and the silent phone calls. As I talk, I watch my unspoken thoughts dawn on her.
“It’s him. He knows you’re still after him, because of me.”
“We don’t know that, but—”
“She was lying.” Beth looks off to the side and repeats herself in a whisper, seeming to battle with the notion that she was fooled and she got it wrong. “This is my fault. His girlfriend’s tipped him off. But, how would she know I was linked to you? And how would they know how to find you?”
“The case was closed, B. They’d just need to call the police to double check and then it’s not rocket science to work out who else would be asking about Chloe’s death. They don’t know who you are, WPC Smith. That’s impossible—provided it all happened how you described, and there was no CCTV on the car park?”
“None. I was so careful. I even wore gloves!”
“Well, I can’t figure out how they would’ve tracked me down. It doesn’t make any sense… Anyway, Carmel has offere
d for you to stay at one of her places. It’ll be safe there. Just until we get to the bottom of this. It might be worth considering—”
“No way!”
“Carmel’s right, B. I don’t want to risk putting you in danger. If you’re linked with me—”
“I’m not in danger. You are! Jesus Christ, Jax, they sabotaged your car? They could come here next. You can’t stay here.”
“Whoever it is, whether it’s linked to Samara or not, they don’t know I’m here. They got to my car when I was in the gym… The strange calls were coming in on my other phone, the one I used mainly for 24/7. That number is on their website so it’s attainable to anybody—”
“Devon!”
“What about it?”
“Devon. You were seen by hundreds of people there that weekend and photographed for the papers. You could’ve been recognised and then traced back to 24/7 that way.”
“Okay. Okay. I do look different now, but that could make sense.”
“Jax, maybe when his girlfriend said he was mixed up in a bad crowd, she was indirectly threatening me, and I just didn’t pick up on it. If he is still connected to that gang, they could be behind this… Carmel told me that he was last linked to Albania.”
“Why the fuck is Carmel telling you shit?” My temper starts flaring and my irritations bubble to the surface. “If you hadn’t have spoken to her, you wouldn’t have got that crazy idea in your head in the first place.”
“That’s not true, actually. Carmel told me not to get involved.”
“Oh, and you thought you knew better then, huh? Fuck sake!” I snap, harshly, startling her.
This isn’t me. This isn’t the kind of person I am when I’m with Beth. I wrap my arms around her, allowing her goodness soak into me, calming me down.
“What are we going to do, Jax?” She whispers into my chest.
“I’m going to wait it out. Not much else I can do at the moment, until something shows up or they make another move. The CCTV at the gym didn’t catch anything so I’ve just got to be extra vigilant. I’ve already ditched that second phone now and I’m getting the calls looked into to see if they were amateur enough to leave a trace, which is highly doubtful.” I spread out my fingers, stroking them up and down her back. “I know this guy, Brian, who owns the shop at the top of the road from the gym. He’s going to check the CCTV outside of his place, and make a note of the next few cars behind me each day. If there’s any that reappear, it’d suggest I was followed and hopefully give me a plate to go by.”
“How do you know nobody has followed you home?”
“You know I like to take different routes home? I have a ritual of checking the cars behind. I only take the turn for the lanes once I know nobody is following me. There’s no reason for it really. I just got into the habit when I first moved here, even before the Unit.”
“So we just wait here, like sitting ducks?”
“No, we don’t. You go back home and leave me to it for a bit—”
“Leave you to it?” She looks up at me, frowning.
“Beth, come on…” Her feistiness makes a rapid appearance as she shrugs away from me, putting her hands on her hips, scowling. “Just until this all blows over.”
Staring at me in silence, with a look that could kill, she growls out…
“Fuck. You. Jaxson.”
After a moment, neither of us back down—or even blink—I feel compelled to stop this from turning into an unnecessary argument.
“It’s not up for discussion, Beth. You can’t be anywhere near me at the moment. Simple.”
“We are a couple. I’ll stay here.”
“I’m not fucking debating it with you.”
I close the gap between us again, towering over her and she stands firm, just as I knew she would.
“And I’m not fucking going anywhere.”
“Are you deliberately being obtuse…? You’re not staying here. No argument. I’ll keep your car locked up here—”
“Aaaand I’ll just catch cabs everywhere, shall I?”
“Jack will be here soon. He’s taking you home.”
“The fuck he is.”
“Now you’re just being belligerent, Angel.”
Beth purses her lips together, frowning. The effect she has on me is both puzzling and intoxicating. She’s angry, yet I’m finding it such a tempting turn on, again. But, considering my situation, my priority should be getting my game face on and solving this goddam riddle. Instead, I happily let my blood head south and lick my lips slowly, wondering where I want that filthy mouth of hers first. Her body is so in tune with mine, I know she feels the shift in the energy between us.
Beth goes to speak, but then stops herself. This time the colour in her cheeks isn’t because she’s pissed off anymore. Her mouth stays opens slightly, letting me see her glistening tongue. That’s all my dick needs to strain against the denim, forcing me to reach down and readjust myself. She flicks her stern eyes down, watching my hand, so instead I pop open my buttons. Letting my jeans drop a little, they hang low on my hips, clearly showcasing the effect her insolence has on me.
“I don’t wanna go.”
I watch her resolve falling away with every twitch of her pussy. She switches her hands from her hips to mine. I glance at my watch.
“Jack will be here in fifteen minutes.”
Looking up at me through those long black lashes, her mischievous, hazelnut eyes are now loaded with a sexual hunger that’s reflected right back at her.
“Fifteen minutes?”
Locking our eyes together, we let a plethora of images pass between our minds. All the kissing and gripping and sucking and fucking that can be accomplished in nine hundred Beth-filled seconds…
As if a klaxon has been blown to signal the countdown, we both fly into action. Swiveling her on the spot, I plant her peachy ass on the table as she whips her top up over her head. Mine flies off next, joining hers on the floor, and she flicks off her pumps, leaving herself barefoot. Capturing her mouth, she tastes minty and our tongues immediately get caught up in a power struggle, which I win over by forcing down my weight, pushing her backward. Grabbing at her waistband, I rip it down, along with her black, laced thong.
Lying sprawled out and naked, she brings her heels to the edge of the table and drops her knees open. She plays with her breasts, rubbing them together and tugging at her hard nipples. With a smirk, I invest a few seconds in admiring this delectable view—I swear I’m the luckiest man alive. Lifting her foot, she pushes her toes behind the waistband of my briefs, pulling it out and snapping it back.
I smile down at her, acknowledging for a moment that this incredible woman was made for me. Fact. She has rocked my world beyond recognition.
As one of her hands slides down between her legs, I shake my head slowly.
“Time is of the essence, Angel. This tight little pussy’s gotta be all mine, for now.”
Rewarded with the beguiling sound of her innocent giggle, I grip the backs of her knees and push them to her chest. Fully exposed to me, I’d love to take my time inspecting every inch, playing with her body. Instead, I allow my hungry mouth to take over. I need to taste her and get her ready for my dick.
Stroking my tongue in the rhythm Beth loves, she starts to roll her hips into my face. Spread out wide for me, I eat her pussy, thriving off every whimper and every quiver.
“God, I love your mouth. What it does to me, G.” I switch my pace, gently rotating the tip of my tongue around her clit, hypnotically. “Shhhit.”
“You getting close for me, B?”
“Mm-huh.”
“Good. That’s enough.” I ease her knees back down.
“Don’t stop, Jax. Can’t you just send Jack a message, please?” I love the sexy glow on her freckled face. “Ask him to wait in the car or something.”
“Now now, beautiful, where’s the fun in that?” Kicking off my creps, I push down my jeans as well as my briefs and kick them off too. “I’d say we’ve
still got plenty of fucking time left. Turn over onto your chest.”
“Forever the optimist, Mr Carter.” My defiant woman leans forward and strokes her fingers up the length of my cock, which is blatantly gravitating towards her magnetically, like the needle on a compass. She licks her lips to entice me further. “Question is; can you perform that well under this much pressure, G?”
