*
“Hey, man, what’s up?” I greet Evan as he steps into my office and takes a seat across from me in one of the two chairs in front of my desk.
“Dropping this off,” he says, reaching over and handing me a folder that has my brows drawing downward.
“Who’s this?” I ask, opening it up and pulling out a stack of papers, all of them referring to a guy named Lane Diago, who is some low-ranking drug dealer in Alabama.
“That’s your cousin’s man,” he grits out, and my eyes meet him, seeing something in his gaze that causes my eyes to narrow.
“June?” I ask, and he nods while sitting back and running his hand down the beard he’s grown over the last few months. “Do you know how long she’s been seeing this guy?” I ask. I forgot all about Sage asking him to look into this a few months ago.
“My guess: about five months, give or take.”
“You wanna tell me why you look like you just got punched in the gut?” I ask, studying his face.
“Nope,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest. “What are you going to do about that?” He nods toward the folder that’s still in my hand and blanks his expression.
“I’ll deal with it,” I tell him, and his jaw ticks.
“You need to tell her to drop him. He’s gonna end up getting her in trouble, or worse.”
“Like I said, I’ll handle it.”
“Whatever. Are we still heading to Kentucky tonight?” he asks, changing the subject.
“Yeah, we’ll head out after eleven,” I mutter, giving him that play, seeing he’s not going to tell me what the fuck is eating at him, or why he seems so pissed about this to begin with.
“I’ll be here,” he says, getting up and walking out of the office, closing the door behind him. Evan is still a wild card. I know he’s smart as fuck and a hard worker. I also know about his history in the military and how he was the only one to survive when his unit was attacked, but everything else about him is up in the air, and seeing he is keeping something from me doesn’t sit well.
Picking up the folder, I flip through it and shake my head. June’s going to be pissed we’re checking in on her, but knowing my cousin, she has no clue the kind of man she’s been spending time with, and if she did, she would probably lay his ass out.
Setting the folder down on the desk, I lean back in my chair and cover my face. Last night, when I told Ellie I was heading to Kentucky with Wes and the guys to check out a lead, I could see it in her eyes that she was worried, but I could also see relief that this shit may be over soon. Since her mom was in jail awaiting trial and we were on Yury’s trail, I hope like fuck that with us tracking him down, it will lead me to the man who purchased her to begin with, and we could finally put all of this shit to rest.
Standing, I shut down my computer and shove the file for June in my desk before walking out the door, coming face-to-face with Sage.
“I was just coming in to see you,” he says then dips his head toward my office. “Can we talk?”
“Sure,” I agree, swinging the door back open, walking across the room from him, and crossing my arms over my chest.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I left things the other night. I know you’re just trying to help.”
“I understand,” I tell him, uncrossing my arms.
“I’m gonna talk to her,” he says, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.
“Good.”
“We cool?”
“You don’t even have to ask that shit. We’re family,” I confirm, watching his body relax.
“You ready for tonight?” he asks, studying me.
“Yeah, Ellie and Hope are staying with my parents. If the lead pans out, we’ll call your dad and have him come in.”
“Are you and Wes going to be able to keep your cool if it is him?”
“Not sure,” I tell him honestly, knowing what the guy did to Ellie and July.
“I’ve got your back, whatever happens,” he mutters then looks at the door. “I’m gonna head out. Do you need anything before I go?” he inquires, opening it and stepping out into the hall.
“Nah, I’ll see you tonight,” I say, following behind him out of the building pulling the keys out of my pocket and locking the door as he walks across the parking lot to his car. Getting in my truck, I head over to the salon to meet Ellie for lunch then stop by my parents’ to say goodbye to Hope before going home and getting ready to head to Kentucky.
Standing in the dark hotel room, I move the curtain to the side once more and place my binoculars to my eyes, zooming in on the room across the lot from us.
The lady at the front desk confirmed the guy we’re looking for is staying at this hotel, and after Mic spoke with her, she placed each of us in a room that would give us all a different vantage point.
“See anything?” Wes asks, pulling up a chair next to me, and I swear I see the curtains in the room I’m watching move. But if the room is the same as this one, the AC unit is under the window, and that could be causing the flutter.
“Not yet,” I mutter, squeezing my eyes closed then looking through the lenses again, seeing the same thing, only this time, the movement is slightly more pronounced than it was before.
“Send Harlen a text and ask him if he’s seeing anything from his vantage point,” I tell Wes just as his phone rings.
“What’s up?” Wes asks then stands. “Are you sure?”
I pull the binoculars away from my face and let the curtain slide closed, watching as he walks toward the door.
“What’s going on?” I ask him, seeing that he’s going to leave.
“Mic said he heard banging and moaning coming from the room,” he says.
I run my hands over my face, knowing this shit could go south real fucking fast if the moaning is nothing more than someone in the room on the other side of him getting off, since this hotel is one that is known for cheap hourly rates. We set up Mic and Sage in the room next to the one Yury is supposed to be occupying then Harlen and Evan in the middle, while Z stayed in the truck outside the entry of the hotel’s parking lot.
“Fuck, let’s go,” I say, following Wes down the open second floor walkway of the hotel. Once we reach the door where Harlen and Evan are, they come out and follow behind us. There’s no way to go unnoticed. The hotel is open, with the doors of the rooms leading outside to the parking lot. When we make it to the room, I stop and pull out my gun and press my ear to the door.
Hearing nothing, I’m about to move on to the room Sage and Mic are occupying, when I hear banging and what sounds like someone attempting to scream. Without thinking, I step back and kick the cheap door with my boot, sending wood splintering off in every direction. Holding my gun out in front of me, I scan the room then my eyes land on a gagged naked woman sitting on the floor, with her hands and ankles tied and her back pressed to the AC until under the window.
“Fuck,” I breathe, seeing the bruises covering her small form. “It’s okay,” I say, walking towards her, shoving my gun away and pulling my knife out of my pocket. Removing the gag first from her mouth, her head lowers and a loud sob rips from her chest as I cut the ties that are keeping her in place. “It’s gonna be okay.” I tell her, taking off my jacket and using it to cover her up.
“He’s coming back,” she says, lifting fright-filled eyes up to meet mine. “He’s going to kill me when he comes back.”
“You won’t be here when he does,” I assure her, picking her up and handing her off to Harlen, who is standing close to my side. “Get her to the hospital,” I tell him then look at Wes, who’s barely keeping it together, then to my cousin. “Call your dad and let him know what’s going on.”
“On it,” he mumbles, stepping to the back of the room.
“Mic, see if you can close the door,” I say calmly, and Mic’s eyes darken with fury as he goes out to the walkway and kicks off the broken pieces of wood then comes back inside, closing the door behind him. Standing in the room,
I look around, seeing the place is a mess. There are clothes, empty food containers, and beer bottles thrown around the room, along with open condom wrappers, which cause rage to burn through every cell of my body.
“Keep it together,” Sage says, coming up next to me. My dad’s on his way, and this guy maybe the only lead we have to find the one who wanted Ellie.”
“I know,” I agree, but that doesn’t stop the images of me putting a bullet between Yury’s eyes from entering my thoughts.
“He just pulled in,” Wes says low, walking to the door and holding his phone in his hand, typing something back on the screen before shoving it in his pocket. Pulling his gun from the back of his jeans, he flips off the light. “How pissed is Nico going to be if I shoot this stupid fuck?” he asks, and I grin then move to the side of the door.
Placing my back against the wall, I hear the sound of metal and someone walking up the concrete stairs that lead to the second level. When we finally hear keys jingling, I swing the door open and shove my gun into Yury’s face.
“Honey, I’ve been waiting for you,” I growl, grabbing his shirt in my fist and pulling him into the room. Once he’s inside, Wes kicks him to his knees as I put my foot to his back, forcing him face-first into the dirty carpet. “Try it, and I’ll fucking shoot you,” I snarl, restraining his hand he’s trying to get to his back, where he has a gun.
Locking his hands behind him, I use one of the plastic zip-ties from my pocket to bind them together then search him for any weapons. He not only has the gun from his waistband, but there’s also one in the ankle of his boot.
“I didn’t do anything,” he says as Sage helps me sit him on the edge of the bed.
“Yeah? How about we play Let’s Make a Deal?” I say as his eyes scan the room, and I know he’s looking for the woman.
“Fuck you. I didn’t do anything,” he repeats when he doesn’t see her.
“Tell me who paid you to pick up Ellie Anthony.”
“I’m not telling you shit,” he shouts, spitting at my feet. Seeing Wes step up to my side with his gun in his hand, I look at him then back to Yury as Wes holds his gun next to his right ear.
“Talk, motherfucker,” Wes growls, and Yury’s eyes lift, going to Wes before meeting mine again.
“I don’t know who he is. He always has one of his men do the pick-ups.” He grins then scans the room once more. “You don’t know who you guys are fucking with.”
Putting a bullet in the chamber of my gun, I cock it back and place it against his knee. “Who do you contact when you have a pick-up?” I ask again, placing my face inches from his.
“Fuck you,” he snaps, and I let off a round in his knee that has him falling forward, groaning.
“I asked you a fucking question. Who do you contact when you have a pick-up?”
“Nah, cous’. Alive, remember?” Sage says, putting his hand on my gun when I raise it to Yury’s temple.
“He doesn’t deserve to live,” Wes growls, and Yury’s eyes turn to him.
“This is bigger than you and me,” Yury says, moving his gaze to mine. “Shoot me, motherfucker. I’m dead anyways.”
“Tell me who your contact is,” I demand, watching something work behind his eyes then his nostrils flare.
“All I got is an email,” he says, dropping his head as something that had been strangling me since Ellie walked out of the woods toward me unravels.
Taking a step back, I take my cell phone out of my pocket and begin typing in the information he gives me. Then we wait until my uncle shows up, who says nothing about the fact that Yury’s bleeding everywhere.
Getting in my truck and starting it up outside of the hospital, where I stopped to check on Avalee, the woman Yury had kidnapped, I lean my head back against my headrest and close my eyes. Harlen is staying with her at the hospital until her family is able to get into town. She is still asleep and would be in the hospital for a few days while she recovers from the worst of her injuries, then she’ll be going home with her parents, who live in Mississippi. She wouldn’t talk to the police without Harlen with her and refused to let him go, even when the doctors explained they needed to examine her, leaving them no choice but to sedate her.
From what Harlen was able to gather before they drugged her, her friends had been insisting she get out and date, so she downloaded a dating app onto her phone and met Yury. They chatted for a couple of days before she finally agreed to meet him for coffee, and that’s when he took her. Knowing how similar her story was to the other woman who was still missing Tallon did a search of the dating app site and found nothing. Avalee’s profile had been erased along with any chats she had with Yury leading up to their meeting. Now that there was a correlation between the two cases there was a chance the other woman could be found.
Lifting my head and looking out the windshield, I put the truck in drive and head out of the parking lot towards the highway. When I spoke with Ellie earlier and explained to her what went down, I could hear her cry in relief and sadness as I told her about Avalee. I knew she could understand to an extent what Avalee had been through, and that shit killed me. No woman should ever have to understand something like that, and there is no fucking way a woman should ever have to experience that shit firsthand.
Getting on the highway, I make a last second decision and turn in the opposite direction of home. I need to talk to Jules. I can’t figure out why it’s so important to talk to her after all these years. I just know something in me needs to put that part of my past to rest so I can fully move on.
It doesn’t take long to reach the town she’s now calling home, and when I pull up in front of the small house that is located on a street with homes similar in size, I’m surprised to see how well kept it is. The grass of the front yard is cut low, and the flowerbeds out front look like they have recently been tilled, like they are just waiting for flowers to be planted. Putting my truck in park and getting out, the front door opens just as I’m making it around the hood.
“What are you doing here?”
Taking in Jules for the first time in over twenty years, I’m taken aback by how different we look. I don’t know why I thought there would be some kind of resemblance, but looking at her now, I see there’s none.
“I don’t want any trouble,” she says, letting the metal storm door close behind her with a whoosh as she steps out onto the small front porch, wrapping a long blue sweater tighter around her waist.
“I’m not here to cause problems,” I say, moving to stand at the bottom of the stairs below her. She’s aged well. I knew from rumors that she was a beautiful girl, and time has surprisingly been good to her. Her dark brown hair is cut just above her shoulders, and her creamy skin hardly shows any sign of wrinkles. I don’t know why I pictured her weathered and warn, but I did. “Really, I’m not sure why I’m here,” I confess, placing my hands in the pockets of my jeans and leaning back on the heels of my boots.
“Go home, Jax,” she instructs quietly, turning her back on me and opening the door.
“Why?” I ask without thinking, watching her body jolt and her eyes come back to me over her shoulder. Holding my breath against the pain I see there, I question, “Why did you do it? Why didn’t you love me?” I whisper the last part, which seems to be the question eating away at me most.
“I didn’t even love myself,” I hear her say before she walks back into the house without a second glance, closing the door behind her.
Pulling my hands out of my pockets, I walk back to my truck and get inside, where I stare at her house for a long time. I didn’t expect her to invite me in for cookies, but I thought she would at least give me something but then maybe she just did.
Putting my truck in reverse, I pull out of her driveway then look at her house in the rearview mirror. Ellie was right; I was lucky as fuck to have the parents I have. There has never been a day I haven’t known they love me, and I promise myself right then that Hope and any other kids Ellie and I have will feel the same way. They
will never have to guess or wonder when it comes to my love for them.
*
“It’s your turn,” I tell Ellie, rolling to my back and covering my eyes with my arm when I hear whimpering and barking coming from Hope’s room down the hall.
“You wanted puppies,” she mumbles, and I pull my arm off my eyes to glare at her as she pulls the covers up over her head.
“The puppies want to go outside, and I’m hungwy!” Hope yells a minute later.
“Three years,” Ellie mutters from under the blanket, making me smile and shake my head, knowing she’s referring to how long her birth control implant is good for.
It’s been two weeks since we found Yury, and in that time, he confessed to the murders of three women, one of them being Vanessa Commerce, the woman who had gone missing months ago. Even though her family was mourning her loss, they were relieved to have closure and to know her murderer was off the streets and behind bars where he can’t hurt anyone else. Avalee had also been in touch with Harlen. She explained she was doing okay then asked for July and Ellie’s numbers after she found out they had also gone through a similar situation, though not as severe as what she endured. Ellie and July had both talked to her a few times and had plans to meet up once Avalee felt a little stronger.
“Do you want me to go?” Ellie asks, peeking out from under the covers, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“No, baby, sleep,” I say, pressing a kiss to her forehead and slipping out of bed, I walk down the hall to Hope’s room, where I find her trying to unhook the latch on the dog pen while Chip and Pancake jump up on the door, trying to get to her.
“Good, you’re here.” She sighs then points to the puppies. “They want out.”
“I see that,” I confirm, laughing as I open the gate, allowing both puppies to rush out of the crate and circle her feet, which sends her into a fit of giggles.
Until Jax Page 20
